The Only Safe Way to Update Your Hardware Drivers on Windows

Using the Registry Editor is the most convenient way to change the default registry. Double-click the Print subkey in the window that opens and then select the name of the printer you want to use as your default printer from the DefaultPrinter value field. If you are installing an external printer drivers not included in the Windows driver store, read the paragraph The INF file to learn how to retrieve the exact name of the printer driver. If you want to install a printer driver already included in the Windows store, please see the chapter Default printer drivers included in Windows. In this chapter, I explain how to retrieve the path and name of the INF file as well as the exact name of the printer driver. When you are preparing the unattended installation of a printer driver, you will know the name of the vendor of the printer (e.g. HP, Canon, whatever). With a small modification of the above script we can search for all available printer drivers for that particular vendor.

• If your computer is experiencing sound problems, you might want to install an updated audio driver.
• Some users download the device drivers from any website or untrusted sources.
• Another way to go around removing a printer that is refusing to go away from Windows 10 is via the Print Management menu.

This issue is only a problem initially, as once you’ve run it a few times the likelihood is that it will only find one or two drivers that need updating at each scan. It also doesn’t include a scheduler to run scans automatically, though you can have it run automatically when Windows launches. The software has access to a comprehensive database of over 200,000 drivers, so you can be sure that you will always have the latest updates and your system will run smoothly all the time. Ashampoo Driver Updater will automatically scan for new needed drivers.

Fix Corrupt Windows Files

Also, there are times when Windows downloads the incorrect driver or an older version of it when an update is available, this again calls for a manual driver installation or update. If your printer driver installed incorrectly or your old printer’s driver is still available on your machine, this could also prevent you from installing a new printer. In this case, you need to completely uninstall all printer drivers using Device Manager. The above script can be used for the installation and uninstallation of one or more printer drivers. In the script, I call the function DS_InstallPrinterDriver for installing printer drivers and the function DS_UnInstallPrinterDriver for uninstalling printer drivers. You can choose to have one consolidated script to manage all of your printer driver (un)installations or to use a separate copy of the script for each driver.

• Creating a System Restore Point first before installing new software, and being careful about any third-party offers while installing freeware is recommended.
• This is not really a problem because in most cases, it is the operating system that takes care of it.
• The advanced boot menu is the easiest way to install unsigned drivers on Windows 10 or 8.
• It helps your computer run smoothly by fixing bugs or performance issues with hardware.

The app itself is fairly simple, but it’s still strangely hard to use because of the way it’s set up. Right-clicking a driver provides extra options like showing alternative drivers, copying the hardware ID, and locating the driver’s INF file. There’s a forum you can use if you’re struggling to learn how the program works. Before installing a driver, you can see how the new version compares with the currently installed driver, which is helpful.

Use the Maintenance menu to update the firmware

The Registry contains information Microsoft Windows uses to determine how to configure the operating system, applications and connected hardware devices. For an installed printer, the Registry contains definitions that describe the location of the printer’s driver, its version and date, its manufacturer and other critical information.

However, it’s still possible to share printers on your local network. You can update your drivers manually, or you can use a driver update tool. The tool will automatically download and install all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. When on a new computer, the first printer that gets installed requires admin rights, as it installs some drivers.