How to Remove Old and Useless Drivers in Windows 10

For every device you have in your Windows PC, you will need a driver for that device to work properly. The problem with this is that as time passes, your Windows machine will be bogged down with lots of unnecessary and old drivers, which eventually may result in problems on your PC.

Surely, you can easily uninstall any device driver using Windows’s built-in tools. The problem is that Windows device manager only shows currently connected devices, and there is no option to see hidden or old drivers. Here we show you how to force hidden drivers to appear and how to remove old drivers in Windows 10.

Note: this article is based on Windows 10, but it should work with any other previous versions, like Windows 7 and Windows 8, as well.

For Graphics and Sound Drivers, Use DDU

Graphics cards are complex things, and if you’ve either bought a new graphics card or have updated your old one, then you may find that it doesn’t work properly due to driver conflicts. (It may not work altogether or may be prone to crashes and restarts.)

If that happens, you should use the free Guru 3D tool DDU (or Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely uninstall your old graphics card drivers before installing the new ones.

Once you’ve extracted the tool, you’ll need to open Windows 10 in Safe Mode, then open DDU and select your device type (GPU or Audio) from the drop-down menu. Once you’ve made your selection, click “Clean and restart” for your drivers to be completely uninstalled.

Once you’re back in regular Windows 10, you can install new GPU or audio drivers without any conflicts or interference from the old ones.

Force Old Drivers to Appear

Before uninstalling old drivers, we need to force the old drivers to show up in the list.

1. To do that, press Win + X and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the list of options.

2. Type the following command and press the Enter button to execute the command:

What the above command does is force all the non-present or old and invisible drivers to show up in the Device Manager list. Once you have done this, you can proceed with the uninstallation.

Uninstall Old Drivers in Windows

1. To uninstall the old drivers, press Win + X and select “Device Manager” from the list of options.

2. Go to “view” and select the option “show hidden devices” to reveal all the hidden and old drivers.

The good thing about this feature is that all the old drivers are faded out, so you can easily identify the old or non-present drivers from current drivers.

3. Select the old driver you want to uninstall, right-click and select the Uninstall option.

That’s all there is to do. Using this tip, you can easily find and uninstall any old and hidden drivers. Always be careful not to remove any current device driver, as this may cause problems with your connected hardware device. Also, always check twice before uninstalling any device driver.

If you still have problems that need solving with your Windows 10 graphics, see our guide on fixing a faulty graphics card or check out our list of the latest Windows 10 update problems to see if you’ve been affected.

Related:

Content Manager at Make Tech Easier. Enjoys Android, Windows, and tinkering with retro console emulation to breaking point.

How to use Display Driver Uninstaller on Windows 10 [EASY GUIDE]

1. Download DriverFix now for free (secured download)
2. Launch the program and press the Scan icon
3. Wait for the scan to finish and start installing the needed drivers

• DriverFix has been successfuly downloaded by 0 readers this month.

Having the latest drivers installed on your Windows 10 PC is crucial if you want to ensure maximum performance and stability. However, sometimes issues with drivers can emerge, and you might have to remove certain drivers from your PC.

If you’re having problems with your graphics card and you need to remove its drivers, you might be interested in a tool called DDU: Display Driver Uninstaller.

Display Driver Uninstaller is a great tool and in this article, we’re going to cover the following issues:

• Uninstall Nvidia drivers Windows 10 – If you have problems with your Nvidia drivers, you should be able to completely uninstall them using this tool.
• How to use DDU – Display Driver Uninstaller is a simple to use a tool, and in this article, we’ll show you how to use it properly.
• Display Driver Uninstaller AMD, Intel, Nvidia – Display Driver Uninstaller can remove almost any graphics card driver from your PC. The tool fully works with AMD, Nvidia and Intel drivers.
• Display Driver Uninstaller Safe Mode – Sometimes in order to remove a certain driver, it’s advised that you remove it from Safe Mode. Display Driver Uninstaller can automatically enter Safe Mode and remove the problematic driver from your PC.
• Nvidia display driver deletion of old versions – If you want to completely delete old versions of Nvidia drivers, Display Driver Uninstaller might be the perfect tool for you.
• Display Driver Uninstaller portable – Display Driver Uninstaller is a fully portable application and you don’t have to install it in order to run it.
• AMD display driver uninstall clean – If you’re having any problems with AMD display driver and you want to completely remove it from your PC, Display Driver Uninstaller is the perfect tool for you.

What is Display Driver Uninstaller and how to use it on Windows 10?

What does Display Driver Uninstaller do?

Display Driver Uninstaller is a freeware third-party application designed to remove your graphics card drivers. Sometimes you might experience issues with your graphics card, and in order to fix those issues, you might have to reinstall the graphics card drivers.

You can always remove the graphics card driver from Device Manager or by using its dedicated uninstaller, but Display Driver Uninstaller allows you to thoroughly remove the driver from your PC.

Certain drivers can leave installation packages or registry entries once you uninstall them, but Display Driver Uninstaller will remove all files associated with your graphics card including the installation packages and registry entries.

Sometimes it can occur that you can’t uninstall the graphics card driver due to a certain error in Windows 10, and this is why tools such as Display Driver Uninstaller can be helpful.

If you’re worried that currently installed driver is causing any issues on your system, you can completely remove it from your PC by using this tool.

Since this is such a powerful tool, it’s recommended that you create System Restore point before using it. In case anything goes wrong while removing the driver you can easily restore your system by using the System Restore point.

If you’re interested in more info on how to create a restore point and how would that help you, take a look at this simple article to find out everything you need to know.

It’s also recommended that you add Display Driver Uninstaller to the list of exclusions in your antivirus software so it can have full control over your system while removing the driver.

Windows 10 clean install ‘A media driver is missing’

I am doing a Windows 10 clean install through a USB Flash drive which is made with a Mac system

In Windows setup, I get the error ‘A media driver is missing’

I have already tried:

• Plugging the flash drive into all of my USB 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1 ports
• Changing flash drive
• Downloading ISO again, and downloading a older version
• Trying to install Intel Chipset Driver
• Trying to install Intel® Rapid Storage Technology
• Making the USB using:

1. dd
2. unetbootin
3. RosaImageWriter

• Changing BIOS setting: Disable Legacy USB support(Resulted in boot option not showing up)
• Updating bios

CPU: Intel — Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor

Motherboard: MSI — B360 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory: ADATA — XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory

SSD: ADATA — ULTIMATE SU650 960 GB 2.5″ Solid State Drive

HDD:Seagate BarraCuda 4TB ST4000DM004

Video Card: Gigabyte — GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card

Case: Fractal Design — Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: EVGA — SuperNOVA G3 (EU) 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Replies (9) 

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Do you get the error message before the setup starts or when the during installation?

I appreciate the time and patience you have taken to resolve the issue. Basically you get that error when the download file is incomplete. Kindly check with the below suggestions and see if it works.

Method 1 : Clean installation using Media Creation tool.

Follow the suggestions provided under the section Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC (click to show more or less information) from the article on Download Windows 10 to create an installation media and perform clean installation.

Method 2: When you are trying to install Windows 10 using DVD, burn ISO with the slowest speed.

• If it’s through USB drive, you get a prompt which asks regarding the driver, click on Cancel.
• Once when you reach the welcome screen, insert the USB drive to a different USB port and click on Install Now option to install Windows 10.

Note: Kindly make sure that the ISO is not corrupted.

Microsoft Community — Moderator

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What format did you create the flash drive. I know nothing about Macs, but do know they use different file systems.

For Windows UEFI Bios machines, the flash drive needs to be a GPT\FAT32 type drive.

For Windows Legacy Bios machines, the flash drive needs to be MBR\NTFS type drive.

There is a free tool called FUFUS that will create these, but I do not know if there is a Mac version available.

1 person found this reply helpful

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Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Do you get the error message before the setup starts or when the during installation?

I appreciate the time and patience you have taken to resolve the issue. Basically you get that error when the download file is incomplete. Kindly check with the below suggestions and see if it works.

Method 1 : Clean installation using Media Creation tool.

Follow the suggestions provided under the section Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC (click to show more or less information) from the article on Download Windows 10 to create an installation media and perform clean installation.

Method 2: When you are trying to install Windows 10 using DVD, burn ISO with the slowest speed.

• If it’s through USB drive, you get a prompt which asks regarding the driver, click on Cancel.
• Once when you reach the welcome screen, insert the USB drive to a different USB port and click on Install Now option to install Windows 10.

Note: Kindly make sure that the ISO is not corrupted.

Microsoft Community — Moderator

Method 1: I only have a Mac computer

Method 2: Already tried as mentioned

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What format did you create the flash drive. I know nothing about Macs, but do know they use different file systems.

For Windows UEFI Bios machines, the flash drive needs to be a GPT\FAT32 type drive.

For Windows Legacy Bios machines, the flash drive needs to be MBR\NTFS type drive.

There is a free tool called FUFUS that will create these, but I do not know if there is a Mac version available.

1. The USB is formatted correctly in FAT32

2. Rufus is not available for Mac

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In addition the the FAT32, it needs to be «Initialized» as GPT.

A MBR drive is normally recognized by the bios as a legacy device.

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For Windows 10 OS installation,you need Microsoft/Windows Media Creation Tool,v1803

Although newer editions might exist. Once thru,you must install the pc MB chipset software/driver,next would be the pc Storage Controller software/driver,if Intel,Intel Storage Mgr Then Networking/Video/Audio software,plus Microsoft windows update. The Creation tool gets you going. Also,running a flash USB drive isn’t the ticket,run all/any installations thru a cd,now youre trying to install thru a Mac system. Not compatable to windows,sure Microsoft downloads have some Mac compatability downloads but why not run defaults. Also,if its a new MB,or with all youre problems,power off pc,remove MB battery,wait 12 minutes,install battery/power up pc to BIOS/reset date-time/set to Load Performance values/install the Win 10 installation cd/set as 1st boot priority/HD 2nd/Save & exit BIOS..Follow cd menu. This is a Microsoft/TechNet/MSDN default for a clean installation.Also,in BIOS would be to set to RAID ready,or create a RAID set,this must happen before the OS installation/this is INTEL Performance setting. Read Owners Manual

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