Installing and updating drivers in Windows 10,11 is a critical part of keeping your PC running smoothly. Drivers allow your devices to communicate with your PC, and without the latest drivers, your devices may not work properly. Windows 10 comes with a range of drivers for printers, monitors, keyboards, graphics cards, and other hardware that are already installed. However, as new devices are released, new drivers may need to be installed to keep your devices working properly. Here’s how to install and update drivers in Windows 10, 11.
No need to worry if you connect a device without a preinstalled driver. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to install and update the drivers you need for your hardware to communicate properly.
- Navigate to Settings -> Windows Update.
- Click on Advanced Options.
- Scroll down and under Additional options, click on Optional updates.
- Expand the Driver updates option, choose the driver you want to install, and click Download and install.
Update drivers manually in Windows
Before you begin:
Updates for Windows drivers, as well as for many devices such as network adapters, monitors, printers and video cards, are automatically downloaded and installed through Windows Update. In most cases, you will already have the most recent drivers, but if you wish to update or reinstall a driver manually, here is how to do it:
Update the device driver
- In the search box on the taskbar, enter device manager, then select Device Manager.
- Select a category to see names of devices, then right-click (or press and hold) the one you’d like to update.
- Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Select Update Driver.
- If Windows doesn’t find a new driver, you can try looking for one on the device manufacturer’s website and follow their instructions.
Reinstall the device driver
- In the search box on the taskbar, enter device manager, then select Device Manager.
- Right-click (or press and hold) the name of the device, and then select Uninstall.
- Restart your PC.
Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver.
How to Update the Drivers Through Windows Update
One way to manually update your Windows drivers is through using Windows update.. To get started, follow the steps below:
- Open the Windows Settings.
- Select Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Now, click on View optional updates.
- Navigate to the Driver updates tab.
- Check the driver that you want to update and click on Download and install.
How To Update Drivers on Windows 10,11: Automatic Installation
To customize your automatic driver installation settings on Windows 10,, you need to find the driver settings page first.
- In the Cortana search bar, type “Change device installation ” and click on “Change device installation settings.”
- Choose whether to let Windows automatically download the driver software or do it yourself. Automatic updating is the easiest method, whereby Windows will habitually check for driver updates and install them.
- Clicking the second option to install drivers manually brings up several other options. If you don’t want Windows to install the driver software, select the second option: “Never install driver software from Windows Update.”
How to Update Device Drivers Through the Manufacturer’s Website
When there’s a new update, it might take some time for it to arrive at Microsoft. On rare occasions, you might even have to wait for a good while. If that’s the case with you too, then you can update your drivers directly through the manufacturer’s website.
For example, I’m using an Nvidia VGA, and if I need to update a driver, I have to head over to the drivers section of the Official Drivers | NVIDIA . From there, updates can be easily downloaded and installed.
Depending on which driver(s) you want to update, all you have to do is go to the update section of your manufacturer’s website and proceed with the download.
Keeping Your Drivers Updated on Windows 10 and 11
That’s how you can update your device drivers without any hassles. As we said above, keeping your drivers updated is one of the surefire ways to keep your device protected from outside threats, as well as from random bugs. We hope you were able to update your drivers through one of these methods.