How can I determine which driver software is no longer needed and can be deleted, and keep only the newest updated and necessary drivers for safe and correct operation of my desktop computer. I had a problem a few month's ago, and I had some of the drivers be deleted by mistake somehow., I did not know at the time which drivers were the correct ones that I needed and ultimately downloaded a whole bunch that I really did not need, I would now like to uninstall all of the unnecessary drivers that I have installed to clean up the computer, How can I figure out which are outdated and no longer necessary, and which drivers are current and necessary for proper operation? Thank You Very Much!
Already Tried: Nothing I am afraid to delete something that could cause a malfunction.
Hello and welcome to JustAnswer. I look forward to assisting you today with your question and providing the best answer possible.What version of windows are you using?
Hi, My computer originaly had Windows Vista, and I have upgraded to Windows 7 almost 1 year ago.
Ok, here's one way:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
This forces the invisible old drivers to reveal themselves in the device manager.
devmgmt.msc
The Device Manager now lists out all devices which are active and which are not. The inactive devices appear grayed out.
Let me know if you run into any trouble...
Hi, That was awesome! That is exactly what I was looking for, it is just amazing how many inactive things were on my computer, even old anti virus software that I had deleted years ago, that I thought was gone for good, was still present but inactive!, Thank you very much, that is what I call Expert Help! I have just one more question, while I was cleaning up I noticed that there are several drive letters that have the triangle with an exclaimation point in the center. This usually means that they are in need of attention am I right? (I:/ J:/ K:/ L:/ ) and I have duplicate N:/ and M:/ drive letters listed but these do not have the attention sign next to them, but there shouldn't be two of the same drive letters either should there? How should I address these issues, or can I just delete these as well? Thank You!
Do you have those drives physically present?You can delete them, then go to the top of device manager and choose action, scan for hardware.If you need to change drive letters, you can do it in disk m anagement:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Change-add-or-remove-a-drive-letterLet me know if you run into any trouble...Remember, if for any reason you are unsatisfied with my answer, we can continue the conversation until you’re satisfied and Accept my answer. I can address follow up questions at no extra charge and I’m always here to help. Thank you for using JustAnswer!
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