If you find that some of your newly installed devices are not working correctly or in fact, your Windows computer freezes frequently, you might want to consider removing old & unused device drivers in Windows 10/8/7.
Remove Old Drivers on Windows PC
To remove old and unused drivers from your Windows computer, first open Start Menu and right-click on Computer and select Properties. From the left side panel, click on Advanced system settings and click on Environment Variables. Alternatively, simply open Control Panel and type Environment Variables.
Now under the User variables box, click on New and type-
devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices
in the Variable Name text box & 1 in the Variable Value box. This will set a flag to allow you to now view unused devices.
You can also use this method to show Non-present drivers.
Now type devmgmt.msc in start search and hit Enter to open the Device Manager.
Click View tab and select Show hidden devices. Expand the branches in the device tree & look for the faded icons. These indicate unused device drivers.
Right-click on it and select Uninstall.
That’s it!
GhostBuster and Driver Sweeper may also interest you. You can also check out Comodo Programs Manager – it segregates Drivers, making it easier for you to identify and uninstall them.
Additional resources:
Hi guys, I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t login at TWC Forum with my old password nor with the new one I requested some minutes ago.
Can anyone explain and/or fix it?
Thanks.
Hi paf, please see the mail I sent you 🙂
tolong gimana seh cara menghilangkan notification consider replacing your battrey pada windows 7 padahal batre saya masih baru,,,saya pake laptop acer 4736z,,dulu waktu pake os xp,,semua driver berfungsi..tp setelah pake os windows 7 ada driver yg tidak berfungsi yaitu power smart battrey n backup file,,,tolong dong kasih tau apa emang acer 4736z ga suport pake windows 7?
@rohidin itu bukan driver mas, itu cuman aplikasi power management alternatif dari acer tapi fungsinya sama kok sama aplikasi serupa di windows 7. Kemungkinan sampeyan install programnya yang versi windows vista, aplikasinya yang buat Win 7 ga ada soalnya ya itu di win 7 udah ada. Liat di sini mas biar jelas http://www.acer.co.id/acer/service.do?LanguageISOCtxParam=en&miu10einu24.current.attN2B2F2EEF=3247&sp=page15e&ctx2.c2att1=159&miu10ekcond13.attN2B2F2EEF=3247&CountryISOCtxParam=ID&ctx1g.c2att92=857&ctx1.att21k=1&CRC=1730071917
Wow..what a relief. Really?? This simply operation is so hard for you all ? Americans? Or just simply: Empty CANS?
obviously compared to a genius like you. this does not show drivers that are still left behind after this useless removal and making it impossible to install again.., we all thank you for your informative post that shows us what a know all moron you really are… have a good day… next time you lash out bang your head agaisnt a wall you will find it more useful.. for everyone and you would be a community man?? definately
Good work.
soi tried this. im using a sony laptop and the file wasnt in the devmgmt.msc . so i plugged the usb in another outlet and it started working.
This method does not work with windows 10, it does nothing…Any ideas?
Basically I upgrade my windows 8.1 home to windows 10 home, after this upgrade a small windows shows up Error This Driver can’t Release to Failure!!
I tried to look for it but no success…
Hi, I currently downloaded Intel Graphics Driver version 15.33.39.4276 but once I check my Graphics Driver it says the version of my Graphics Driver is the old version. I would wanna uninstall the 15.33.39.4276 one for some reason I just feel like I wanna do it, but how?
For all of you who are complaining that this method doesn’t work, it really does work. All you have to remember is to go to View->Show hidden devices and they’ll all pop up. If you don’t do that, the unused drivers won’t show. Calling each other names and stuff doesn’t resolve anything, use your head and your eyes, not your anus. Thanks.
Wish we could bulk remove and uninstall devices/drivers from Device Mgr once we can see all of the unused ones.
I literally see HUNDREDS that I’d like to delete…sucks going one-by-one >:(
good info.
The problem with this method – and every method I’ve found so far dealing with Code 38 issues – is that you STILL have to REBOOT. Then, for some unknown reason, a few days or uses later, the problem reappears – Windows thinks you have old versions of the drivers, but when you run the update, it says you have the most current version. I have done a lot of research on this and it is really does seem to be a windows issue. Or maybe a windows/apple ipod shuffle compatibility issue? Can windows come up with a solution that does not require a constant reboot? Thanks!
Wow, In all my years as a PC Tech, these are some of the simplest, most well written instructions I have ever encountered. Good Job here folks!
Arrogant much?
Just like to say thankyou for taking your time to write this solved my driver uninstall problem works great thanks again David
You are great. I really would like if you made most of your tips printable. Now I have to use an addon “Print Friendly & PDF”. It works ok, but some times it misses parts. Please!