This article will tell you how to Uninstall, Disable, Enable and Roll Back Device Drivers using the Device Manager in Windows 11/10. Before you begin, you might want to find out the Driver version of the existing driver on your computer.
Device Manager in Windows 11
The Device Manager in Windows lets you view the hardware installed on your computer, along with its Properties. It lets you change hardware settings, identify device drivers for each device, view and change settings and properties, and install, uninstall, update, rollback, enable, and disable the drivers.
To open the Device Manager in Windows 11/10, open the WinX Menu and select Device Manager. Locate the driver and right-click on it. You will see options to Update Driver Software, Uninstall Driver Software, Install Drivers, Scan for hardware changes, etc.
Double-click on it, and the Properties box will open, where you will see buttons to Update, Roll Back, Disable, Enable and Uninstall the driver,
How to uninstall Drivers in Windows 11
To uninstall the driver using the Device Manager, locate the driver, right-click on it and click on Uninstall. This will completely uninstall the driver’s files and registry settings for the selected hardware. Wait for the wizard to complete, and then restart your computer.
For your information, a free tool called Display Driver Uninstaller will help you easily uninstall AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA Drivers completely.
Read: How to remove old and useless Drivers in Windows
How to Roll Back Drivers in Windows 11
You might want go back to a previous driver version if your current driver is giving problems. In such a case, you can roll back the driver.
To do so, open Device Manager, locate the driver and double-click on it. You can also use the right-click context menu to open the Driver’s Properties. Click on Properties to open the Driver Properties box.
Select the Driver tab.
Here, you will see the button to Roll Back Driver. This will uninstall the most recently updated driver and roll back your configuration to the earlier version. You may need to roll back a driver if you find that your device fails after updating the driver.
TIP: This post will help you if Roll Back Driver is greyed out in Windows.
How to Enable or Disable Drivers in Windows 11
If you want to disable the device driver for some reason, open Device Manager, locate the driver, and double-click on it to open the Driver’s Properties. Select the Driver tab.
Here, you will see the button to Disable (or Enable) Driver. This will disable the Driver, until you enable it back again.
How to update Drivers in Windows 11
To update the Driver in Windows 11, run Windows Updates and see if any driver updates are available under Optional Updates. This is a preferred, quicker, and easier method. However, you can also use free Driver Updater software, Device Manager, Command Prompt or manually.
Read: Where to download drivers for Windows?
This post shows how to Backup and Restore Drivers. You can also export and backup Device Drivers using PowerShell.
If you are looking for more information on this subject, you may find it here:
Hello. My problem is, I downloaded Slim Drivers, this program updated my Sound driver, and after that my sound is off. I’ve tried to uninstall, but Windows 8 installs the incorrect updated sound driver again for its on, and I can’t do anything… I am trying other ways to solve this problem .. Help U undestand. Thank you
Restoring back using system restore might be a good idea.
good, i’ve find tropbo
nice tut, thanks
Hello my problem is that i updated my drivers via internet a long ago due to which whea-uncorrectable-error and clock-watchdog-timout errors occur please help me
The Roll Back Driver button/option is permanently greyed-out. It can not be clicked on and does no action. How to actually click on the option to roll back a driver?
If the Roll Back Driver button is greyed out, it normally means that the driver hasn’t been updated, as a result of which there is no previous driver to roll back to. Alternatively, it could also mean that Windows has determined that the currently installed version is the more suitable version for your hardware.
Hi Anand – thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, there are multiple previous versions and the current version is not suitable, since it does not work (hence the reason for wanting to roll-back). I was advised to update the driver to the latest version, which I did – and the hardware (being a bluetooth mouse) stopped working (it had been working fine previously and I am really kicking myself for updating the driver now – but who would have known – why can’t programmers write software that works?). So, as you can see, it is rather frustrating that I know very well that there is a previous version of the driver that does work and Windows will not let me return to it. I am now possibly going to uninstall the driver completely and see whether I can find a driver that does work. BTW It is a Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse, using Intel drivers (I think, from memory).
The disable button is greyed. how to enable it?
asdasd
Real curious as to why this “Update Driver” button even exists, as in all my years of
using windows, I can say hand on heart that its never EVER updated
jack-shit for any driver for ANY device I`ve used. (it ALWAYS fails to
find a driver)…
umm my problem is when i connect my phone to my laptop , it disconnects then reconnects again every 2 sec. , im trying to fix my phone but this problem keeps coming to me. can someone please help me :(
Generally, I use two ways to update the Windows drivers. One is the post mentioned upgrading drivers in Device Managers. The another one is using Driver Talent to do the update. Both the two ways are workable for me, but I prefer using Driver Talent as it could scan all the drivers and inform me the drivers need to be updated. Thank you for sharing. :)
thank you so much , i did choose rollback and then update it and now it’s working better!! thank you so much
Hello,
How Can I export (or backup) a driver for a specific device in order to be able to install it later (on the same machine after a fresh install or on an identical machine that doesn’t have this driver yet)?
In my case I have a problem with 2 identical machines and the audio drivers. On machine 1 the audio works (the driver is from microsoft, not a third party driver) while on machine 2 windows update cannot find an appropriate driver (hardware issues have been ruled out). Both machine run the same version of windows and are identical hardware-wise. Please help.
Thank you very much in advance.
Best,
-a-
my coppy is genuwin windows 7 profeshanal and its dun all updates unill i installed the silly widows towl
my computer as been starting and reastarting ive had enofe of it is a pain i want my money back for it and the stress its corsing help
i have a let my son play game on my computer and every time he done my mouse moves so slowly and i have to physically lift it up and mouse it away to go across my screen. I’ve done all it says and still nothing fixed it.