How to restore standard Windows 7 drivers. Restoring an old working driver: rolling back to a previous version
Good day everyone!
When searching for and updating drivers, it happens that the new driver begins to work unstable: it causes conflicts, errors, does not perform some functions correctly, etc.
In this case, it is recommended to roll back to the old previous driver, which previously worked in normal mode. I note that even if you didn’t make a backup of your drivers (or restore points in Windows), in most cases you can still restore everything (since Windows does not remove the old driver, and it remains in the list of available ones on the PC) .
In this article I will show you with several examples how this can be done.
Addition!
You might find this article useful on how to remove old (or unnecessary) drivers -
1) Via device manager
Option #1
There are two ways to roll back a driver through Device Manager. I like the first one because when you rollback, you can manually select the driver version that you need. I’ll show you with an example how you can restore an old working driver to a video card. So...
First we open device Manager . To do this, go to the control panel, enter “devices” in the search and among the results found there will be a link to the desired manager (see screenshot below).
Then a menu will appear with a choice: perform an automatic search or manually on this PC. We choose the second option (see example below).
If you had several versions of drivers on your PC, you should now see a list of them. Be guided by dates, versions and title. By choosing any of the versions, agree to the installation.
All! The screen should blink, and then you will see a message indicating the successful (or unsuccessful) completion of the operation. An example is presented below.
Option No. 2
You can roll back the driver in another way: after finding the desired device in the manager, open it properties.
In properties, open the "Driver" tab - at the bottom of the window there should be a button "Roll back". I note that it is not always active (even if you recently updated the driver). Therefore, I recommend first trying the first rollback option (described above), and then this one.
Roll back the driver (if the device does not work after updating)
2) Using System Restore
If you have system restore points (and by default Windows does them (except for ten)) , then you can try to roll back to the old driver using system restore.
How to see if there are restore points and run System Restore:
Addition!
3) Using special Driver backup utilities
I couldn’t help but mention this method in this article. True, in order to use it, you need to make a backup in advance (perhaps someone will find this method useful in the future).
The essence of the work is approximately as follows:
Addition!
This post will tell you how to create a backup step by step and subsequently restore drivers from it:
That's all.
Thank you in advance for any additions on the topic.
Read what to do if updating the video driver causes problems in a game, black marks appearing on the screen, the picture freezes or freezes, or the computer shuts down. Manufacturers "NVIDIA" And "AMD" release new driver updates for their video cards every month. They often improve the performance, color rendering, and capabilities of graphics cards, especially in recent games. But there are also exceptions.
Content:
In most cases, installing an updated GPU driver will actually lead to improvements. But sometimes updating the driver can cause the game to crash, black marks to appear on the screen, the picture to freeze or freeze, and even crash the computer. One of these updates actually broke the work "Windows", and I had to completely restart my computer.
What should you do if the latest driver update conflicts with your new game or installed system? The answer is quite simple. You have several options: perform a clean installation of the driver, revert to a previous version of the driver, or - the most radical option - completely reinstall your operating system.
Before starting work. Create a system restore point
Latest Versions "Windows" allow you to create restore point System is a pre-saved image of your operating system that allows you to revert back to a running version of the system every time you install a new version of an application. This also applies to your graphics card driver. You can always manually create a system restore point if you are concerned that installing new drivers or applications may damage it. Or use the service of automatically creating a restore point.
Click the button "Start" or click the button "Windows" on your keyboard, select tab "Options" and click the corresponding result. In the menu that opens, on the tab "System protection" click the button "Create".
Come up with any restore point name you like, for example "Before updating the driver 02/13/2018". It is advisable to add the date the restore point was created to the title description. This will help you organize your notes. Click the button "Create", and your computer will save all installed programs and system settings.
First way. Removing current drivers and reverting to the previous version
If the latest installed drivers do not work correctly, crash or slow down the system, then the easiest way to fix the problem is to remove them and reinstall the previous version of the drivers. First, download the latest driver that you know will work correctly. Use official sites to download "NVIDIA" or "AMD"– both companies maintain a driver database.
Once you have downloaded the older version, go to the settings menu and remove the installed version. To do this, click the button "Start", select tab "Options ", enter in the parameters search bar "Installation and removal of programms". In earlier versions "Windows" you can find this menu in the tab "Control Panel" In chapter "Programs and Features".
Driver package "NVIDIA" will be marked as "NVIDIA graphics driver"(including version number). For cards "AMD"– just like software "AMD". Select an entry in the list of installed programs and applications, click the button "Delete" and follow the onscreen instructions. Once the uninstallation procedure is complete, you may have to restart your computer. The screen image may then flicker or the screen settings may not use the correct resolution.
After your computer restarts, open the installation file for the older version of the driver you downloaded, run the installation process, and follow the instructions. Upon completion, your computer should work as it did before installing the new version.
Second way. "Perform a clean install" drivers
Alternatively, if the first option doesn't work, try using the function "Perform a clean install". This installation will remove existing software (plus possible add-ons such as "PhysX" from "NVIDIA"), will update all settings and install the latest driver. And in "NVIDIA" and in "AMD" you can choose this option to install drivers.
For "NVIDIA", accept the terms of the license agreement, select "Custom installation", mark the box "Perform a clean install" and press "Further". Once the driver installation is complete, you will need to restart your computer.
For the installer "AMD" select item "Custom Update", your driver version, then option "Clean installation".
Again, you'll likely see the screen flicker or adjust its resolution several times during the installation process. Once installation is complete, restart your computer.
Third way. Use a restore point
If none of the above methods help, then use a system restore point. You can use a system restore point created automatically or manually. The main thing is that the date of its creation is earlier than the installation date of your problematic drivers. However, try to choose the nearest date, as all programs and applications installed after this date will disappear. Whichever restore point option you choose, changes will only be made to system files, and user files will remain unchanged.
IN "Windows 8" or "Windows 10" click the button "Start", select tab "Options", in the search bar type "Creating a restore point" and open the corresponding menu. This time click the button that says "Restore" under the same heading (just above the middle of the menu). The program will open in front of you, follow the step-by-step instructions to return to the point of stable operation of your system.
Click "Further", then select the desired restore point that you created earlier (or an earlier automatic version of the system restore point, if available). Confirm your choice by clicking the button "Further" again.
Click "Ready" to begin the recovery process. Your computer will restart and return to the previous point.
If your drivers are so messed up that you can't even see the image on your monitor, you can try loading "Windows" in safe mode. In this mode, you will still have access to the system recovery program, even if your computer is not running at full capacity. If your motherboard contains active video outputs—a place to connect a monitor in addition to your discrete graphics card—you may have to connect directly to see what you're doing.
Radical way. Reinstallation "Windows"
If nothing works, you can always just reinstall the operating system "Windows" again. Obviously this is not ideal. It will take quite a long time and you may lose some files after reinstalling the system. In any case, it's better than nothing. It's also a good reminder that it's always a good idea to have a reliable, up-to-date backup.
Later versions "Windows" Quite easy to install. If you purchased your computer complete with a pre-installed operating system, it has a license code "Windows". You can find it on your computer case. If not, the code will be included with the disc or instructions.
If you have tried all the options, but still see that your computer crashes when working or playing computer games, there may be a problem with the hardware of the video card itself. Here you will need to seek help from a service center to repair or replace it.
Installing drivers for various equipment is one of the most important elements in setting up a computer's operating system. It can be extremely difficult to find a “lost” driver for a specific device. There are several ways to restore drivers after accidental damage or deletion.
Automatic installation
The easiest way to find a remote driver is to install it automatically. To do this, open the properties of the “My Computer” menu, go to “device manager” and enter the name of the device for which you want to update the driver. Then you need to right-click on it and select “Update drivers”.
Installation from the site
If the first method of searching for a driver does not work. You can try to find it on the official website of the device manufacturer. To do this, go to the site, study its structure, find the necessary driver and, after downloading, install it on your computer. You can also use Device Manager to install
Installation using software
Experts advise always having various useful programs on hand, which are databases of the most common hardware drivers. One such program is Driver Pack Solution. Find out the algorithm for how to restore a deleted driver using this program.
First, you should download this program from the official website and install it on your computer. Next, you need to run a file called DriverPackSolution.exe. This file is located in the root directory of the program. After the program is opened, an automatic scan of the equipment installed on the computer will immediately begin. Most likely, the system will offer to update outdated device drivers in order to install updated programs for non-functional equipment.
At the next stage, you should select the drivers that are necessary for installation on your computer, after which you need to click on the “Update all” button. You will then need to restart your computer to apply the settings. As a rule, this must always be done when installing drivers for important elements, such as a video card or motherboard.
When choosing new driver update packages for stable hardware, you should be extremely careful. The thing is that before being released into the public domain, new drivers are not always tested. Then the program may incorrectly detect your device and offer to install the wrong driver for it. To protect yourself, you should create a system restore point before updating. If your computer cannot boot normally due to the absence of an important driver, use boot in safe mode and install it from there.
Have you ever encountered a situation where, after updating drivers for one of your computer components or some peripheral device, they suddenly stopped working? This doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. There is nothing particularly surprising here, because it is no secret that the Windows operating system is far from perfect and is prone to all sorts of system errors. But, on the other hand, this OS is the most popular and easy to use, so we will not rush to move into the “penguin lovers” camp, but rather continue to use the familiar system, simultaneously figuring out ways to solve emerging problems. Moreover, as we gain experience in this difficult task, we will be able to become more and more skilled users who can not only cope with our computer, but also even guide others along the “path of experienced PC users.”
So, what should you do if the driver update was very unsuccessful? In such cases, many people immediately rush to reinstall the problematic drivers again, from the installation disk or by downloading them from the Internet. However, there is a much simpler way out of this situation. The fact is that the Windows operating system automatically saves backup copies of drivers immediately after installing them, so all you have to do is roll them back, which is done using OS tools and is not difficult.
The first thing you need to do is log into the Windows operating system using an administrator account. Then open the menu Start, go to Control Panel and go to section device Manager.
In the Device Manager window, expand the branch that gives access to the device you need. Then right-click on the icon of the non-working device and select the item from the context menu Properties.
The properties window for the selected device will open. In it you need to go to the tab Driver and press the button Rollback.
A dialog box will appear warning you that downgrading the driver to a previous version may negatively impact the functionality of your device. Click Yes and roll back the driver.
After this, all that remains is to restart the computer and the restored driver will begin to function again.
If a non-working driver for one of the system devices prevents the operating system from loading normally, you can boot from a flash drive or LiveCD and restore the driver, and if this does not help, then roll back the system using the function Backup and recovery. You can read more about how to create a boot disk and how to use it in the article Restoring the system using Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
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Hello, friends!
Finding and installing drivers is a real headache for many novice PC users.
In this article, we will look at several examples of where and how to look for drivers for your computer or laptop.
Most often, the problem with finding drivers occurs after reinstalling the Windows operating system. I wrote about how to reinstall Windows using a disk in this article, installing Windows from a flash drive
How do I know which devices need drivers installed? To do this, right-click on the computer icon → select the properties tab → Device Manager.
In this example, all drivers are installed correctly and work correctly. If one of the items shows question mark, which means we will need to search for a driver for this device.
Usually, when you purchase a laptop or assembled computer, it comes with a disk with the necessary drivers and utilities. The laptop comes with one disk with all the drivers, and the computer separately; Usually these are drivers for the chipset, video card, sound card driver, lan..etc. Everything is simple here, install the disk and start installing the necessary drivers.
Before searching for device drivers for your system, I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the five hardware ones. If there is no driver disk, use method 2.
Download drivers from the manufacturer's official website
Let's look at the example of the Asus K42f laptop. Go to the official Asus website and enter this model in the search. Select the tab → download and indicate your operating system (you can find out the system by going to → My Computer → (rpm) → Properties).
We are looking for all the necessary drivers. The most important drivers are Chipset, Sound, VGA, LAN (network) drivers, etc. If this method does not help, use the next, third method.
Search for a driver by device code.
Let's go back to Device Manager. Computer → pcm → Properties. Let's say we don't have an audio controller driver...see the picture.
Right-click on it and select → properties. In the open window, select the “Information” tab, and in the drop-down menu you need to select → “ Equipment ID" (in Windows XP " Device Instance ID»).
Example of such code VEN_8086&DEV_0046. Select it with the left key and copy it by pressing the key combination Ctrl+C. Now go to the website www.devid.info In the search field paste ( Ctrl+V) copied code.
Click “Ok”, after which a list of drivers for this device will appear → download and install. It didn’t work → use the 4th method.