Update drivers in Windows 10

Before you begin

Driver updates for Windows 10, along with many devices, such as network adapters, monitors, printers, and video cards, are automatically downloaded and installed through Windows Update. You probably already have the most recent drivers, but if you’d like to manually update or reinstall a driver, here’s how:

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 select Uninstall.

Restart your PC.

Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver.

More help

If you can’t see the desktop and instead see a blue, black, or blank screen, see Troubleshoot blue screen errors or Troubleshoot black or blank screen errors.

A device driver is not installed or a hardware device does not function correctly after you install a Windows Vista Service Pack

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

Symptoms

After you install a Windows Vista Service Pack on a computer that is running Windows Vista, a hardware device does not work correctly. Additionally, if you open Device Manager, you might see an exclamation point next to the name of the hardware device.

Resolution

The device driver might not be installed or it might not be installed correctly. Follow these steps to determine whether Device Manager can find the device and to install or reinstall the device driver as necessary:

Step 1: Determine whether the device driver is found in Device Manager

Click Start, type Device Manager in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

Click Continue. The Device Manager dialog box is displayed.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

In the list of device types, click the type of device, and then locate the specific device that is not functioning.

If an exclamation point appears next to the name of the device that is not functioning, Device Manager cannot find the device driver. Go to step 3, «Use Windows Update to find a device driver.»

If no exclamation point appears next to the name of the device that is not functioning correctly, go to step 2, «Uninstall and reinstall the device drivers.»

Close Device Manager.

Step 2: Uninstall and reinstall the device drivers

If no exclamation point appears next to the name of the device and the device does not function correctly, manually uninstall and reinstall the device drivers. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, type Device Manager in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

Click Continue. The Device Manager dialog box is displayed.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

In the list of device types, click the kind of device, and then locate the specific device that is not functioning.

Right-click the device, and then click Properties.

Click the Driver tab.

In the Device Manager dialog box, click the Action menu, and then click Scan for hardware changes.

You may receive a message that states that Windows has to install driver software for your unknown device. If you receive this message, click Locate and install driver software (recommended).

You may also receive a message that states that a hardware device is being installed and that the uninstalled device is now present in Device Manager.

Note If you do not receive either message or the hardware device is not installed, go to step 3, «Use Windows Update to find a device driver.»

If the device is installed correctly and functions correctly, you have resolved the problem and you are finished. If the device is installed but still does not seem to be functioning correctly, go to the «Next steps» section.

Step 3: Use Windows Update to find a device driver

Note To use Windows Update, you must be logged on to the computer as an administrator. To verify that you are logged on to Windows with a user account that is a computer administrator, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/admin Follow these steps to use Windows Update to scan for a device driver:

Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Windows Update.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

Click Check for updates.

To determine whether updated drivers are available, click View available updates.

If updates are available, click the driver that you want to install, and then click Install.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

If Windows Update is unable to locate the required device driver, contact the device manufacturer to download the latest device driver for Windows Vista. For information about how to do this, see the «More Information» section.

If these methods did not resolve the issue, go to the «Next steps» section.

NEXT STEPS

If these steps did not resolve your issue, you may want to ask someone you know for help, or you may want to contact the device manufacturer. You can also use the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site to find other solutions to your problem. Some services that the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site provides include the following:

Searchable Knowledge Base: Search technical support information and self-help tools for Microsoft products.

Solution Centers: View product-specific frequently asked questions and support highlights.

Other Support Options: Use the Web to ask a question, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, or provide feedback.

If you continue to have problems after you use these Microsoft Web sites or if you cannot find a solution to the problem on the Microsoft Support Services Web site, click the following link to contact Support.

More Information

For information about how to contact hardware and software vendors, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and software vendor contact information, A-K

60781 Hardware and software vendor contact information, L-P

60782 Hardware and software vendor contact information, Q-ZMicrosoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

For more information about how to troubleshoot audio problems that may occur after you install Windows Vista Service Pack 1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

948481 You experience problems with sound after you install Windows Vista Service Pack 1

For help with device problems in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft web page:

Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it. the file specified could not be found (0x00000002)

Replies (9) 

Thank you for posting the query in Microsoft Community.

To resolve the issue with the installation of printer drivers follow these steps:

I would suggest you to download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

Restart the computer to advance boot options and select the option “Disable Driver Signature Enforcement” and then try to install the printer drivers:

Advanced startup options (including safe mode)

Let us know if it helps.

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Thank you for posting the query in Microsoft Community.

To resolve the issue with the installation of printer drivers follow these steps:

I would suggest you to download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

Restart the computer to advance boot options and select the option “Disable Driver Signature Enforcement” and then try to install the printer drivers:

Advanced startup options (including safe mode)

Let us know if it helps.

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are you up to date

at the amd website for your system ?

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Nothing in this system is AMD, so nothing to update from them. Intel Xenon based machine with an Nvidea graphics card.

this may not aply to your situation , but maybe it will .

i moved an hp all in one printer from my xp 32 bit pc to my win7 64 bit pc .

installed the software that came with the printer ,went to the hp website and they

replaced most or all of it online .

the printer worked fine for about a month ,then it decided to get quay jammed.

nothing i tried got it to work untill i did this :

went to services and stopped the print spooler , rebooted ,whent to printers and un installed it .

rebooted , the software reloaded ,windows said it was ok ,

went back to print spooler and made sure it was set to automatic .

printed a test page , weak black , no color , went and bought about 70 bucks

worth of ink cartriges , installed them crosed my fingers and printed a test page .

works fine ,a ok .

it seems that getting rid of the old rezidualls let the new stuff install properly .

Device windows found driver software

This forum is closed. Thank you for your contributions.

Answered by:

Question

«Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error installing»

I’ve spent hours researching this error — Seems like many people have the same issue although there is no difinitive fix or known cause.

I’m hoping someone here has an answer.

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 OEM (HP)

This is not an upgraded Vista system.

It’s not a specific driver related issue as it’s the same response/effect be it graphics/chip set/usb/printer drivers.

Please dont suggest to flatten and re-install or run a repair install — It’s not an option, I only have remote access to the unit
as it’s currently in field use.

This is a machine specific issue — identical machine purchased at the same time and configured the same has no issue.

User has been fine for weeks — no hardware of software changes except Windows Updates.

A Camera/USB connection that was working no longer does.
Tried in all USB ports

Plug in — windows announces found new hardware, tries to install drivers then fails
with «Windows found software for your device but encountered an error installing . «

Device manager finds and identifies device although it is in the ‘Unknown Device» category.

Manually updating drivers via search/internet or point directly at a driver has exactly the same effect.

Thinking this was just the camera drivers — I researched and downloaded new drivers from camera manufacturers sites
Fuji and Canon.

Deleted/uninstalled drivers completely, deleted/uninstalled all USB root hub and USB devices (hidden and visible)

SFC /Scannow finds no error

Cold boot finds USB and chipset(?) devices on boot attempts to reinstall then we get

«Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error installing»

So now I have no usb devices at all — memory stick/card reader/printer. nada.

in fact if I try to update any device driver I get the same message generated.

Restore point does not help either.

After much trawling I found reference to a permisions issue and stale driver cache data.
(This is using an administrator account — not user with admin permissions?)
I’m willing to try anything at this time

I deleted the infcache.1 and other .dat files under c:\windows\system32\driverstore
Copied the usb .inf and .pnf from the appropriate FileRepository directory into c:\windows\inf
Uninstalled all the usb/unkown devices from device manager again.

Takes a little longer to boot as I take it it’s rebuilding the driver cache then

a very short hurrah.

I can now use usb memory card and pen drives — no issue

Plug in a camera or printer.

«Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error installing»

Several attempt at this trying different driver versions.
It should not be vendor specific, the other field machine that works is using Microsoft drivers for these devices.
I even copied the drivers from one machine to the other — repeated everything above.

«Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error installing»

And then the nail in my sanity

Try windows update.
Reboot

«Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error installing»

but this time its different.

The device it thinks it cannot install is the generic MTP-PTP drivers (Photo Transfer Protocol -so am I getting somewhere)
so it still finds but cannot install.

The cameras are always found but appear as ‘unknown devices’ and cannot be accessed

Uninstall all USB/unkown again — reboot..

Same message and this time I’ve lost all the USB again.

Restore point to before Win Update gets me USB back again although I still have no cameras — so theres an update issue as well.

This has to be tied down to a file access/ registry problem although I’m loath to go cutting about without some guidance.

I’m no great believer in ‘registry cleaners’ unless anyone can point to a definitive/no ad’s/sales version that really works.

As I said above, flattening/rebuild at this time is not an option — the user is not best pleased and I’m completley stumped.

If anyone has experienced(manu of you have) and fixed(still to find one) this issue please let me know how as soon as possible.

Answers

This issue occurs due to Driver software path is not specified .

In-place upgrade would be the best choice.

If you would like to fix them one by one, please Locat and install the driver software from the c:\windows\winsxs folder.

Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”

• Marked as answer by Magon Liu Moderator Monday, September 26, 2011 7:06 AM

All replies

This issue occurs due to Driver software path is not specified .

In-place upgrade would be the best choice.

If you would like to fix them one by one, please Locat and install the driver software from the c:\windows\winsxs folder.

Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”

• Marked as answer by Magon Liu Moderator Monday, September 26, 2011 7:06 AM

Thanks for this. The solution worked for my flash drives. And the problem was getting to be a major headache.

Your solution worked great.

I. dont understand what this means, but i am also having the same problem, what do you do in the winsxs folder to fix this issue?

• you go into Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager.
• Device Manager will display the non working device
• right click on that device
• choose Update Driver Software
• choose Browse my computer fro driver software
• Enter «c:\windows\winsxs» in the edit field named «search for driver software in this location».
• Please verify that this directory exists on your computer. If your windows directory is named or located somewhere else, replace c:\windows by whatever you have.
• Driver Update will search c:\windows\winsxs for the drivers there, this will take a while.
• Good news. This will also fix this issue for subsequent driver installations — at least on my computer.

KLAUS J ISBRUCH

• you go into Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager.
• Device Manager will display the non working device
• right click on that device
• choose Update Driver Software
• choose Browse my computer fro driver software
• Enter «c:\windows\winsxs» in the edit field named «search for driver software in this location».
• Please verify that this directory exists on your computer. If your windows directory is named or located somewhere else, replace c:\windows by whatever you have.
• Driver Update will search c:\windows\winsxs for the drivers there, this will take a while.
• Good news. This will also fix this issue for subsequent driver installations — at least on my computer.

KLAUS J ISBRUCH

I tried this, but it said the driver wasn’t found in that folder either. The missing driver is for a «Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller» listed under Other Devices.

I’ve done an online diagnostics from the Dell site and installed the latest updates it recommended, but this item still keeps popping up.

Any other suggestions?

this did not work for me, I have a intel hd 4000 driver not working comes up in device manager under other devices. i tried up dating it so many times and keep getting the same results. Please help

I tried this, but it said the driver wasn’t found in that folder either. The missing driver is for a «Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller» listed under Other Devices.

I’ve done an online diagnostics from the Dell site and installed the latest updates it recommended, but this item still keeps popping up.

Any other suggestions?

Exact same as me. Any suggestions?

I thought it was over in my lap, but hardly searching for the solution. When I read your answer, without hope I was trying but exactly solved my issue. cheers man ..keep rocking ..

I followed the steps you gave but with no success, i got the message below:

Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.

USB composite device
Access is denied.

Do you know how i would resolve that?

I followed the steps you gave but with no success, i got the message below:

Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.

USB composite device
Access is denied.

Do you know how i would resolve that?

Me too. Exactly the same message.

I tried both of the suggestions:

• you go into Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager.
• Device Manager will display the non working device
• right click on that device
• choose Update Driver Software
• choose Browse my computer fro driver software
• Enter «c:\windows\winsxs» in the edit field named «search for driver software in this location».

And also installing Download Driver Booster By Iobit.

Still seeing this error when plugging my Nikon camera:

«This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31)»

When I try to update this driver in Properties:

«Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date» for MTP USB Device.

I just wanted to post what worked for me. I had trouble installing my Canon scanner driver and would get the failure to update message. I disabled web root and went to update the driver and the scanner was detected successfully. So it could be your antivirus.

I know I am replying to an old thread — but I have the answer and resolved this error, and since this message comes up first in search results, and part of my answer came from this thread, I wanted to help someone else as this took an extra 12 hours and a lot of technical insight to resolve. See below for detailed explanation that others ask for above.

My original issue was that iTunes didnt reinstall. generating this error that said I am trying to access an unavailable network resource and to browse to find itunes64setup (again). This may partly have been due to me deleting old install version folders.

Research led me to completely uninstall apple products and reinstall per their instruction and fixed the issue with iTunes. see Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 — Apple Support

The SAME error I had while updating itunes recurred while uninstalling it from my Windows 7 SP1 system. so I went to microsoft Fixit and attempted to correct and it properly uninstalled iTunes for me, which allowed the reinstall.

What didnt work was my USB web root/ root hub, which partly involved my older system and USB 1.0, and the delete/reinstall existing drivers with the c:\windows\winsxs folder as source of drivers (thank you Magon Liu. ) which I had to figure out what/why and how.

Then I had an intel chipset issue. my new Iphone wasn’t recognizing in plug and play, and there was an error with installing the device drivers for my new iphone 6. Manual applications didn’t work, even though a generic device showed in control panel — device manager with a yellow !

Per above blog answer — I tried to remove and reinstall my USB controller or update the drivers (I have an Alienware M15 laptop — a few years old.) I discovered that the USB host controller — an Intel(R) 5 Series / 3400 Series Chipset family USB Enhanced Host controller — (port) was not covered by current Intel chipset programs which are Series 6 and later, but did have an update (8/20/2009 v9.1.1.1020) that supported USB 2.0 (and therefore 3.0 backwards compatibility which as an issue with my new iPhone and some USB thumb drives.) To find this I had to look at the Support — Downloads and Drivers — browse for drivers and somewhere found an option to look for older no longer supported drivers. I found infinst_autol.exe for my case.

Once downloaded I tried to install and failed. Found the log in C:\Intel\Logs and contains:

Previous driver package =

! Warning 0xE0000235: DriverPackageGetPath failed.

Execute command: C:\Users\DAVIDS

1\AppData\Local\Temp\IPMx7\x64\Difx64.exe -DriverInf «C:\Users\DAVIDS

1\AppData\Local\Temp\IPMx7\WIN7\ibexusb.inf» -Flags 20 -KeyPath «Software\Intel\Difx64»

. ERROR 0xE0000246: DriverPackageInstall generated an unexpected error

HERE’S THE ADDED EXPLANATION TO BRIAN’S POST THAT EXPLAINS THE SECURITY ISSUE:

This turned out to be an error for two reasons. First, after manually running the command in an «run as administrator» window (same error result), thinking it related to my anti-virus (turned that off/disabled firewall and A/V), and from this thread granting my user administrative rights to files in an install folder and trying to reinstall inf files and drivers from C:\Windows\winsxs vs my copied infinst_autol.exe expansion (as found from log in C:\Users\David Samuels\AppData\Local\Temp\IPMx7\WIN7 folder). that there was an easier solution as the reason this error actually happens is a permissions problem .

To access the proper windows system folders — you have to be the TrustedInstaller service — not just in the administrator group. or you have to be the actual «Administrator» account. To become actual administrator on your own laptop, Open a command window «run CMD.exe as administrator», then execute command

> net user administrator /active:yes

This creates a local PC Administrator account with no password. Coincidentally it has proper permissions to windows directories for installing drivers. Log in as this user, go to device manager and update the USB hub and any other drivers. if updating the USB root — it doesn’t replace it right away as the system cant disable the currently resident in memory «running» driver — you have to update, then restart the system, log in as administrator and repeat at the next lower layer that has issues.

Once completed — log in as yourself again and disable the administrator account in a command window with > net user administrator /active:no

This in my case enabled all my USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices on my originally only USB 1.0 laptop and everything else works properly again — I hope this helps many of you to resolve your own issues that were difficult to find and resolve and that got as far as this thread. Good luck!