How to temporarily prevent a driver update from reinstalling in Windows 10

In Windows 10, your device is always kept up-to-date with the latest features and fixes. Drivers are installed automatically so that you don’t have to select which updates are needed. In rare cases, a specific driver might temporarily cause issues that affect your device. In this situation, you can prevent the problematic driver from reinstalling automatically the next time Windows Updates are installed.

Rolling back a device driver

If a driver that you are offered is causing system crashes or instability, and if Windows was operating correctly before that change, you can use this method to roll back the driver to the previous version.

The appropriate steps to roll back a driver installation depend on the version of Windows 10 that you have installed. We recommend that you update to the latest version of Windows 10 before you try to uninstall any drivers because this may resolve the issue. You can use Windows Update to check for the latest update by selecting the Start button, then selecting Settings > Update & security > Windows Update , and then Check for updates. Or you can install the latest version of Windows by going to Download Windows 10, and then selecting Update Now.

If you aren’t sure which version of Windows 10 you have, select the Start button, and then select Settings > System > About.

Start Device Manager. To do this, in the search box on the task bar type device manager, and then select Device Manager.

Locate and right-click the device that has the problem driver installed, and then select Properties.

Select the Driver tab, and then select Roll Back Driver.

Important If you don’t have the latest version of Windows 10, we recommend that you update now. To update to the latest version, go to Download Windows 10, and select Update Now.

Start Device Manager. To do this, in the search box on the task bar type device manager, and then select Device Manager.

Locate the category of device and right-click the device that has the problem driver installed, select Properties, and then choose the Driver tab.

In the Confirm Device Uninstall dialog box, select the Delete the driver software for this device check box.

Choose your automatic updates

To prevent the driver from being reinstalled by Windows Update, use the “Show or Hide Updates” troubleshooter to hide the driver. Window Update won’t install hidden drivers or updates.

Download the troubleshooter from the Microsoft Download Center:

How to Disable Automatic Driver Downloads on Windows 10

By Bryan Clark 21 February 2017

Buried deep within the old Control Panel, Windows 10 still has the option to avoid installing drivers as part of Windows Updates. For most of us, the drivers are a welcome addition to keep things running smoothly, but the tinkerers out there like things a certain way, and updating a driver might change previously stored settings.

1. Right click the Start button and select Control Panel.

2. Make your way to System and Security.

3. Click System.

4. Click Advanced system settings from the left sidebar.

5. Select the Hardware tab.

6. Press the Device Installation Settings button.

7. Choose No, and then press the Save Changes button.

How to disable Automatic Driver Updates in Windows 10

While simply plugging in the device and letting Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 install the driver automatically is cool, you may for some reason prefer not to have the Driver installed automatically. You can if you wish, stop windows from installing the drivers automatically. You can stop automatic Driver updates in Windows 10/8/7. If you follow this tutorial, you can disable automatic driver installation for specific devices in Windows 10, using Control Panel, Windows Registry, or Group Policy Editor.

Disable Automatic Driver Updates

1] Using Control Panel

While it is recommended that you let make Windows download Drivers & Realistic Icons automatically if you wish, you can stop Windows 10/8 from automatically installing Drivers, open Control panel > Advanced System settings > Hardware tab > Device Installation settings.

You can also access it by opening Control Panel > Device & printers > Right-click the Computer under Devices and select Device Installation settings.

You will be asked, Do you want to download driver software and realistic icons for your devices?

Here select No, let me choose what to do. Click Save changes.

2] Using Group Policy Editor

Type gpedit.msc in start search and hit Enter to open Group Policy Editor.

Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > Device Installation.

Now in the RHS pane double click on Prevent Installation of Devices not described by other policy settings.

This policy setting allows you to prevent the installation of devices that are not specifically described by any other policy setting.

If you enable this policy setting, Windows is prevented from installing or updating the device driver for any device that is not described by either the “Allow installation of devices that match any of these device IDs”, the “Allow installation of devices for these device classes”, or the “Allow installation of devices that match any of these device instance IDs” policy setting.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows is allowed to install or update the device driver for any device that is not described by the “Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs”, “Prevent installation of devices for these device classes” policy setting, “Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device instance IDs”, or “Prevent installation of removable devices” policy setting.

Set it at Enabled. Click Apply / OK.

3] Using Windows Registry

If your Windows does not have Group Policy, you can navigate to the following key in Windows Registry:

Set the value of SearchOrderConfig to 0 to block driver updates. A value of 1 allows downloads of driver updates.

Restart your computer.

NOTE: These options don’t prevent the installation of those drivers whose device IDs, device instance IDs, and device classes are added in Group Policy for automatic installation. If you want to prevent the automatic updates of all the drivers, then you can check this post on how to Block Driver Updates via Windows Quality Update.

Stop automatic driver installation or reinstallation

If a Device Driver has already been installed and you want to remove it and then stop that particular driver from being update, do the following:

1. Uninstall the Driver via Devices Manager
2. Use the Show or Hide Updates Tool in Windows 10 to block the particular driver update.

Disable automatic driver installation in Windows 10

How to disable automatic driver installation in Windows 10?

I have this Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter (MacBook Pro 2011 w/ Boot Camp) whose driver I need to roll back to an earlier version for things to work properly, however Windows keeps reinstalling the newer version.

1. Open File Explorer and go to This PC.
2. Then click on System Properties
3. Under the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings group, click on Change settings.
4. Click on the Hardware tab.
5. Under the the Device Installation Settings group, click on Device Installation Settings
6. Now click on No, Let me choose what to do, then select Never Install Drivers from Windows Update.
7. Click on Save Settings, a system reboot is then necessary for the changes to take effect.

2 Answers 2

Open Windows Services from Control Panel>Administrative Tools

Once open find «Device Setup Manager» in the list and double click it, then change startup type to «Disabled»

This will stop automatic driver installation for all hardware.

Here are the steps to fully delete the driver software allowing you to cleanly install the drivers you want:

1. Right-click the Windows Icon on the Taskbar
2. Click Control Panel
3. Open Device Manager
4. Expand Network Adapters by clicking on the little arrow to the left
5. Right-click on the Device for which you want to uninstall the drivers
6. Click Uninstall
7. On the new window be sure to select the option Delete the driver software for this device
8. Click OK and allow the device to be uninstalled
9. Restart the computer

This paired with disabling the automatic install from Windows Update will make it so Windows will not reinstall the device with their own drivers anymore.

All you have to do now is install the device with the drivers you want.

How to disable automatic driver updates on Windows 10

On Windows 10, the automatic update mechanism is a convenient system that provides maintenance and security patches as well as updates for Microsoft products and device drivers.

Although drivers available through Windows Update usually work pretty well, they’re not always the most up to date, and sometimes getting driver updates automatically are known to cause issues on specific hardware configurations.

In previous versions, you’re able to exclude drivers using the Windows Update settings, but that option is no longer available in the Settings app. However, it’s still possible to prevent Windows 10 from downloading driver updates using the Local Group Policy Editor and Registry.

In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to prevent Windows Update from including driver updates during automatic maintenance.

How to stop updates for drivers with Windows Update using Group Policy

If you’re running Windows 10 Pro, the easiest way to stop getting driver updates from Windows Update is using the Local Group Policy Editor with these steps:

1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type gpedit.msc and click OK to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

Browse the following path:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update

On the right side, double-click the Do not include drivers with Windows Update policy.

Select the Enabled option.

Click Apply.

Click OK.

After completing the steps, your device will continue to receive security and other patches, but drivers will be excluded.

If you need help downloading and installing device drivers manually, we have you covered with everything you need to know in this guide.

In the case you change your mind, you can roll back the previous settings using the same instructions, but on step No. 5, select the Not Configured option.

How to stop updates for drivers with Windows Update using Registry

On Windows 10 Home, you won’t have access to the Local Group Policy Editor, but you can still exclude driver updates by modifying the Registry with these steps:

Warning: This is a friendly reminder that editing the Registry is risky, and it can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you don’t do it correctly. It’s recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding.

1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type regedit, and click OK to open the Registry.

Browse the following path:

Quick Tip: On Windows 10, you can now copy and paste the path in the Registry’s address bar to quickly jump to the key destination.

Right-click the Windows (folder) key, select New, and click on Key.

Right-click the newly created key, select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Double-click the newly created DWORD and set the value from 0 to 1.

Once you’ve completed the steps, cumulative updates will continue to download, but you won’t receive updates for drivers.

At any time you can revert the changes using the same instructions, but on step No. 4, inside the WindowsUpdate (folder) key, make sure to right-click the ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate DWORD and select the Delete option.

Wrapping things up

While we’re outlining the steps to disable driver updates, we’re not saying that you should block this type of updates as they’re required for hardware to work correctly. However, there are special cases when you may need to use custom drivers or drivers provided by your manufacturer, instead of those available through Windows Update, and in these situations, this guide can come in handy.

If you’re having problems with a single driver update, it’s recommended to temporarily block that update using the Show or hide updates tool.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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