Understanding Windows Update rules for driver distribution

This article describes how you can control when Windows Update distributes your driver.

When submitting a driver to Windows Update, the Driver Delivery Options section presents two radio buttons: Automatic and Manual

Under the Automatic option there are two checkboxes: Automatically delivered during Windows Upgrades and Automatically delivered to all applicable systems. Automatic is the default setting for all new shipping labels.

When the first checkbox is selected, the driver is classified as a Dynamic Update (a term that applies to upgrade scenarios). Windows automatically preloads drivers in this category when upgrading the OS.

When the second checkbox is selected, the driver is downloaded and installed automatically on all applicable systems once it is released. All Automatic drivers must first have been evaluated by Microsoft through Driver Flighting.

For more info about the Manual option, see Publish a driver to Windows Update.

User plugs in a device

When a device is connected to a Windows system:

Plug and Play (PnP) looks for a compatible driver already available on the computer. If one exists, Windows installs it on the device. Then, during the next daily scan of Windows Update, Windows searches for a more up-to-date version of the driver. This can take up to 24 hours from when the device is plugged in.

If there is no compatible driver on the computer, Windows searches Windows Update for the highest-ranking Automatic driver.

When searching Windows Update:

In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, if no Automatic driver is available for the device, Windows proceeds to the highest-ranking Manual driver.

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, Windows does not search for a Manual driver when an Automatic driver is not available. For info on how to access Manual drivers, see the Windows Update section of this page.

Device Manager

In Device Manager, when a user selects Update driver:

• In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, Windows installs the highest-ranking driver from Windows Update, regardless of whether it is classified as Automatic or Manual.
• Starting in Windows 10 version 2004, Windows only searches the local computer.

When it fails to find a driver, Device Manager shows a button labeled Search for updated drivers on Windows Update, which opens the Settings app to the Windows Update page. To find this button, right-click a device and select Properties. On the Driver tab, select Update Driver and then Search automatically for drivers.

• Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, click Search for updated drivers on Windows Update and then select View optional updates->Driver updates to download Manual drivers.
• In earlier versions of Windows, Device Manager downloads Manual drivers on its own.

Windows Update

During a Windows Update scan (scheduled or user-initiated):

In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, Windows Update automatically distributes Manual drivers in either of the following scenarios:

• A device has no applicable drivers available in the Driver Store (raising a «driver not found» error), and there is no applicable Automatic driver
• A device has only a generic driver in the Driver Store, which provides only basic device functionality, and there is no applicable Automatic driver

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, Windows Update distributes only Automatic drivers for a system’s devices. When Manual drivers are available for devices on the computer, the Windows Update page in the Settings app displays View optional updates .

Summary

The following table summarizes the information above. Windows Update is abbreviated WU.

Understanding Windows Update rules for driver distribution

This article describes how you can control when Windows Update distributes your driver.

When submitting a driver to Windows Update, the Driver Delivery Options section presents two radio buttons: Automatic and Manual

Under the Automatic option there are two checkboxes: Automatically delivered during Windows Upgrades and Automatically delivered to all applicable systems. Automatic is the default setting for all new shipping labels.

When the first checkbox is selected, the driver is classified as a Dynamic Update (a term that applies to upgrade scenarios). Windows automatically preloads drivers in this category when upgrading the OS.

When the second checkbox is selected, the driver is downloaded and installed automatically on all applicable systems once it is released. All Automatic drivers must first have been evaluated by Microsoft through Driver Flighting.

For more info about the Manual option, see Publish a driver to Windows Update.

User plugs in a device

When a device is connected to a Windows system:

Plug and Play (PnP) looks for a compatible driver already available on the computer. If one exists, Windows installs it on the device. Then, during the next daily scan of Windows Update, Windows searches for a more up-to-date version of the driver. This can take up to 24 hours from when the device is plugged in.

If there is no compatible driver on the computer, Windows searches Windows Update for the highest-ranking Automatic driver.

When searching Windows Update:

In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, if no Automatic driver is available for the device, Windows proceeds to the highest-ranking Manual driver.

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, Windows does not search for a Manual driver when an Automatic driver is not available. For info on how to access Manual drivers, see the Windows Update section of this page.

Device Manager

In Device Manager, when a user selects Update driver:

• In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, Windows installs the highest-ranking driver from Windows Update, regardless of whether it is classified as Automatic or Manual.
• Starting in Windows 10 version 2004, Windows only searches the local computer.

When it fails to find a driver, Device Manager shows a button labeled Search for updated drivers on Windows Update, which opens the Settings app to the Windows Update page. To find this button, right-click a device and select Properties. On the Driver tab, select Update Driver and then Search automatically for drivers.

• Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, click Search for updated drivers on Windows Update and then select View optional updates->Driver updates to download Manual drivers.
• In earlier versions of Windows, Device Manager downloads Manual drivers on its own.

Windows Update

During a Windows Update scan (scheduled or user-initiated):

In Windows 10, version 1909 and earlier, Windows Update automatically distributes Manual drivers in either of the following scenarios:

• A device has no applicable drivers available in the Driver Store (raising a «driver not found» error), and there is no applicable Automatic driver
• A device has only a generic driver in the Driver Store, which provides only basic device functionality, and there is no applicable Automatic driver

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, Windows Update distributes only Automatic drivers for a system’s devices. When Manual drivers are available for devices on the computer, the Windows Update page in the Settings app displays View optional updates .

Summary

The following table summarizes the information above. Windows Update is abbreviated WU.

Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware

Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

You can have Windows automatically download recommended drivers and detailed information for your hardware and devices. This is a good way to make sure all your hardware and devices work properly.

Drivers and information

Windows can find and download two kinds of updates for devices connected to your computer:

Drivers. A driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware devices. Without drivers, the devices you connect to your computer—for example, a mouse or external hard drive—won’t work properly. Windows can automatically check if there are drivers available for new devices that you connect to your computer.

For hardware that you’ve connected to your computer in the past, updated drivers might become available at a later date; but those drivers aren’t installed automatically. To install these optional updates, go to Windows Update in Control Panel, check for updates, and then view and install driver updates that are available for your computer.

Information. Windows can download high-resolution icons for many hardware devices that you connect to your computer, along with detailed information about them, such as product name, manufacturer, and model number—even detailed information about the sync capabilities of a device. These details can make it easier for you to distinguish between similar devices that are connected to your computer, such as different mobile phones.

You can check Windows Update at any time to see if it found new drivers and icons for your hardware, especially if you recently installed a new device. If you want to have Windows Update automatically check for the latest drivers and icons, here’s how:

Open Devices and Printers by clicking the Start button , and then, on the Start menu, clicking Devices and Printers.

Right-click the name of your computer, and then click Device installation settings.

Click Yes, do this automatically (recommended), and then click Save changes. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

If Yes is already selected, click Cancel to close the dialog box.

To get all important and recommended updates for your computer and your devices, make sure that Windows Update is turned on and configured properly.

Even if you have Windows Update set to automatically download and install all important and recommended updates, you still might not be getting all of the updated drivers available for your devices. For instance, optional updates might include updated drivers that become available for hardware or devices you’ve already installed. Windows doesn’t automatically download and install optional updates, but you will be notified when optional updates are available.

To get all the available updates for your devices, periodically check Windows Update for all available updates, including optional updates. You can review the available updates and then select them from the list of updates that Windows finds for your computer. Here’s how to do this:

Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.

In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.

If there are any available updates, click the link in the box under Windows Update to see more information about each update. Each type of update might include drivers.

On the Select the updates you want to install page, look for updates for your hardware devices, select the check box for each driver that you want to install, and then click OK. There might not be any driver updates available.

On the Windows Update page, click Install updates. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Windows Update tells you if an update is important, recommended, or optional.

Some updates require you to restart your computer.

Windows Update will tell you if the updates were successfully installed.

How to force Windows to start downloading the Windows 10 update files

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Windows 10 is here! Well, it’s here for a lot of people, but many of us still cannot download it until Microsoft says it’s OK (unless you want to do it manually).

Windows 10

You see, Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 in waves. That means even if your computer is ready, you won’t necessarily be able to download Windows 10 right away. Waiting, however, is for suckers.

Even if the Windows 10 install app still says it will “notify you when ready,” you can force Windows 7 or Windows 8 to start downloading the Windows 10 files (thanks to Reddit’s Windows 10 subreddit for helping us figure this out). We’ve laid out the instructions with screenshots to guide you through it.

First, navigate to “C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download” (you may need to replace C: with a different drive letter if you installed Windows elsewhere) and delete all the files there. This will give Windows Update a clean slate.

Open Windows Update by hitting the Windows key, typing “Windows Update” and clicking on it.

Open up the command prompt by hitting the Windows key and typing in cmd. Don’t hit enter. Right click and choose “Run as administrator.”

Type (but do not enter yet) “wuauclt.exe /updatenow” — this is the command to force Windows Update to check for updates.

Back in the Windows Update window, click “Check for updates” on the left hand side. It should say “Checking for updates…”

While this is happening, switch back to the command prompt and enter the command you already typed in.

You should now see Windows Update say that it is downloading Windows 10. Before you actually install it though, back everything up and make sure you’re ready.

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