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 install software

The installation process for software or apps depends on your operating system (Windows and macOS), device (computer, smartphone, or tablet), and the program you are installing. As a result of these many combinations, we have created the steps below as a general guideline. The following does not cover errors during the installation process, as they are too vast for one page. Search our site for further information on specific errors during the setup.

General tips

• Make sure your computer meets the system requirements of the program, game, or utility you are attempting to install.
• The manual, or a README file, usually contains instructions on how to install a program. Find it online at the software website or in a text file in the same directory as the installation files.
• If you have problems installing software, or it takes a long time, close or disable any other running programs.
• After installing a new program, if it prompts you to reboot the computer, do so.

Microsoft Windows users

How to install from a CD or DVD

Many software titles, games, and utilities have an AutoPlay feature. This feature automatically starts a setup screen for the software when the CD or DVD is inserted. If your program contains this feature, follow the steps that appear after inserting the disc into the computer.

If AutoPlay is disabled on your computer or unavailable on the software disc, follow these steps.

1. Open My Computer.
2. In the My Computer window, open the drive containing the installation files. For example, if the files are on the CD-ROM drive, open the D: drive or letter of your CD-ROM drive.
3. In the drive containing your files, locate either the executablesetup (e.g., «setup.exe») or install file. Double-clicking this file starts the installation process. If there are multiple setup or install files, locate the executable file or double-click each setup or install file until you find the file that starts the installation.

Many times the icons associated with the installation files have the same name.

Install a CD on a computer with no disc drive

Many new computers no longer have disc drives. If your computer does not have a disc drive, try finding the software online. Computer drivers, software for hardware devices, games, and other programs are available for download and installed from a download. If you have the product key, it doesn’t matter where you get the program.

If the program is not available for download, copy all the CD or DVD contents to another drive on another computer. For example, you could copy the disc’s contents to a USB flash drive and then install the program from the USB flash drive.

How to install from a Download

1. Download the program from the website providing the program.
2. Open the download folder.

• Where are the files I downloaded using my web browser?

1. If the file you downloaded is executable, double-click the file icon to start the setup process. If the downloaded file is compressed (e.g., .zip), you must extract the file’s contents before setup can begin. Fortunately, this function is built into most versions of Windows.

• How to extract or decompress a compressed file.

1. Once the files are extracted, double-click the setup or install file to install the program.

How to install from a USB flash drive

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer and find the USB drive that is often the last drive letter.
2. Once the drive is opened, find the setup or executable file, and double-click the file icon to start the setup process.

Installing from MS-DOS or the Windows command line

Users installing a program from Microsoft DOS should have a basic understanding of the MS-DOS commands. If you’re unfamiliar with any of the commands listed below, click the link to get additional information on that specific command.

1. Before installing an MS-DOS program, you must switch to the drive or directory containing the installation files. If you’re installing a program from a CD or diskette, switch to that drive. If the installation files are located in a different directory, use the dir command to list directories and the cd command to switch directories.

• How to change drives in MS-DOS and Windows command line.

1. Once you are in the directory or drive containing the installation files, run the executable setup file. Many times this can be done by typing setup or install at the prompt to start the installation. If both of these commands give a bad command or file name error message, type dir *.exe or dir *.com or dir *.bat. These commands list any executable files found in the directory or drive. If any files are listed, execute these files to run the installation or setup of the program. If no files are listed when typing all three of the commands above, you’re in the incorrect directory or drive letter for that program.

• How do I run a file from MS-DOS?

How to install on a Mac

Modern Apple computers, like the iMac and MacBook, don’t have CD-ROM or DVD drives. Consequently, the following section shows you how to install from a download.

How to install from a download

1. Click the Finder icon on the Dock at the bottom of the screen.

1. On the left side of the window that appears, under the Favorites section, click the selector.
2. Locate the program you’d like to install and double-click it.

1. Follow the guided instructions to install the program.
2. Once the program is installed, drag it to the Applications folder and delete the installation file (in this case, FileZilla_3.49_macosx-x86.app.tar.bz2).

1. Click the selector to see the program you installed.

Automatic installation for UWP device apps

In WindowsВ 8.1, device manufacturers can configure their UWP device apps to automatically install when the user connects their device to the PC. This topic describes how automatic installation works and how the app, metadata, and drivers can be updated and uninstalled. For more info about device apps, see Meet UWP device apps.

NoteВ В It’s important to consider that the automatic installation feature does not provide a notification to the user when the app is installed. Some users may find this experience confusing and frustrating, and give your app a bad rating.

Automatic installation is enabled when you specify your device app’s package details in the UWP device app portion of the App Info page of the Device Metadata Authoring Wizard. For more info, see Step 2: Create device metadata.

Acquisition overview

A UWP device app can be acquired by the user in one of three ways:

• Automatic installation: The app is automatically acquired and installed the first time a peripheral device is connected to the PC. This is the most common way a UWP device app is installed.
• Manual install: The user finds an app in the Microsoft Store and installs it from there. This is typically how app updates and other UWP apps are installed.
• OEM preinstall: An app for a PC internal device or system component can be preinstalled by an OEM as part of a new PC. For more info, see Preinstall Apps Using DISM.

NoteВ В UWP device apps for PC internal devices are not eligible for automatic installation. They can only be acquired through manual install and OEM preinstall.

Requirements

In order for automatic installation to work, the user needs to:

Opt in to the Recommended Settings during Windows installation.

Be signed in to the Microsoft Store.

This allows Windows to automatically acquire the metadata, app, and drivers (if needed). If no Internet connection is available, the automatic installation will happen at a later time, when it can access the Internet.

How automatic installation works

There are four stages to automatic installation:

Device is connected: When the device is plugged in or paired with the PC, Windows requests the device metadata from Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) and, if needed, the device drivers from Windows Update.

Device metadata is downloaded: Windows downloads the device metadata from WMIS and parses it to identify the app that’s associated with the device. This triggers the download of the app.

Device drivers are downloaded: If drivers are needed, Windows downloads them from Windows Update and automatically installs them.

Device app is installed: Windows downloads the app and installs it to the All Apps screen of the currently logged-in user.

If there’s an error during any of these steps, the user will see an error message on the Devices page of the Settings app.

If there is no Internet connection

If the PC isn’t connected to the Internet or is on a metered connection, Windows will wait to perform the automatic installation. The next time the PC has an unrestricted Internet connection, Windows will automatically try again. The installation is performed silently in the background, without interruption to the user.

If the user is not logged into the Microsoft Store

If the user isn’t logged in to the Microsoft Store with a Microsoft account, Windows will wait to perform the automatic installation. The next time the user logs in to the Microsoft Store with a Microsoft account, Windows will automatically try again. The installation is performed silently in the background, without interruption to the user.

Updating device drivers

Driver updates are distributed through Windows Update as optional updates, as long as the user has opted in to receiving updates from Windows Update. Driver updates aren’t automatically distributed to devices if the user has completed device setup and already has metadata and drivers installed.

Driver updates aren’t coupled to app updates, so driver updates should be designed to ensure compatibility with existing apps. If a driver update is distributed through Windows Update, or if the user manually reinstalls or updates the driver, the app should handle this appropriately. If your app uses a custom driver, be sure to maintain compatibility and functional contracts. For more info, see UWP device apps for internal devices.

Updating device metadata

The metadata that’s distributed by WMIS can be updated to point to a new or different UWP device app. About 8 to 15 days after the submission of updated metadata that indicates a new app, new devices that are connected and set up for the first time will get the new app. But a new app indicated in updated metadata isn’t automatically distributed to PCs for which the device setup is already complete, because the users have previously received device metadata for the device.

The UWP device app is automatically downloaded only once, when the device is initially set up. If the device metadata is updated to point to a different app, the old app should advertise the new one to the user, so that users can acquire it from the Microsoft Store manually. Eventually, the old app should be removed from the Microsoft Store. Users can also get to the new app by going to the Devices page on the Settings app and clicking the Get app link for that device.

Special note for adding privileged access: If newer metadata grants a UWP device app privileged access to a device (when access did not exist before), submit your metadata at least 20 days before you submit your app. The new metadata will be available to new users 8-15 days after it is submitted. Then, publish the app update to the Microsoft Store. When the user gets the app update, assuming that the user updated any required driver, the app will have privileged access to the device.

Updating device apps

UWP device app updates are manually triggered by users, just like any other UWP app updates. The Microsoft Store shows all available app updates to the user. The user manually chooses to update the app. You should design apps to be compatible with older metadata and drivers. The device metadata or driver might not be up-to-date with the app, since manual installation of a UWP device app from the Microsoft Store doesn’t automatically trigger distribution of metadata or drivers.

Uninstalling device software

The device driver and device metadata are uninstalled independently of the Microsoft Store device app. When a user uninstalls a device, only the driver and metadata are automatically uninstalled as part of the device uninstall.

The UWP device app must be manually uninstalled by the user. When that’s done, the device driver and device metadata are not automatically uninstalled.