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 stop Windows 7 automatically installing drivers

Summary

Be default, Windows 7 automatically installs drivers for the devices that are connected to the computer. However, if you do not want Windows 7 to automatically install the drivers, you can use one of the methods listed in this article.

Methods 1: Change device installation setting

Click Start, type devices and printers in the search box, and then click Devices and Printers.

All the devices connected to the computer are listed, including monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and so on.

Under Devices, right-click the icon for the computer, and then click Device installation settings.

A new window pops up asking you whether you want Windows to download driver software.

Click to select No, let me choose what to do, select Never install driver software from Windows update, and then click Save Changes.

Click Yes when you are prompted for confirmation.

Methods 2: Configure group policy settings

Note This method only applies to Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 7 Enterprise.

Click Start, type gpedit.msc in the search box, and then press ENTER. This step opens the Local Group Policy Editor.

(Click Yes if you are prompted.)

Expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand System, expand Device Installation, and then click Device Installation Restrictions.

In the right window, double-click Prevent installation of devices not described by other policy settings.

Click to select Enabled, and then click OK.

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.

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How to stop Windows 7 automatically installing drivers

Summary

Be default, Windows 7 automatically installs drivers for the devices that are connected to the computer. However, if you do not want Windows 7 to automatically install the drivers, you can use one of the methods listed in this article.

Methods 1: Change device installation setting

Click Start, type devices and printers in the search box, and then click Devices and Printers.

All the devices connected to the computer are listed, including monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and so on.

Under Devices, right-click the icon for the computer, and then click Device installation settings.

A new window pops up asking you whether you want Windows to download driver software.

Click to select No, let me choose what to do, select Never install driver software from Windows update, and then click Save Changes.

Click Yes when you are prompted for confirmation.

Methods 2: Configure group policy settings

Note This method only applies to Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 7 Enterprise.

Click Start, type gpedit.msc in the search box, and then press ENTER. This step opens the Local Group Policy Editor.

(Click Yes if you are prompted.)

Expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand System, expand Device Installation, and then click Device Installation Restrictions.

In the right window, double-click Prevent installation of devices not described by other policy settings.

Click to select Enabled, and then click OK.