Updating Drivers?

Even if Windows Update installs current drivers they are the basic version, no Intel Graphics Properties or nVidia/AMD Control Panel to tweak performance and display colors, only the absolute minimum. Yes, this works OK for the average user, but not for us enthusiasts that want to get the maximum range of features and performance out of our hardware. Similarly for other devices. A printer for example has only color/BW, draft/normal/best settings. Not any paper options, not any image enhancement settings, nothing at all, only the absolute minimum. Also when a full OEM driver is replaced by Windows Update in the best case you only lose some features or performance. In worst case you have issues. So if you only use Windows Update drivers you should not worry, you just get the newer version. But if you use official manufacturer drivers you have to keep an eye and manually update the driver before Windows Update replaces them.

bobkn said:

I would never say that Windows Update installs crap drivers.

Old drivers, sometimes. That's mostly an issue for compulsive people. (Such as myself.)

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Well, that is not fault of Windows Update but of driver vendors who do not keep MS upto date.

Anyeay, it is pretty easy to block old drivers using diagcab but that is soon to be retired regrettably.

It is still easy enough to block driver updates but a bit more hassle as not so easy to block a specific update.

cereberus said:

Well, that is not fault of Windows Update but of driver vendors who do not keep MS upto date.

Anyeay, it is pretty easy to block old drivers using diagcab but that is soon to be retired regrettably.

It is still easy enough to block driver updates but a bit more hassle as not so easy to block a specific update.

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Drivers submitted to MS by respective HW manufacturers are supposed to be checked and certified by MS and that takes long time.

CountMike said:

Drivers submitted to MS by respective HW manufacturers are supposed to be checked and certified by MS and that takes long time.

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And as I have warned many times these are the bare minimum drivers to make devices work. No thanks, I prefer the full package from manufacturer with all the features and the control panel to tweak performance.

spapakons said:

And as I have warned many times these are the bare minimum drivers to make devices work. No thanks, I prefer the full package from manufacturer with all the features and the control panel to tweak performance.

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There are lots of drivers in any installation. It is really only the graphics drivers and perhaps audio drivers that you tweak.

For vast majority of people Windows Update is fine.

It is not mutually exclusive i.e. only use Windows Update or not!

If you read the threads in Devices and Drivers category, most posts are about issues caused by Windows Update replacing the official drivers with generic not fully compatible drivers for the device. As I said in best case you lose some features not present in the Windows Update driver, in worst case you have incompatibility issues. Not always, but it happens.

Since Windows 95, Microsoft claimed "don't worry, Windows will handle all drivers". Yes, Windows 95 and higher had build-in drivers for most devices, but the database were mostly rather old devices. For newer devices you needed vendor drivers. Even if Windows would automatically find all drivers, you would see a great difference in performance once you replaced the Windows database/Update drivers with the official drivers from manufacturer. Since Windows 7 and later, this difference in performance is not always noticeable, but there is difference in compatibility. Windows Update drivers are not always fully compatible with the target device and they only use the most basic functions. To enable full functionality, all features and the control panel to further tweak the device, you must install the official manufacturer drivers.

At least when it comes to Intel graphics, the control panels (Intel Graphics Command Center and Intel ARC Control Software) are available as separate packages so, to be able to get these, you will not be forced to install the "official manufacturer drivers". The manufacturer might or might not offer additional tweak tools and/or additional software to give access to additional functionality and/or features some of which you might need/want or might not need/want.

As for driver update packages that you can get via Windows Update, they too can automatically install an accompanying app via the Microsoft Store, albeit not if you have blocked the Microsoft Store, naturally, and of course (but that you probably shouldn't block except only maybe if you really know what you're doing, also naturally, and of course). Further, as others have stated, Windows 10/11 allows the manufacturers to decide on whether they want to rely on Windows Update to distribute driver updates to their customers/partners. So, if they decide to rely on that, then usually, the support page or similar type thing on the manufacturer's official website won't provide the user with a way to download every available driver update directly from there, as instead the whole (or almost...) driver update distribution mechanism is effectively replaced with Windows Update then. But you might or might not be able to still see things like quickstart guides, user manuals, warning infos/notes, tools/utilities, software (and maybe some drivers...) etc. in that section of their official website, for the specific type/model you have.

Finally, whether drivers on Windows Update are too old and outdated is up for debate. It very often depends, but a lot of people here seem to be forgetting that newer drivers don't always offer improved performance or better user experience in spite of the fact that it is quite common nevertheless especially when it comes to relationship types like the one that exists between updating graphics drivers and 3D graphics performance in recent games titles, for example. As a matter of fact, there also exist countless other examples where updating a certain driver actually has caused a drop in performance or introduced a new issue/bug that previously didn't exist. Such issues aren't always the graphics driver's fault, but they most certainly can be. An old example of a typical "non-linear relationship" between a driver version and the performance that it gives is Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST/RSTe). Look on Win-Raid Forum and you will see. But anyway. There also exists a reason why Greg Carmack keeps telling you to do a (clean) update of the graphics drivers when you bump into some issues, regardless of whether you like to play games. It's because he knows from mass experience that old graphics drivers can tend to be among primary suspects in troubleshooting all sorts of issues unrelated to games and unrelated to all types of performance.

Relying on Windows Update is similar to let Linux download all drivers from the repositories. But most who use Linux will confirm that these drivers are generic, mostly third-party and enable only the basic functionality of the device. If you want to get the most out of your new expensive graphics card or motherboard or whatever, you have to download and install manufacturer's proprietary drivers, not generic. In Windows the situation is not exactly that as most drivers from Windows Update are the basic stuff (core, bare driver) of the official manufacturer driver. Again if you want the full package you must download it from manufacturer's support site. Most inexperienced users would want to avoid the trouble of downloading drivers and just let Windows Update handle them, but this it not the best possible option. All us that go through this trouble are not stupid, we do it for a reason. I have seen many times installing Windows 11 on a new PC and then Windows Update downloads the nVidia/AMD graphics drivers. I then go at nVidia's/AMD's site and download the latest driver for the specific graphics card. I always go to custom installation because I want to see all components and make sure nothing is left out. Guess what I always see the installed components (such as display) outdated and missing components (such as HDMI audio, PhysX). That's why I insist on downloading the latest driver from the hardware manufacturer (Intel/nVidia/AMD) and only select the driver on card's manufacturer site (such as Asus), when the first doesn't work because the hardware is customized (usually in some laptops but not very common). The third option, if there is an obscure Chinese brand (not offense intended) or the manufacturer has removed support for this model on their site, is to use Windows Update and last resort (if that fails) is to use a driver tool such as Snappy Driver Installer. What you choose is your own responsibility, common sense.

spapakons said:

Most inexperienced users would want to avoid the trouble of downloading drivers and just let Windows Update handle them, but this it not the best possible option.

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Again, it all simply depends. Most inexperienced users don't know what changes were made by Microsoft in the driver distribution mechanism of Windows Update as of Windows 10 version 2004. Here's a quick recap: Windows 10: Changes in driver updates

"with current releases the drivers in WU are tested OEM drivers
This was not the case before."
Source: Shipping Label Changes, and Manual Drivers

So, just because not all tested OEM drivers are shipped via this new mechanism, doesn't also mean that there are no commercially available hardware products that require nothing more than Windows Update to keep their drivers fully up-to-date and the products fully functional. There are, and, their numbers have gradually been increasing. The obscure Chinese brands are not to blame for this new trend that has gotten you confused. Rather, an obscure American company called Microsoft is, and, whether you think that trend is compatible with your own personal definition of common sense is purely for you to decide.

The only devices that work perfectly with Windows Update drivers are webcams, USB Wi-Fi or Bluetooth dongles etc. For other devices I beg to differ. No need to repeat here why, just read carefully my previous posts.

spapakons said:

The only devices that work perfectly with Windows Update drivers are webcams, USB Wi-Fi or Bluetooth dongles etc. For other devices I beg to differ. No need to repeat here why, just read carefully my previous posts.

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They work like that because those are generic drivers, work with all such device whose manufacturers make them to comply with MS drivers, not other way around as it's case with parts like GPUs.

Watch the sparks fly on this statement:

Why is it that for years Ive been using 3rd party updaters like Snappy Driver or IObit Driver Booster and never (NEVER) had problems and they always give me the right drivers without any problems. Have I been just lucky? Do they really work? Sure do get a lot more than Windows Update and they even get the manufacturers drivers just right. My laptop runs so smooth........

spapakons said:

The only devices that work perfectly with Windows Update drivers are webcams, USB Wi-Fi or Bluetooth dongles etc.

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Wrong again. The new WU mechanism enables the manufacturers to decide for theirself.

Yes, you've been lucky.

CountMike said:

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Some believe, some don't. Life is full of surprises. Lucky me.

Snappy Driver Installer will install whatever drivers are in their database. They are not always the official manufacturer drivers, they might be generic drivers from Windows Update, no way to know for sure. Even if they are official from manufacturer, they are the core basic stuff, not the full package. I prefer the full package, so I use Snappy rarely as a last resort when everything else fails.

hdmi said:

Wrong again. The new WU mechanism enables the manufacturers to decide for theirself.

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You are wrong. As already mentioned, webcams and other devices comply with certain Microsoft standards precisely so they can be automatically installed by Windows (aka plug 'n' play) without vendor specific drivers. Anything that needs vendor specific drivers it must have special features or it is not preferred by the majority of users.

spapakons said:

The only devices that work perfectly with Windows Update drivers are webcams, USB Wi-Fi or Bluetooth dongles etc. For other devices I beg to differ. No need to repeat here why, just read carefully my previous posts.

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The Realtek drivers are the ones I find are a pain in the you know where. On my main desktop running the Canary builds I can no longer keep my external Blue-Tooth adapter plugged into the headphone jack. If I do the computer defaults to the external Blue-Tooth and I can't change it. There was a time that I just needed to select the sound output. This happened after an Insider build update. Way to long ago to remember which one. I did with help find a driver that worked but that was short lived. I have thought about using a USB soundcard instead of the onboard soundcard to see if that will work.