Solved Windows update keeps trying to install older drivers

I've had to "hide" several older drivers from Windows. One just now is a Realtek speaker extension driver. Version 10.0.1904.1
I have version 10.0.22000.1 currently installed.

When looking at the properties of the older driver, it shows it's for Windows 10. Do I just keep "hiding" these older driver downloads that update wants to install?

Download Microsoft Show or Hide Updates Troubleshooter: Download Microsoft Show or Hide Updates Troubleshooter - MajorGeeks

I guess it all depends on if your system is performing as expected. It could be that Windows thinks the system runs better with the older driver or maybe Windows hasn't approved the updated driver yet.

This is an opinion and my opinion with $4.00 might get you a cup of Starbucks coffee, assuming you like their coffee.

@FreeBooter That's the tool I used to hide the update, (used it for years) still showing up waiting to download update.

kgarrett67 said:

This is an opinion and my opinion with $4.00 might get you a cup of Starbucks coffee, assuming you like their coffee.

Click to expand...

I'll stick with Micky Dee's coffee, Starbucks is way too strong.

probe7 said:

I've had to "hide" several older drivers from Windows. One just now is a Realtek speaker extension driver. Version 10.0.1904.1
I have version 10.0.22000.1 currently installed.

Click to expand...

10.0.1904.1 looks like an MS driver number which should only be installed if there is no OEM driver. It ought to be dated well before any possible OEM driver so that it would never replace one.
10.0.22000.1 looks like an OEM driver number. It ought to be dated later than the MS one and so it should override any update attempt.

I assume you are sure that they both relate to exactly the same Device manager entry.
- I suspect that they are not both for the same device. One might be for the microphone and the other for the speakers.
If they are for the same device, what is it called and what does Device manager show for its driver providers, version numbers & dates?

Denis

That Realtek driver you're looking (under "Audio inputs and outputs") at is "Microsoft's Windows driver package. They basically say Windows recognizes those devices, and they are NEVER overwritten by the "Realtek" drives....



Which can actually be found under "Sound, video and game controllers"....


Those are the drivers that get updated when you update your "Realtek drivers. In short if you want to see what "Realtek" drivers are being used, you need to look under Sound, video and game controllers

With that, and if you want to ensure Windows isn't overwriting your device drivers such as GPU or sound, this works, and is what I use...

Good luck :)

Okay. I actually have under Sound, video and game controllers this:

A bit newer


Should I not worry about Windows Update installing older drivers?
I would like to not think I need to keep "hiding" drivers, just let Windows Update "do what its going to do"

probe7 said:

Okay. I actually have under Sound, video and game controllers this:

A bit newer

View attachment 29419
Should I not worry about Windows Update installing older drivers?
I would like to not think I need to keep "hiding" drivers, just let Windows Update "do what its going to do"

Click to expand...

Please re-read my post. When you update your Realtek drivers, you are actually updating the Realtek HD audio driver, the Windows drivers are the basic drivers for the Realtek sound chip. See these....


You do NOT need to worry about the "Microsoft Windows" drivers

probe7 said:

I actually have under Sound, video and game controllers

Click to expand...

That is just the section title.
What are the devices listed within it? They are what matters.
Device names, Driver providers, Driver versions, Driver dates.

Example

In this example, it would be the info for the Microphone entry and for the Speakers entry that matters.

Denis

Try3 said:

That is just the section title.
What are the devices listed within it? They are what matters.
Device names, Driver providers, Driver versions, Driver dates.

Example
View attachment 29424
In this example, it would be the info for the Microphone entry and for the Speakers entry that matters.

Denis

Click to expand...

The OP already showed the driver for the Realtek in post# 8. It's also further explained by Ed Tittel (second link above your post). You can also see them posted in the Microsoft Update Catalog

When you update the "Realtek" drivers from "Realtek" they are shown under Sound, video and game controllers NOT "Audio inputs and outputs"

Thanks Dru. Yes, here is whats under Sound, video and game controllers :



All I'm pointing out is the "Realtek Semiconductor Corp. - Extension - 10.0.19041.1" is now whats waiting to install, from Windows Update.
I have version 10.0.22000.1 currently, Why would WU want to install an older driver? Unless the "Extension" is something needed?

probe7 said:

I have version 10.0.22000.1 currently, Why would WU want to install an older driver? Unless the "Extension" is something needed?

Click to expand...

If that's really this issue, that I can't explain at the moment.

Dru2 said:

The OP already showed the driver for the Realtek in post# 8. It's also further explained by Ed Tittel (second link above your post). You can also see them posted in the Microsoft Update Catalog

When you update the "Realtek" drivers from "Realtek" they are shown under Sound, video and game controllers NOT "Audio inputs and outputs"

Click to expand...

Drew - I asked the OP what devices were listed in Sound, video and game controllers because that was the Device mgr section the OP had mentioned & that was in what I quoted. The OP posted the list of the devices in post #12. Denis

probe7,

I suggest you

Preps -

P1 - Backup your drivers Backup and Restore Device Drivers - TenForumsTutorials
- This one has not yet been transferred across to ElevenForum and is bound to stay the same when it does anyway.
P2 - Record the device lists with their driver providers, versions & dates in both potentially relevant sections beforehand - Sounds, media & game controllers and Audio inputs & outputs.

Actions -

1 Search the MSUpdateCatalog for the name of the update you are being offered then check its properties by clicking on its name in the left-hand column of the search results.
- Then look in the Package details tab for the list of the relevant HardwareIDs.
- Then compare those HardwareIDs to that given in Device manager for the RealTek audio device - see its Details tab & select HardwareIDs from the dropdown list.
I suspect they will not match, in which case the update will not overwrite your existing Realtek driver in Sounds, media & game controllers. I suspect that because that's what the name of the driver update says.

2 Download [and save, not install] the Realtek speaker extension Version 10.0.1904.1 driver update. Then extract the download, if it is indeed a cab file, into its component files and search though its .inf file for
- the DriverVer = / DriverVer= entry to get its version & date. They might not be the same as the update's title suggests and might help to explain what's going on.
- the ManufacturerName= entry but I would not expect any surprises there.

3 If you cannot do steps 1, 2 because you cannot find the driver in the MSUpdateCatalog then, armed with your driver backup so you can get back to where you started, you can let the update install and then recheck Device manager to see what's changed. Remember to check the list of devices for changes as well as the provider, version, date entries.

Best of luck,
Denis

probe7 said:

Why would WU want to install an older driver?

Click to expand...

That's because Windows takes into a number of different factors when evaluating the applicability of a driver to a machine. The driver date and version are just two of those. The most important ones are the hardware identifier string within the .inf file and the hardware identifier reported by the PnP Manager. Windows will then perform a number of compatibility checks between the two and this may result in an older driver being installed.

@Try3

Try3 said:

Drew - I asked the OP what devices were listed in Sound, video and game controllers because that was the Device mgr section the OP had mentioned & that was in what I quoted. The OP posted the list of the devices in post #12. Denis

Click to expand...

Yeah, but the OP's question (now) seems to be centered around the fact that "Microsoft" appears to be installing and older under "Audio inputs and outputs". The OP is saying the driver listed there is 10.0.2200.1. He indicates Microsoft now wants to install 10.0.19041.1, which appears to be an older driver....

probe7 said:

All I'm pointing out is the "Realtek Semiconductor Corp. - Extension - 10.0.19041.1" is now whats waiting to install, from Windows Update.
I have version 10.0.22000.1 currently, Why would WU want to install an older driver? Unless the "Extension" is something needed?

Click to expand...

I "think" the issue is more about an older driver trying to install, rather than a "Realtek" issue, so perhaps my answers missed the point.

As to why an older driver is being installed (if that's the case), that I can't explain

BTW, I would also ask what Windows 11 OS the OP has - RTM, or Insiders? I ask because of this thread - A lot of Realtek updates all of a sudden?. I myself haven't gotten any, but I'm running the RTM version of Windows 11 Pro 21H2 (22000.675)

Well, first off I want to thank everyone for helping.

Now, I checked Windows Update yesterday (sorry I didn't have time to post) and saw that the old driver "Realtek Semiconductor Corp. - Extension - 10.0.19041.1" was not there anymore and Windows said I was all up to date! So, I'm thinking oh no, did it install the older driver? I rush over to update history and low and behold......... it's NOT there! Windows kept my newer version 10.0.22000.1 instead, thank goodness.

So, I guess the learnt lesson at least for me is, just because it is a "pending download" does NOT mean its going to get downloaded and installed. Is that a fair statement? I may just leave updates alone and let Windows do its thing, as BlueRobot says: Windows takes into a number of different factors when evaluating the applicability of a driver to a machine.

Geesh, all this because of a reading error

I've always wondered why sometimes Windows won't find a known later version of a driver.

I found this info over on MS site that supposedly explains it all. Take from it what you will. My take is it all depends on how a publisher of the driver ranks a given driver in their submission to MS as to how WU handles it. If anyone else reads is differently, I'd like your translation.

This statement applies to users like us about how WU downloads drivers.
Excerpt
In Windows 10, version 1709 and greater, Windows Update (WU) offers the best matching driver package, which is not necessarily the most recent. The WU driver package selection process considers hardware ID, date/version, and critical/automatic/optional category. WU prioritizes critical or automatic driver packages highest. If a matching critical/automatic driver package is not found, WU looks next for optional driver packages. As a result, an older critical driver package of otherwise equal value takes precedence over a newer optional driver package.

Starting with Windows 10, version 2004, Windows Update (WU) automatically offers only the best automatic/critical matching driver package, searching both the computer and WU. To see matching driver packages in the optional category, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View optional updates > Driver updates. WU still uses the same criteria to rank and select a driver.

The following applies to a developer who publishes a driver to Windows update.
Excerpt
When the destination is Windows Update, the default is Automatic, which means that the driver is delivered automatically on upgrades and for every applicable system. If you select only the Automatically delivered during Windows Upgrades the driver is defined as a Dynamic Driver and is delivered only during OS upgrades. If you select only Automatically delivered to all applicable systems, Windows Update delivers the driver immediately to all applicable systems once it is released.

If you select Manual in Windows 10, version 1909 or earlier, the driver is automatically delivered only if the device does not have a driver installed already or only has a generic driver.

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, drivers with a Manual shipping label is not automatically delivered. To access the best matching Optional/Manual driver, the user must go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View optional updates > Driver updates.

Summing it up, I think there is a disconnect between the developers and Windows update.