How can you identify a device driver? (2024)

One of the easiest ways to identify a device driver is to use the Device Manager, a built-in tool that displays all the hardware devices connected to your computer and their corresponding drivers. To access the Device Manager, you can either right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager, or type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box and press Enter. In the Device Manager window, you can expand the categories of hardware devices and see the names of the drivers associated with each device. You can also double-click on a device to open its properties window, where you can find more information about the driver, such as its provider, date, version, and status. You can also update, uninstall, disable, or enable the driver from this window.

Another way to identify a device driver is to use the Command Prompt, a command-line interface that allows you to execute various commands on your computer. To open the Command Prompt, you can either type cmd in the Run dialog box and press Enter, or search for Command Prompt in the Start menu and click on it. In the Command Prompt window, you can use the driverquery command to list all the drivers installed on your computer and their details, such as their name, type, link date, and display name. You can also use various parameters with the driverquery command to filter or format the output, such as /v for verbose mode, /fo for output format, or /si for signed drivers. For example, you can type driverquery /v /fo table to display the drivers in a table format with more information.

A third way to identify a device driver is to use a third-party tool, such as a driver updater or a system information utility, that can scan your computer and display the drivers and their details. Some examples of such tools are Driver Booster, Driver Easy, Speccy, and System Information for Windows. These tools can help you identify the device drivers and also check for updates, backup, restore, or uninstall them. However, you should be careful when using these tools and only download them from reputable sources, as some of them may contain malware or unwanted programs.

Identifying a device driver is important for troubleshooting hardware issues, optimizing performance, and ensuring compatibility. By using the methods described in this article, you can easily find out the details of the drivers installed on your computer and manage them accordingly.

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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