We know that Windows 10 automatically downloads and installs all available updates via Windows Update without notifying or asking the user.
Windows 10 also automatically downloads and installs available device driver updates via Windows Update. If it finds any updated driver for your computer hardware or if it thinks that the available driver is better than the currently installed driver in your computer, it automatically upgrades the driver with the new one.
Following screenshot shows Windows Update automatically downloading device drivers in Windows 10:
Sometimes it causes issues to the users. Many times users install a verified driver for their sound card, graphics card, GPU, etc downloaded from their PC manufacturer website and suddenly Windows 10 replaces the new driver with an old one downloaded from Windows Update.
Today in this tutorial, we are going to share a way to disable automatic driver updates downloading and installation via Windows Update in Windows 10. After following the methods given in this tutorial, you'll be able to turn off the automatic driver updates feature in Windows 10. It'll exclude driver updates from Windows Update, rest OS updates will be downloaded and installed without any problem.
So if you don't want to disable Windows Update in Windows 10 but just want to disable automatic driver updates installation via Windows Update, this tutorial will help you.
We can turn off automatic driver download and installation with the help of following 2 methods:
- METHOD 1: Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
- METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:
METHOD 1: Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
NOTE: Windows 10 Home edition doesn't contain Group Policy Editor. If you are using Home edition, check out METHOD 2. Other edition users can follow METHOD 1.
1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type gpedit.msc and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.
2. Now go to:
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
3. In right-side pane, look for "Do not include drivers with Windows Updates" option.
4. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.
That's it. Apply the changes and it'll exclude driver updates from Windows Update and now Windows Update will only download and install OS updates.
You can also disable searching for driver updates on Windows Update feature to completely disable driver updates download via Windows Update. Whenever you try to install driver for your device hardware, Windows may search for the best driver on Windows Update. So you can disable this feature as well and force Windows to install the driver provided by you only.
In previous Windows version, we could change the search order for device driver source locations easily using System Properties. But Microsoft has removed this option in Windows 10. You'll need to use following steps to do this in Windows 10:
5. In Group Policy Editor, go to following:
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation
6. In right-side pane, look for "Specify search order for device driver source locations" option.
7. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled and select "Do not search Windows Update" option from the search order drop-down box.
That's it. Apply changes and now Windows 10 will no longer download and install your device drivers automatically.
PS: If you want to restore default settings in future, simply set both options in Group Policy Editor to "Not Configured" again.
METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
If you can't use or don't want to use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
3. Create a new key under Windows key and set its name as WindowsUpdate
4. Now select WindowsUpdate key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate and set its value to 1
5. Now again go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
6. Create a new key under Windows key and set its name as DriverSearching
7. Now select DriverSearching key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD SearchOrderConfig and set its value to 0
That's it. Restart your computer to take effects and it'll completely disable automatic driver installation via Windows Update feature in Windows 10.
PS: In future if you want to restore default settings, simply delete both DWORDs created in above steps.
NOTE: If you are not familiar with Registry editing tasks, we are also providing ready-made Registry script to do the task automatically. Download following ZIP file, extract it and run .REG file. It'll ask for confirmation, accept it. Restart your computer to take effects:
Sources: askvg
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