How to Install Drivers on Windows 10 and 11 (4 Methods)

To install drivers on Windows 10 or Windows 11, run Windows Update first and then check Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates > Driver updates for anything Microsoft pushes separately. For drivers that are not in Windows Update (chipset, audio, Wi-Fi, motherboard utilities), download them from your laptop or motherboard manufacturer’s website. If a device shows a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager, copy its Hardware ID and search for that ID to find the exact driver.

Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: April 13, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Windows Update handles most drivers automatically — always run it before installing anything manually. Optional updates inside Windows Update contain driver packages that do not install by default.
• Device Manager is the source of truth. If a device has a yellow exclamation mark, a driver is missing or broken. If it does not, the driver is installed.
• For desktops, drivers come from your motherboard manufacturer. For laptops, drivers come from the laptop manufacturer using the machine’s serial number or model.
• For unknown devices, the Hardware ID in Device Manager > Properties > Details is the single most reliable way to identify a driver.
• Avoid third-party driver updater software. These tools often install generic or outdated drivers and can break Windows. Snappy Driver Installer Origin is the one exception I trust when the manual methods fail.

In This Guide

This guide walks through every reliable method I use to install drivers in my repair shop. Use them in this order:

• Method 1: Windows Update (Including Optional Updates) — The fastest path and the one that handles 80% of drivers. Always try this first.
• Method 2: Download Drivers from the Manufacturer — For motherboards, laptops, and devices Windows Update misses.
• Method 3: Find Missing Drivers with Hardware IDs — For unknown devices with a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager.
• Method 4: Install Drivers from Device Manager — For driver files without a setup.exe installer.

Quick Steps

1. Run Windows Update and install everything, then check Advanced options > Optional updates > Driver updates.
2. Open Device Manager (right-click Start) and look for yellow exclamation marks.
3. For any remaining missing drivers, identify the device (motherboard, laptop model, or hardware ID) and download drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
4. Run the downloaded setup file. If there is no installer, use Device Manager > Update driver > Browse my computer to point Windows at the extracted folder.
5. Reboot and re-check Device Manager. Everything should be clean.

Why Drivers Matter

Drivers are the software that lets Windows talk to your hardware — graphics card, Wi-Fi adapter, audio chip, card reader, trackpad, webcam, everything. When a driver is missing or wrong, the device either does not work at all or works poorly (stuttering audio, no internet, screen stuck at low resolution). In my computer repair shop, incorrect or generic drivers are one of the most common causes of “my new Windows install is slow” complaints.

Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager) is how you check. A clean system shows no yellow triangles and no “Other devices” category. That is the end state you are aiming for.

Method 1: Install Drivers Using Windows Update

Windows Update is the first stop. Microsoft publishes WHQL-signed drivers for most common hardware (Intel graphics, Realtek audio, Wi-Fi adapters, printers) through the same update mechanism that delivers security patches, and this is the safest source there is.

Step 1: Run Windows Update

1. Open Settings (Windows key + I).
2. Go to Windows Update (Windows 11) or Update & Security > Windows Update (Windows 10).
3. Click Check for updates. Install everything it finds and reboot.

Step 2: Install Optional Driver Updates

The drivers you really want are usually hidden under Optional updates. Windows does not install them automatically.

1. On Windows 11: Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
2. On Windows 10: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View optional updates.
3. Expand Driver updates, tick every box, and click Download & install.
4. Reboot when Windows tells you to, then run Windows Update again — sometimes new optional updates appear after the first batch installs.

Note: For GPUs, I do not rely on Windows Update. Use my graphics driver installation guide instead — the versions Microsoft ships are always weeks or months behind NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel’s own releases.

Method 2: Download Drivers from the Manufacturer

Windows Update will miss chipset drivers, vendor audio suites (Realtek Audio Console, Dolby Atmos), LAN controllers, card readers, fingerprint sensors, and utilities like Gigabyte Control Center or Lenovo Vantage. You have to install those yourself.

For Desktop PCs: Use Your Motherboard Model

1. Press Windows key, type System Information, and open it.
2. Note the BaseBoard Manufacturer and BaseBoard Product (e.g. Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE V2).
3. Search Google for “[motherboard model] drivers“. Click only the manufacturer’s official site (gigabyte.com, asus.com, msi.com, asrock.com).
4. On the support page, pick your OS (Windows 11 64-bit) and download every category: Chipset, LAN, Audio, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Utilities.

For Laptops: Use the Serial Number

Laptop manufacturers (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS) match drivers to your specific machine using its serial number or service tag, not the model name. You can pull the serial number directly from the BIOS without opening the laptop.

1. Right-click Start and open Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
2. Run this command to read the serial number from the BIOS:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

If the command returns nothing or a default value like “To be filled by O.E.M.”, you will need to read the serial number from the sticker on the bottom of the laptop instead.

3. Go to your laptop manufacturer’s support page (dell.com/support, support.hp.com, support.lenovo.com, acer.com/support).
4. Paste the serial number into the search box to land on the correct drivers page.
5. Download every driver under the Drivers tab.

Install the Downloaded Drivers

1. Most drivers download as ZIP files. Extract them (Windows 11 can unzip natively — right-click > Extract all).
2. Open the extracted folder and look for a file called setup.exe or install.exe. Run it as administrator and follow the prompts.
3. Repeat for every driver. Reboot at the end.

Tip: If your laptop manufacturer only offers Windows 10 drivers but you are on Windows 11, install them anyway. They almost always work. Windows 11 is built on the same driver model as Windows 10 and will use Win10 drivers without modification.

Method 3: Find Missing Drivers Using Hardware IDs

If Device Manager still shows a yellow exclamation mark after running Windows Update and installing manufacturer drivers, the fastest way to identify it is by its Hardware ID. Every PCI, USB, and internal device has a unique ID that you can search Google with to find the correct driver.

1. In Device Manager, right-click the device with the yellow exclamation mark and choose Properties.
2. Open the Details tab.
3. Change the Property dropdown to Hardware Ids.
4. Right-click the first ID in the list (e.g. PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_859510EC&REV_15) and choose Copy.
5. Paste the ID into Google. The first few results will tell you the exact device (often a specific Realtek, Intel, or MediaTek chip) and where to download the driver.
6. Download the driver from the manufacturer’s site (not a driver-download aggregator site) and install it.

Method 4: Install Drivers from Device Manager

Some drivers — older webcams, custom monitors, industrial hardware — come as a folder of .inf and .sys files with no setup.exe. Device Manager handles these directly.

Option A: Let Windows Search Automatically

1. Right-click the device in Device Manager and pick Update driver.
2. Choose Search automatically for drivers.
3. If that turns up nothing, click Search for updated drivers on Windows Update to recheck Microsoft’s catalog.

Option B: Point Windows at a Driver Folder

1. Extract the downloaded driver to a folder (e.g. C:\Temp\MyDriver).
2. In Device Manager, right-click the device > Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers.
3. Click Browse, select the folder, and make sure Include subfolders is checked.
4. Click Next. Windows will search the folder for the correct .inf file and install the driver.

Why You Should Avoid Third-Party Driver Updaters

Searching “best driver updater” on Google turns up a long list of paid tools — DriverPack Solution, Driver Booster, DriverEasy. I would not install any of them. In the repair shop, the single most common cause of “my PC broke after I updated drivers” is one of these tools installing a generic or mismatched driver, breaking audio or Wi-Fi, or bundling adware alongside the driver installer.

The methods above — Windows Update, the manufacturer’s site, and Hardware IDs — cover everything these tools claim to do, without the risk. The one exception I trust when nothing else works is Snappy Driver Installer Origin — it is open-source, completely free, and pulls from Microsoft’s own WHQL catalog.

Specific Driver Guides

For the drivers that cause the most trouble, I have dedicated step-by-step guides:

• How to install or update your graphics driver — covers NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel.
• NVIDIA drivers installation guide — clean-install with DDU.
• Download and update the Realtek HD Audio driver — for missing or crackling audio.
• Snappy Driver Installer Origin — the offline driver tool I trust.
• Update your Gigabyte BIOS — sometimes the real fix is a BIOS update, not a driver.

After a clean driver install, I also run Winhance on new systems to disable the telemetry and background services that tend to slow things down post-install.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check if all my drivers are installed correctly?

Open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager). If there are no yellow exclamation marks and no “Other devices” category, every driver is installed. That is the single check I run at the end of every install.

Can I install Windows 10 drivers on Windows 11?

Yes, in almost every case. Windows 11 uses the same driver model as Windows 10, so any driver marked as Windows 10 64-bit will install and run on Windows 11 without modification. If a manufacturer only offers Windows 10 drivers for your laptop or motherboard, use them.

What if Windows Update does not install a specific driver?

That is normal for chipset, LAN, motherboard utility, and proprietary vendor drivers. Microsoft does not redistribute those. Download them from your motherboard or laptop manufacturer’s support page using Method 2 above.

Are there risks to installing the wrong driver?

Yes. An incorrect driver can disable a device, cause blue screens, or break Windows features. This is why I always recommend downloading from the manufacturer’s website rather than a driver updater tool. If you do install the wrong driver, you can roll it back via Device Manager > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver.

How often should I update my drivers?

Update drivers when something is broken, when you are chasing specific performance (GPU drivers for new games), or after a major feature update of Windows. If the system is running fine, there is no benefit to constantly updating — the “if it ain’t broke” rule applies to drivers.

What is a Hardware ID and why is it the best way to find a driver?

A Hardware ID is a unique identifier burned into the device by its manufacturer, containing the vendor ID (VEN), device ID (DEV), and subsystem ID (SUBSYS). Because it is globally unique, searching Google for a Hardware ID will usually pinpoint the exact chip (e.g. a specific Realtek audio codec or MediaTek Wi-Fi module), which tells you exactly which driver to download — even if Windows itself cannot name the device.