Remove/Uninstall Drivers on Windows 10

Common Methods to Remove Drivers on Windows 10

There are two known ways to uninstall drivers on Windows 10, but sometimes, the methods cannot remove the programs clearly due to the Windows 10 features we’ve mentioned above. Here we still show you the methods:

Way 1. Uninstall Drivers from Programs and Features

Step 1. Open Run with Windows shortcut keys Win + R.

Step 2. Type into control and hit the Enter key.

Step 3. In Control Panel, go to Programs and Features.

Step 4. Right-click the driver and select Uninstall.

Step 5. Restart the PC.

Way 2. Remove Windows Drivers with Device Manager

Step 1. Use shortcut keys Win + X on Windows 10.

Step 2. Select Device Manager.

Step 3. Expand the entry. Right-click the problematic device and select Uninstall device.

Step 4. You may need to check the option Delete the driver software for this device, and then click the Uninstallbutton.

Step 5. Reboot the computer.

The two solutions above can help to delete a certain device, but you cannot completely remove the driver when you improperly install the program, especially with the second method. After you restart the machine, Windows 10 will still recognize the broken, incorrectly configured or incompatible driver, even if you’ve installed the appropriate one.

Windows 10 will detect drivers stored in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers during the PC startup, which has not been removed actually. Besides, if there is a damaged driver, Windows 10 will restore the working one from a backup folder during the restart.

To solve such a “failed driver uninstallation” issue or to completely delete unnecessary drivers, you can follow the steps below.

Before we begin, let’s learn about some important driver-related folders in your drive (C:).

1. C:\Windows\System32\Drivers

You can find the .sys files of the exact device driver in the folder Drivers.

2. C:\Windows\System32\Inf

Some .inf files are saved in the folder Inf. The file names are not the original names of the driver package but are called in forms of oem#.inf or oem#.pnf (# stands an appropriate number).

3. C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository

This folder FileRepository stores all the driver package backups.

4. C:\Windows\System32

You have those .dll components of the drivers in the folder System32.

Here we’ll take the sound card device as an example to help you understand how to clearly delete a device driver from Windows 10 computer.