7 Ways to Detect And Remove Old, Unused or Hidden Device Drivers

7 Ways to Detect And Remove Old, Unused or Hidden Device Drivers

1. GhostBuster. ...
2. Nirsoft DevManView. ...
3. Device Remover. ...
4. Device Cleanup Tool. ...
5. Device Cleanup Tool Command Line Version. ...
6. DriveCleanup. ...
7. Remove Hidden Devices With Windows Device Manager.

1. How do I remove unnecessary drivers in Windows 7?
2. How do I uninstall hidden drivers?
3. How do I delete unused USB devices?
4. How do I find and delete drivers?
5. What can happen if you don't uninstall a device before removing it from your system?
6. How do I remove a ghost device?
7. How do I clean up old drivers?
8. Can I delete driver files after install?
9. Should I uninstall old Nvidia drivers before installing new ones?
10. How do I clear my USB port history?
11. How do I find hidden devices in Device Manager?
12. Why are devices hidden in Device Manager?

How do I remove unnecessary drivers in Windows 7?

Those you might want to get rid of for various reasons, the process for that is quite simple, you just perform an "uninstallation".

1. Click the start button.
2. Click control panel.
3. Click "uninstall a program" (found under "Programs" heading)
4. Find the "driver" software suite in question, select it, and then click on uninstall.

How do I uninstall hidden drivers?

Open Device Manager

Click the View menu, select Show hidden devices (must be done each time you open the device manager) Devices not present will have a lightened greyed (or washed out) icon. Right click the greyed out item and select uninstall to remove the device's drivers.

How do I delete unused USB devices?

Click View tab and select Show hidden devices. Expand the branches in the device tree & look for the faded icons. These indicate unused device drivers. Right-click on it and select Uninstall.

How do I find and delete drivers?

Find and double-click the category of device whose driver you wish to uninstall (for example, the graphics card would be listed under Display Adapters). Right-click the device, and click Uninstall. Windows will prompt you to confirm the device's removal. Click OK to remove the driver.

What can happen if you don't uninstall a device before removing it from your system?

What can happen if you don't uninstall a device before removing it from your system? ... The system, when it boots up, won't find the device when it probes, and therefore won't attach the driver.

How do I remove a ghost device?

In the device manager:

1. Select View > Show Hidden Devices.
2. Expand the Network Adapters List.
3. Uninstall ALL of the VMXNet3 network adapters (there will likely be several; also do not delete drivers).
4. Uninstall any unknown devices.
5. Leave the other network devices alone.
6. Select Action > Scan for Hardware Changes.

How do I clean up old drivers?

Uninstall Old Drivers in Windows

1. To uninstall the old drivers, press Win + X and select “Device Manager” from the list of options.
2. Go to “view” and select the option “show hidden devices” to reveal all the hidden and old drivers. ...
3. Select the old driver you want to uninstall, right-click and select the Uninstall option.

Can I delete driver files after install?

yes you can delete anything and everything from the Downloads folder after you have extracted, run or installed the program that was downloaded.

Should I uninstall old Nvidia drivers before installing new ones?

If you are changing chip manufactures you should definitely uninstall the drivers before changing the video card. No need to have drivers for one manufacture interfering with your new video card. If you are upgrading from an old chip to a newer version, I still recommend uninstalling the existing drivers first.

How do I clear my USB port history?

Right-click the USB device and select Uninstall Selected Devices. A confirmation message will appear. Click Yes to confirm. This deletes the registry entry for the selected device.

How do I find hidden devices in Device Manager?

To view the non-present devices, go to Start, right-click My Computer, and select Manage. Click Device Manager, pull down the View menu, and select Show Hidden Devices.

Why are devices hidden in Device Manager?

Device Manager lists the devices that are installed in the computer. By default, certain devices are not shown in the list. These hidden devices include: ... Devices that were physically removed from the computer but whose registry entries were not deleted (also known as nonpresent devices).