[SOLVED] Can I locate an older version of a driver in File Explorer?

[Rodion15]

Just for the same of knowledge:

If a recently installed driver is giving issues, does Windows 10 keep the old driver so I can uninstall the new one and reinstall the old one (without having to download it from the manufacturer)?

I guess if the "roll back" option is available, there must be a way to locate the older driver without having to roll it back, and that if the roll back option isn't there, Windows may have removed the older driver.

Any help much appreciated.

 

[Hellfire13]

While updating a driver, Windows creates a Restore Point where it saves all current settings and drivers unless you disable that feature. AFAIK its a "rstrui" file in the Windows folder...
https://hetmanrecovery.com/recovery_news/system-restore-point-in-windows-10.htm

 

[Colif]

I think its remembered using volume shadowcopy AKA system restore.
When you install a driver, windows is meant to make a system restore point to record the system as it was before you installed driver. If you roll system back to this date/time it has a copy of the previous driver.

finding drivers without using that is likely difficult.

 

[TommyTwoTone66]

Windows does keep a copy of the driver, but no, you aren't able to just go and grab it out of where Windows has stored it. It wraps it up into a Restore Point "rstrui" file and encrypts it.

The only way to go back to the old driver (unless you kept a copy of the old one) would be to restore using the Restore Point.

 

[Colif]

It would be probably easier to find the driver online. Finding a source that is trustworthy if its not the makers, can be difficult. Many sites relabel old drivers as win 10 for instance, I seriously doubt there are many that work with XP and WIn 10, and yet I see them advertised all over the place. It makes me question if they not really win 7 drivers.

 

[Rodion15]

What would I do without you guys, all your answers taught me something.

As a summary:

When Windows installs a new driver, the old driver is stored by Windows inside a restore point (provided that System Restore is enabled), which are stored in "rstrui" files in the folder C:\System Volume Information, this folder is by default invisible to File Explorer and, even if made visible in File Explorer, it's not accessible, although you can easily get access to it if you right-click it and add your user to have full access. Which is useless anyway, as you can only restore the old driver using the Windows Restore application that comes with Windows.

 

[USAFRet]

What would I do without you guys, all your answers taught me something.

As a summary:

When Windows installs a new driver, the old driver is stored by Windows inside a restore point (provided that System Restore is enabled), which are stored in "rstrui" files in the folder C:\System Volume Information, this folder is by default invisible to File Explorer and, even if made visible in File Explorer, it's not accessible, although you can easily get access to it if you right-click it and add your user to have full access. Which is useless anyway, as you can only restore the old driver using the Windows Restore application that comes with Windows.

And a new Restore Point is not only that particular driver, but the whole Windows system at that point in time.