[SOLVED] Windows 10 Driver Updates.

[JerrWolf]

I hope everyone's doing well today.

I had a question or two regarding driver updates and was hoping I can get some answers.

1. What is the best method to update your drivers when you install an OS (or Reset the existing OS)?
2. Are device updaters such as Driver Booster or even CCleaner's new feature Device Updater actually worth using? I've read mixed opinions on this from older posts across the internet.
3. A follow up on question 2; Sometimes I see they'll say I have a driver that needs updating, but windows 10's update check does not pick up anything--and even when I go into device manager and check for an update on the specific driver it tells me there is no driver more up-to-date than what I have installed already. For example my SATA AHCI driver says it's from 2006, and these driver updaters tell me there is one from 2017.

(I did install Driver Booster to see if it could pick up out-of-date drivers because my PC just BSOD'd, but I did not update anything yet)

I'll check back in the morning for any answers, thank you for anyone who responds.

 

[Colif]

1. go to website of motherbaord maker and download drivers froim there... unless board is old. then windows might get most of them for you
2. Don't use 3rd party driver updaters, they often get it wrong

What I use is Driver viewer, all it does is shows what you have, you have to find the newer drivers yourself - much safer
download and run Driverview - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

All it does is looks at drivers installed; it won't install any (this is intentional as 3rd party driver updaters often get it wrong)

When you run it, go into view tab and set it to hide all Microsoft drivers, will make list shorter.

If you want any help finding new drivers, just ask

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Don’t use those drive booster programs. Sometimes they have malware attached. With drivers install them and forget about them. Let your graphics card update since they do game optimization, but don’t go chasing new drivers for your devices unless you are experiencing specific issues.

 

[Colif]

many programs associated with hardware will update themselves

Icue for instance will tell you when its got updates.
So will Nvidia Geforce experience
other programs like steelseries engine will also tell you when new drivers are available for them. You don't have to get them

much of the looking can be looked after by these programs

Many motherboards come with programs that will offer driver updates for you.

These are the safest driver updaters, they are supplied by the people who made the hardware.

 

[JerrWolf]

1. go to website of motherbaord maker and download drivers froim there... unless board is old. then windows might get most of them for you
2. Don't use 3rd party driver updaters, they often get it wrong

What I use is Driver viewer, all it does is shows what you have, you have to find the newer drivers yourself - much safer
download and run Driverview - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

All it does is looks at drivers installed; it won't install any (this is intentional as 3rd party driver updaters often get it wrong)

When you run it, go into view tab and set it to hide all Microsoft drivers, will make list shorter.

If you want any help finding new drivers, just ask

I've installed that as well as their Bluescreenview program. So my biggest issue is how do I know when those drivers need an update, you said I need to find newer myself, so I just need to go to each website and compare the driver number?

I've recently reset my Windows OS, I've ran Windows Update until it had no more updates, I've installed the stuff I normally use, as well as stuff like GeForce Experience for my driver there.
Right now I'm just a little worried about if Windows updated all my drivers or not. I'll go to Asus and check for their program for drivers (I have the Hero VII mobo). For installing drivers, if I download and install a driver that windows already installed will it cause issues?


My reasoning for all of this is due to a BSOD I'm currently getting, I forgot to check the code before it finished loading, but BluescreenView has ntoskrnl.exe and tcpip.sys highlighted in pink.
Previously I had a BSOD which I was able to look up and possibly resolved. What I looked up was saying it was a memory issue. I ran a Memory Diagnostics Test and there was issues with a stick of my RAM. Corsair replaced my RAM for me and the MDT did not return an issue after I installed it.

Don’t use those drive booster programs. Sometimes they have malware attached. With drivers install them and forget about them. Let your graphics card update since they do game optimization, but don’t go chasing new drivers for your devices unless you are experiencing specific issues.

That's what I was afraid of, I've uninstalled it and will run some scans just to be safe, lol. Thank you.

 

[Colif]

I've installed that as well as their Bluescreenview program. So my biggest issue is how do I know when those drivers need an update, you said I need to find newer myself, so I just need to go to each website and compare the driver number?

take a screenshot from (and including)Driver name to (and including)Creation date.

upload it to an image sharing website and show link here

I will see what I can find. I know most of the sources,

since you have Blue screen view, after next BSOD

1. Open Windows File Explore
2. Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump
3. Copy the mini-dump files out onto your Desktop
4. Do not use Winzip, use the built in facility in Windows
5. Select those files on your Desktop, right click them and choose 'Send to' - Compressed (zipped) folder
6. Upload the zip file to the Cloud (OneDrive, DropBox . . . etc.)
7. Then post a link here to the zip file, so we can take a look for you . . .

ntoskrnl = windows kernel. always mentioned, but its victim, not cause.
tcpip.sys = transmission control protocol/Internet protocol, Windows uses it to talk to LAN drivers so I would look at updating Ethernet or WIFI drivers.

helping fix BSOD is what I do around here.

 

[JerrWolf]

take a screenshot from (and including)Driver name to (and including)Creation date.

upload it to an image sharing website and show link here

I will see what I can find. I know most of the sources,

tcpip.sys = transmission control protocol/Internet protocol, Windows uses it to talk to LAN drivers so I would look at updating Ethernet or WIFI drivers.

helping fix BSOD is what I do around here.

Here is the drivers list, there is not much considering the PC is relatively fresh, and mainly used for gaming atm.
I went ahead and checked via Device Manager for updates to all my Network Adapters, all of them came back as already up-to-date.

Next time the pc BSOD's I will reply again with the information.

 

[Colif]

i wish mine had as many creation dates as yours does, makes it much easier to find old drivers.

your drivers are pretty good.
audio are old BUT if they work fine now, I would leave them.
BT is old as well, but same applies.

nothing I would change there

 

[JerrWolf]

i wish mine had as many creation dates as yours does, makes it much easier to find old drivers.

your drivers are pretty good.
audio are old BUT if they work fine now, I would leave them.
BT is old as well, but same applies.

nothing I would change there

haha, just gotta reinstall everything!

I'm assuming BT stands for Bluetooth, I went into Device Manager again, clicked Update Driver for all the BT and entries there, but none had an update.
I assume there is a better method to check for drivers?

No BSOD yet, however, it occurred when I had a game open so I'll open that today to see if anything happens.

 

[Colif]

i never use device manager.

I get the driver version and go to the maker of the driver to get a new one. Say if you needed new Nvidia I would grab Geforce experience and use it to update my drivers.

It is strange to me that you have Broadcom WIFI and Realtek Blue tooth as often the functions are in the same chip, You normally get the drivers from the same people.
you sure you didn't run Driver Booster?

I can tell its made by ASUS, is this a laptop or desktop? what model? for newer PC you can normally just go to either laptop makers website or Motherboard makers website for newer drivers, its only as boards get older that you have to look past a few places.

 

[JerrWolf]

i never use device manager.

I get the driver version and go to the maker of the driver to get a new one. Say if you needed new Nvidia I would grab Geforce experience and use it to update my drivers.

It is strange to me that you have Broadcom WIFI and Realtek Blue tooth as often the functions are in the same chip, You normally get the drivers from the same people.
you sure you didn't run Driver Booster?

I can tell its made by ASUS, is this a laptop or desktop? what model? for newer PC you can normally just go to either laptop makers website or Motherboard makers website for newer drivers, its only as boards get older that you have to look past a few places.

I ran Driver Booster but did not download anything (it only does 2 a day anyway) I just wanted to see if it picked up drivers not up to date--which it did.
however, I do believe I used CCleaner's Device Updater when I first reset Windows.

The PC Has Bsod'd again, well it was green this time.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BfacpqKHvGnMqMp4gjqR2MjH7LVkdxgb/view?usp=sharing
Here is the two dump files, one from before and the one from this morning when I went to turn my PC on.

On the topic of software to or not to use/run. Is Restoro something I should run? I saw some feedback saying it can help with issues.
I've ran it but not selected any fix--it did find a handful though.

I have a Bluetooth Adapter from Asus plugged into my system, as well as a Wifi card (from TP-link I think?). I am not aware that my PC has either innately, and I am currently using ethernet instead of the wifi.

I have a desktop which I built myself, has an Asus board which is called a Asus Maximus Hero VII.

 

[Colif]

what tp link card is it? their WIFI cards often do Bluetooth as well.

i will ask a friend to look at the dumps, he will reply with a file i can look through that might help solve green screen of death - i don't see many of those.

he might be asleep, he will reply later.

 

[JerrWolf]

what tp link card is it? their WIFI cards often do Bluetooth as well.

i will ask a friend to look at the dumps, he will reply with a file i can look through that might help solve green screen of death - i don't see many of those.

he might be asleep, he will reply later.

The Adapter is a TP-LINK Archer T9E PCI Express AC1900 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter.
And sounds good, however, right now my PC is in Safe mode lol, I'll see if it wants to boot into normal Windows shortly.

 

[Colif]

it appears its only WIFI.

i don't see that many GSOD so need to work out what causes them. I assume you aren't on the insiders build of windows.
also appears it could mean hdd is problem, or a critical windows error.

perhaps I wait and see what dump shows. Friend had things he had to do today, I think... I have to go soon myself.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

GSOD indicates that the OP is on an Insider build.. it's just like a BSOD, just a different color. they are called a bugcheck screen

Did You Know Windows 10 Has a Green Screen of Death?

Everyone's heard about the blue screen of death (BSOD) that appears when your Windows PC crashes.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[JerrWolf]

it appears its only WIFI.

i don't see that many GSOD so need to work out what causes them. I assume you aren't on the insiders build of windows.
also appears it could mean hdd is problem, or a critical windows error.

perhaps I wait and see what dump shows. Friend had things he had to do today, I think... I have to go soon myself.

Yeah I am in the insider program, I wanted to try out Windows 11, but my Mobo doesn't have the settings needed anyway.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

understand. apparently there is a way to roll back to win10.
https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/uninstall-windows-11

 

[hotaru.hino]

If you want some more inputs

1. What is the best method to update your drivers when you install an OS (or Reset the existing OS)?

I grab all of the drivers I'm aware of that I need from the manufacturer itself. Then I stash them somewhere I can easily access them.

2. Are device updaters such as Driver Booster or even CCleaner's new feature Device Updater actually worth using? I've read mixed opinions on this from older posts across the internet.

I don't use them because 1. I handle my driver updates manually and 2. I have the belief that unless there's something wrong with the current drivers, there's no real reason to update them. Driver updates don't really mean better performance or new features, assuming you're using the manufacturer supplied one already. The only exception is graphics drivers as performance bumps and new features do get added, but the former is very specific (NVIDIA for example lists which games are getting performance upgrades) and the latter is rarer than a blue moon. So I don't even bother with updating my graphics drivers for several versions at times.

A follow up on question 2; Sometimes I see they'll say I have a driver that needs updating, but windows 10's update check does not pick up anything--and even when I go into device manager and check for an update on the specific driver it tells me there is no driver more up-to-date than what I have installed already. For example my SATA AHCI driver says it's from 2006, and these driver updaters tell me there is one from 2017.

I haven't seen a driver for SATAAHCI in forever, which makes me question where they're looking.

Ultimately the way I see drivers is this: if the hardware works fine, there's no reason to look for an update.

 

[JerrWolf]

understand. apparently there is a way to roll back to win10.
https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/uninstall-windows-11

I never did get around to installing Windows 11 yet, my system doesn't have the TPN or secure boot features needed for Windows 11.
I'll keep the link on hand though, as my laptop can update to W11 if I choose to.

If you want some more inputs


I grab all of the drivers I'm aware of that I need from the manufacturer itself. Then I stash them somewhere I can easily access them.


I don't use them because 1. I handle my driver updates manually and 2. I have the belief that unless there's something wrong with the current drivers, there's no real reason to update them. Driver updates don't really mean better performance or new features, assuming you're using the manufacturer supplied one already. The only exception is graphics drivers as performance bumps and new features do get added, but the former is very specific (NVIDIA for example lists which games are getting performance upgrades) and the latter is rarer than a blue moon. So I don't even bother with updating my graphics drivers for several versions at times.


I haven't seen a driver for SATAAHCI in forever, which makes me question where they're looking.

Ultimately the way I see drivers is this: if the hardware works fine, there's no reason to look for an update.

The main concern was BSODs, and that the PC was a fresh reset, so I don't know if Windows grabbed every driver needed or not.

How do I know when windows grabs a driver for something, and when I need to download it myself? Or if Windows says it's up-to-date and it actually isn't?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

after a reset or reinstall, you should at a minimum install the chipset and graphics drivers from your pc support page or from the manufacturers of the hardware direct.

 

[JerrWolf]

after a reset or reinstall, you should at a minimum install the chipset and graphics drivers from your pc support page or from the manufacturers of the hardware direct.

So those are not things Windows Update picks up automatically? Or just not the most up-to-date version?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

the ones that bundle with Windows are just usually basic drivers. if you want optimum performance and features, get the real ones. I have and AMD based system so I use their utility to get me all the latest AMD drivers for chipset and graphics

 

[JerrWolf]

the ones that bundle with Windows are just usually basic drivers. if you want optimum performance and features, get the real ones. I have and AMD based system so I use their utility to get me all the latest AMD drivers for chipset and graphics

I see, I'll wait for Colif's response, but for right now I might just try to revert the Insider Program stuff.
But I'll book mark my Asus driver page for future reference, I suppose.
Worst comes to worst I will reset windows again.

 

[JerrWolf]

As a quick update; after looking at the GSOD dmp file I realised why it looked familiar to me.

I was trying to troubleshoot stuff myself (googling troubleshooting) and enabled the Device Verifier executable in Windows, this was not allowing my system to boot up normally, so I disabled it via Safe Mode and now my system can boot up as normal.

 

[gardenman]

Hi, I ran the dump files through the debugger and got the following information: https://jsfiddle.net/uyv4gc5q/show This link is for anyone wanting to help. You do not have to view it. It is safe to "run the fiddle" as the page asks.

Spoiler: Dump File Results

File information:	070621-8562-01.dmp (Jul 6 2021 - 10:50:11)
Bugcheck:	DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION (C4)
Driver warnings:	*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for eppwfp.sys
Probably caused by:	memory_corruption (Process: System)
Uptime:	0 Day(s), 0 Hour(s), 00 Min(s), and 06 Sec(s)

File information:	070321-18531-01.dmp (Jul 3 2021 - 00:14:44)
Bugcheck:	SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION (3B)
Driver warnings:	*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for mwac.sys
Probably caused by:	memory_corruption (Process: MBAMService.exe)
Uptime:	4 Day(s), 12 Hour(s), 22 Min(s), and 09 Sec(s)

Comment: The overclocking driver "RTCore64.sys" was found on your system. (MSI Afterburner)

Malwarebytes crashed. So did the anti-virus (Emsisoft) that you have installed. Are you using a legit version of Windows? Do you have any questionable software on your system? I would consider running only 1 of those AVs for the time being.

Possible Motherboard page: https://www.asus.com/supportonly/maximus_vii_hero/helpdesk_knowledge/
You are using the latest BETA BIOS.

This information can be used by others to help you. Someone else will post with more information. Please wait for additional answers. Good luck.