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2 nights ago windows defender asked me to update some drivers, which I did but now I get a black screen with some cmd.exe title on it that disappears in a matter of seconds. I only got to read something about drivers, and I assume it's because drivers were not "well-installed", so I searched windows and it gave me the option to restore windows to a restore point set before the drivers updated. I restored twice today, the first time it said it could be restored because of an error, and it gave me the option to try again, which I did, but I got the same error. Besides, I keep getting the black screen every 30 minutes or so. I read a reset would clean my laptop, but, will USB ports, internet connection, screen or audio related drivers be deleted too?

Marcela
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  • USB drivers are built into Windows, all other drivers will be installed by Windows Update, once you reinstall Windows – Ramhound Jun 09 '18 at 17:29
  • For future reference, it is a good idea to occasionally save a copy of your [DriverStore folder](https://superuser.com/a/1199073/650163) from each Windows 10 machine. It will make things *much* easier on you if you need to perform a Windows reset/reload. – Run5k Jun 09 '18 at 18:56
  • @Run5k While this will help and is a great idea, only the actual `inf` & `sys` files are contained in the DriverStore, with most OEM equipment not able to operate properly without the software that usually accompanies most OEM, as well as non-OEM, drivers. Audio drivers often have audio management software, Graphics drivers always have graphics management software, network drivers install management software and/or support files/directories to non-`%WinDir%` locations, mice drivers come with management software, etc. A DriverStore backup will help in a bind, but cannot be solely relied upon. – JW0914 Sep 21 '19 at 13:40
  • @JW0914 There are certainly pros and cons to working with the DriverStore folder. However, my employees have been utilizing it on the three domains that I manage (encompassing more that 10,000 workstations) for over a dozen years following the release of Windows Vista, and we have never encountered any significant problems similar to what you describe. – Run5k Sep 21 '19 at 15:00
  • @Run5k I wasn't criticizing your advice, as I think what you proposed is a great idea. My only point was that when dealing with the DriverStore directory, a user should simply be aware if the solely rely upon it, the drivers will always be there, but the required management programs for those drivers won't be _(i.e. the user just needs to be aware they'll likely need to reinstall the driver at some point if they want to access the driver management software)_. – JW0914 Sep 22 '19 at 11:27

2 Answers2

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Windows is not guaranteed to have drivers for all devices. So you do risk finding yourself with some drivers missing.

What I suggest :

  1. Try to restore from an earlier restore point. If this works you may stop here.
  2. Download all suitable drivers from your manufacturer
  3. Take an image backup of your entire system disk to an external media using AOMEI Backupper Standard Freeware.
  4. Use AOMEI to Create Bootable CD/DVD or USB Flash Drive Based on Windows PE
  5. Boot this media and ensure it can see the disk with your image backup.
  6. Now you can reset the computer, and install missing drivers.
  7. If you come up against an unsolvable problem, restore the backup as a last resort.
harrymc
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  • Provided WHQL drivers are available from the manufacturer of an arbitrary device, they will be installed by Windows Update. The main exception to this are CPU drivers (Chipset, IMEI, etc.), which must be installed prior to any other software, drivers, or Windows Updates. Beginning with v1809, all OEM device drivers present during the bi-annual updates (March & September) are now copied to `%WinDir%\WinSxS` when a bi-annual update is installed, with a Reset now resetting from `WinSxS` instead of an `install.esd`/`install.wim`. – JW0914 Sep 21 '19 at 13:31
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All the drivers windows has access to are located here:

C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository

Make a backup on a thumb drive.

If you have missing drivers point the device manager to said folder on your thumb drive and it should find them.

cybernard
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