Updating drivers is an essential task for maintaining the performance and stability of your Windows system. Outdated or incompatible drivers can cause various issues, including crashes, hardware malfunctions, and poor system performance. In this article, we will explore how to update drivers using the Command Prompt (CMD) in the Windows environment, providing step-by-step instructions to ensure a smooth driver update process.

Examples:

1. Checking for Available Driver Updates:
To begin, open the Command Prompt by pressing Win + R, typing "cmd," and hitting Enter. Once the Command Prompt window appears, execute the following command:

driverquery

This command will display a list of installed drivers along with their details, such as the driver name, provider, and version. By reviewing this list, you can identify outdated drivers that require an update.

2. Updating a Specific Driver:
Once you have identified the driver you wish to update from the list generated by the previous command, execute the following command in the Command Prompt:

pnputil /add-driver <driver.inf>

Replace <driver.inf> with the path to the driver's .inf file on your system. This command will install the updated driver, replacing the old version.

3. Updating All Drivers:
To update all drivers on your system simultaneously, you can use the following command in the Command Prompt:

pnputil /add-driver *

Executing this command will install all the drivers located in the same directory as the Command Prompt executable.

4. Verifying the Driver Update:
After updating a driver, it is crucial to verify that the update was successful. To do this, execute the following command in the Command Prompt:

driverquery /v | findstr "<drivername>"

Replace <drivername> with the name of the driver you updated. This command will display the updated driver's details, confirming the successful update.