In this article, we will explore the command line options available in Windows for updating drivers using the Command Prompt (CMD). Updating drivers is an essential task to ensure that hardware devices in your computer are running smoothly and efficiently. While there are graphical user interfaces (GUIs) available for updating drivers in Windows, using the command line can be faster and more efficient, especially in scenarios where remote access or automation is required.

Examples:

1. List all installed drivers:
To get a list of all the installed drivers on your Windows system, open the Command Prompt and run the following command:

driverquery

This command will display a list of drivers along with their details, such as the driver name, provider, and version.

2. Update a specific driver:
To update a specific driver, you need to know the driver's name as listed in the driverquery output. Once you have the driver's name, you can use the following command to update it:

pnputil /updatedriver /driver:<driver.inf>

Replace <driver.inf> with the actual name of the driver's INF file. For example:

pnputil /updatedriver /driver:C:\Drivers\Network\wifi.inf

This command will update the driver specified by the INF file.

3. Update all drivers:
To update all drivers on your Windows system, you can use the following command:

pnputil /updatedriver /all /subdirs <directory>

Replace <directory> with the path to the directory containing the drivers. For example:

pnputil /updatedriver /all /subdirs C:\Drivers

This command will update all drivers located in the specified directory and its subdirectories.