in Device Mgr., Windows may just reinstall it again the next time the Windows is started, e.g. Removing driver files, but not every registry entry for that driver, can cause problems, including a Windows crash.

If software including Windows depends on a driver running, if that driver isn't running that can cause problems, including sometimes a Windows crash. Many services can be stopped, and removing a driver, for a service or hardware, can sometimes be tricky - maybe why lots of software leaves its drivers in place when uninstalled. Because drivers load early, before everything's running, software, including malware, may be designed to work as a driver, though no hardware's involved - in that case it's usually found as a Windows service. A bad, or conflicting driver, can stop the OS cold - that's why Safe Mode, though it doesn't always help. Because of the following, the best course of action IMHO is to maintain current disk image backups.īecause the OS relies on driver software to work with a device's hardware, driver software is always loaded early in the process of starting that OS.

So Not updating a driver when a new version is available can be OK, or not, depending on what that new version brings to the table, and if those responsible for the new version screwed up or not - errors happen. If there is a new driver version released it's intended to either fix something, improve performance, or work with something new, be that new hardware models or updates to the OS. FWIW, No Company Ever developed & released a new driver because their coders thought: 'Gee, this'll be fun.' A driver is the go between software used so the OS can talk to the hardware, & thus, work.

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