Stop Windows Driver Updates

[Nick980]

Does anyone know of a simple way of stopping Windows 11 downloading driver updates during a fresh install and then also stopping them going forward?

 

I've been having issues with the AMD Radeon 22.11.2 driver and want to roll back to an older version but Windows keeps pushing an update to 22.11.2.

 

More annoyingly when trying to do a fresh install of Windows 11 I often run into setup issues as the OS is installing device drivers in the background.

[Quackers101]

yeah there can be a lot of nonsense there.

not much you can do manually on the top, but one can install modded windows (at own risk) or using the console to block/disable?

Don't think you can do anything simple to stop it, unless no online connection helps?

 

but agree, hate this too, more so when there is no option and installs wrong driver when just trying to look for windows updates.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Quackers101

[Guest]

Its fairly easy:

Here are some methods copied from: https://windowsreport.com/windows-11-automatic-driver-update/

The graphics were eliminated to save space, but the article in its entireity is available with the above link.

 

Disable Automatic Driver Updates in Windows 11:

You can enable or disable the Automatic Driver Updates in two different methods in Windows 10/11. Follow the below-mentioned methods, if you are a windows 10/11 home user then you can use the Registry method to stop the automatic driver update.

Using Group Policy Editor:

Open Run command by pressing Windows + R and type gpedit.msc and hit enter. This command will open the Group Policy Editor.

Now navigate to the following path.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage Updates offered from Windows Update

From the left-hand side click on the Manage Updates and from the right-hand side look for the Policy Named Do not include drivers with Windows Updates.

Double click on the Policy Do not include drivers with Windows Updates and open the Policy Settings.

Now choose Enabled under Policy Settings and click on Apply and OK.

Once you Enable this policy Windows will not include the driver updates, and this will automatically stop the driver updates.

Using Registry Editor:

Note: Modifying the Registry is risky, and it causes irreversible damage to your OS Installation Follow the steps correctly. Friendly advice Before Modifying Registry Creating Restore Point is recommended.

Open the Run command by pressing Windows + R and type Regedit and hit enter, this command will open the Registry Editor console.

Now navigate to the following Registry Path.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching

From the left-hand pane click on DriverSearching and from the right-hand pane look for the DWORD named SearchOrderConfig.

Double-click on SearchOrderConfig DWORD and modify the value data from 1 to 0, and click on OK.

Close the registry editor and restart the system once, this will stop the automatic driver updates, but you’ll get the cumulative updates from Microsoft.

Using Settings App:

Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I and from the left-hand pane click on System and from the right-hand pane click on About.

Under the About page, click on Advanced system settings.

Under System Properties, click on the Hardware tab then choose Device Installation Settings.

Under Device Installation Settings, check No and then click on Save Changes.

 

I recommend the last method as its the easiest one to change back.

But in all cases you should be able to manually update drivers as needed

[Mark Kaine]

4 hours ago, Thomas4 said:

Its fairly easy:

Here are some methods copied from: https://windowsreport.com/windows-11-automatic-driver-update/

The graphics were eliminated to save space, but the article in its entireity is available with the above link.

 

 

Disable Automatic Driver Updates in Windows 11:

You can enable or disable the Automatic Driver Updates in two different methods in Windows 10/11. Follow the below-mentioned methods, if you are a windows 10/11 home user then you can use the Registry method to stop the automatic driver update.

Using Group Policy Editor:

Open Run command by pressing Windows + R and type gpedit.msc and hit enter. This command will open the Group Policy Editor.

Now navigate to the following path.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage Updates offered from Windows Update

From the left-hand side click on the Manage Updates and from the right-hand side look for the Policy Named Do not include drivers with Windows Updates.

Double click on the Policy Do not include drivers with Windows Updates and open the Policy Settings.

Now choose Enabled under Policy Settings and click on Apply and OK.

Once you Enable this policy Windows will not include the driver updates, and this will automatically stop the driver updates.

Using Registry Editor:

Note: Modifying the Registry is risky, and it causes irreversible damage to your OS Installation Follow the steps correctly. Friendly advice Before Modifying Registry Creating Restore Point is recommended.

Open the Run command by pressing Windows + R and type Regedit and hit enter, this command will open the Registry Editor console.

Now navigate to the following Registry Path.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching

From the left-hand pane click on DriverSearching and from the right-hand pane look for the DWORD named SearchOrderConfig.

Double-click on SearchOrderConfig DWORD and modify the value data from 1 to 0, and click on OK.

Close the registry editor and restart the system once, this will stop the automatic driver updates, but you’ll get the cumulative updates from Microsoft.

Using Settings App:

Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows + I and from the left-hand pane click on System and from the right-hand pane click on About.

Under the About page, click on Advanced system settings.

Under System Properties, click on the Hardware tab then choose Device Installation Settings.

Under Device Installation Settings, check No and then click on Save Changes.

 

I recommend the last method as its the easiest one to change back.

But in all cases you should be able to manually update drivers as needed

but... isnt the problem described here that Windows installs undesirable drivers (such as AMD GPU drivers ) during windows install? you don't have access to any of those settings during install...

 

That said, if its just GPU drivers (the rest should be "ok"?) then DDU can obviously help with that when the windows installation has been finished. 

 

(just a clarification for OP, how these methods could still help)

 

And yeah, i know you can modify the installer, but thats more involved and i honestly don't know how to do that, neither do i think this would be a good idea for inexperienced users.

[Guest]

For a fresh install, it can be done offline, then after completion, just the basic drivers needed will be installed. At this point you then go into Settings and make the necessary change then you run Windows update, choose which, if any drivers you want to update and go from there.

Microsoftwi tell you that you need to be connected to do a fresh install but I am unable, due to forum regulations explain how, once again it is an easy process and instructions are readily accessible.