List Installed Drivers via Command Line - Windows & More
Listing Installed Drivers via Command Line
Previously, we explored utilizing DriverView to quickly examine the installed drivers on a system. However, what if DriverView isn't already present on the target machine? Windows Vista and XP include a command-line utility that provides comparable functionality.
The DriverQuery Command
This utility is also beneficial for users comfortable with command-line interfaces, particularly those with Cygwin installed, allowing for efficient filtering of results using tools like grep. Executing the command without any arguments will produce the standard output.
To obtain more detailed information, the /v parameter can be employed:
driverquery /v
Alternatively, the /FO switch allows for output formatting in list or CSV format, instead of the default table arrangement.
driverquery /FO [list, table, csv]
Formatting the Output
For example, running the command to display verbose information in list format would be done as follows:
driverquery /FO list /v
The resulting output will resemble this:
Redirecting Output to a File
If Cygwin is installed, the output can be piped through grep for targeted searches. However, a simpler approach is to redirect the output to a text file:
driverquery > test.txt
Knowing how to leverage the command line is consistently a valuable skill.