Remove Old Drivers: Hardware Upgrade Guide
Resolving Performance Issues After Hardware Upgrades
Unexpected problems can sometimes arise following a hardware upgrade, or if your new hardware isn't performing as expected. A common cause is the persistence of drivers associated with previously installed hardware. These drivers, though not visible in the standard Device Manager view, can interfere with system operation.
Revealing Non-Present Devices
To address this, a specific flag must be activated to display devices that are no longer physically connected to your system. This allows for the removal of outdated drivers. Begin by launching Device Manager.
For Windows 7 or Vista users, initiate an administrator-level command prompt. Type 'cmd' into the Start menu search field.
Subsequently, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to execute the command prompt with administrative privileges. Alternatively, right-click the command prompt icon and select "Run as Administrator".
Paste the following command into the administrator command prompt:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
Then, enter 'devmgmt.msc' to launch Device Manager from within the elevated command prompt.
Within Device Manager, navigate to the "View" menu and select "Show hidden devices". This action will reveal all device drivers, including those for hardware no longer installed on your computer.
Uninstalling Old Drivers
You may observe multiple entries for the same type of device, as illustrated in the example. These represent older hardware that has been replaced.
To remove the drivers for obsolete hardware, right-click on the corresponding driver entry and choose "Uninstall" from the context menu.
This process can often resolve various system anomalies and, in some cases, even enhance performance, particularly after numerous hardware upgrades. While a performance increase isn't guaranteed, maintaining a clean system configuration is generally beneficial.
This technique is applicable across Windows 7, Vista, and XP operating systems.