How to Backup and Import Device Drivers in Windows 10 Using PowerShell
Device drivers are very much essential to ensure a smooth functioning of any OS. To backup these installed drivers on the machine you need to run a specific command into the Powershell.
First, you'll need to open PowerShell as an Administrator. To open an elevated PowerShell prompt, in the taskbar search bar, type powershell. Now see the result Windows PowerShell which appears on the top. Right-click on it and select Run as Administrator.
We will be using the Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet to back up your drivers. The Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet exports all third-party drivers from a Windows image to a destination folder.
In the PowerShell window, type the following command and hit Enter:
Here C:\DriverBackup is the destination folder, where the device drivers will be exported and saved to.
You can also export drivers from an offline image. This command exports third-party drivers from an offline image mounted at C:\Windows is:
After you have backup device drivers you will be able to use this backup to install drivers for all your devices.
Restoring the Drivers from Backup
After clean installing Windows, to install the drivers for a device manually (or if Windows prompts you), try this:
1. Open Device Manager, by pressing Windows + R keys and type Devmgmt.msc into opened Run box, press Enter key.
2. Right-click on a hardware and click Update Driver Software.
3. Select the second option, Browse my computer for driver software.
4. Input or browse to the drivers backup folder path.
5. Click Next and Windows would automatically find and pick the required drivers in one of the sub-folders, if "Include subfolders" is enabled.
You can also use Dism tool to import backup device drivers.
You can restore them using the following command from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Thus the drivers backup and restore task has been made plain simple and easy by the excellent DISM tool and Powershell.
How to Backup Drivers In Windows 10 Using Dism Tool
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First, you'll need to open PowerShell as an Administrator. To open an elevated PowerShell prompt, in the taskbar search bar, type powershell. Now see the result Windows PowerShell which appears on the top. Right-click on it and select Run as Administrator.
We will be using the Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet to back up your drivers. The Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet exports all third-party drivers from a Windows image to a destination folder.
In the PowerShell window, type the following command and hit Enter:
Code:
Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination C:\DriverBackupHere C:\DriverBackup is the destination folder, where the device drivers will be exported and saved to.
You can also export drivers from an offline image. This command exports third-party drivers from an offline image mounted at C:\Windows is:
Code:
Export-WindowsDriver -Path C:\Windows -Destination D:\DriverBackupAfter you have backup device drivers you will be able to use this backup to install drivers for all your devices.
Restoring the Drivers from Backup
After clean installing Windows, to install the drivers for a device manually (or if Windows prompts you), try this:
1. Open Device Manager, by pressing Windows + R keys and type Devmgmt.msc into opened Run box, press Enter key.
2. Right-click on a hardware and click Update Driver Software.
3. Select the second option, Browse my computer for driver software.
4. Input or browse to the drivers backup folder path.
5. Click Next and Windows would automatically find and pick the required drivers in one of the sub-folders, if "Include subfolders" is enabled.
You can also use Dism tool to import backup device drivers.
You can restore them using the following command from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Code:
Dism /image:C:\ /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\DriverBackup /RecurseThus the drivers backup and restore task has been made plain simple and easy by the excellent DISM tool and Powershell.
How to Backup Drivers In Windows 10 Using Dism Tool
Did you find this tutorial helpful? Don’t forget to share your views with us.