Any time you install a new device on your computer such as video cards, sound devices or input peripherals, Windows attempts to install drivers for you using Windows Update, according to Microsoft. This feature is useful if you do not have the original installation disk or cannot find drivers for your device, but in many cases, the installed driver may be out of date. If Windows automatically installs a driver for a device that you have a more recent or stable driver for, you need to delete the driver installed by Windows before you install your own.


Step 1

Open the Windows "Start" menu and click "Run." In Windows Vista and Windows 7, "Run" commands can be typed directly into the "Start" menu's search bar.

Step 2

Type "devmgmt.msc" into the "Run" prompt or the "Start" menu's search bar and press "Enter." This command launches the Windows Device Manager.

Step 3

Click "View" and choose "Devices by Type" to arrange the items in the device listing by type. Choose the device type you need to make changes to. For example, to remove the driver for your video card, click "Display Adapters." Double-click the name of your device.

Step 4

Click the "Driver" tab to view options for the currently installed driver. Click "Uninstall Driver" to remove the driver Windows automatically installed. Click "Yes" or "Continue" to confirm the removal of the driver.