How to Install Drivers Using CMD in Windows

Damaris Gatwiri

10 hours ago

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Learning how to install drivers using CMD in Windows allows you to add or update hardware drivers through Command Prompt without relying entirely on Device Manager. Drivers help your computer communicate with hardware components such as printers, graphics cards, network adapters, Bluetooth devices, and sound cards. Windows provides built-in command-line tools that make it possible to install driver packages, update existing drivers, and troubleshoot installation problems.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator

The first step is to open Command Prompt with administrator privileges because installing drivers requires permission to make changes to Windows.

Follow these instructions:

Click the Windows Start button.
Type CMD in the search box.
Right-click Command Prompt.
Select Run as administrator.
Click Yes if Windows asks for permission.

You can now enter commands to manage drivers on your computer.

Download the Required Driver

Before installing a driver, download the correct driver package for your hardware and Windows version.

Visit the computer manufacturer’s official website, such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, or ASUS, and locate the appropriate driver.

If the driver is downloaded as a ZIP file, extract it to a folder. You should locate the actual driver files, particularly those with the .inf extension.

For example, you can create a folder called Drivers on your desktop and extract the downloaded files there.

Install a Driver Using the PnPUtil Command

Windows includes a command-line utility called PnPUtil that allows you to add and install driver packages.

In Command Prompt, enter:

pnputil /add-driver “C:\Drivers\driver.inf” /install

Replace the file path with the actual location of your driver.

Press Enter and wait for Windows to process the installation.

If the driver package is compatible with your hardware, Windows will add it to the driver store and attempt to install it on the matching device.

Install Multiple Drivers at Once

If you have several driver files in one folder, you can install them together using PnPUtil.

Enter the following command:

pnputil /add-driver “C:\Drivers\*.inf” /subdirs /install

This command searches the specified folder and its subfolders for INF driver packages and attempts to install them.

Make sure the folder contains the correct drivers for your computer.

Check Installed Drivers Using CMD

After installing drivers, you can check which drivers are available on your Windows computer.

Open Command Prompt as administrator and enter:

driverquery

Press Enter to display a list of installed drivers.

You can also save the results to a text file using:

driverquery /v /fo list > C:\Drivers\installed-drivers.txt

This creates a report containing detailed information about installed drivers.

Update Drivers Using CMD

You can use PnPUtil to add a newer driver package to Windows.

Enter:

pnputil /add-driver “C:\Drivers\new-driver.inf” /install

Replace the path with the location of the updated driver.

Windows will determine whether the package can be installed for the relevant device. If a newer or more suitable driver is already installed, Windows may not replace it.