The unsung heroes of any computer system, device drivers play an instrumental role in ensuring seamless communication between the Windows OS and an array of hardware components—graphics cards, printers, Bluetooth devices, network adapters, and more. Picture these drivers as interpreters—translating your system’s language for the hardware and vice versa. Without the right driver, or worse, with a corrupted one, your computer could face debilitating glitches, or come to an unexpected halt.
Ever stumbled upon a hardware hiccup? It might just be your device driver waving a red flag. Manufacturers routinely roll out updates, ensuring these drivers are in their prime to deliver smooth, uninterrupted performance. If your driver’s age surpasses the 1-2 year mark, it’s worth popping over to the manufacturer’s website for a quick version comparison.
But, if wading through website pages and version numbers isn’t your cup of tea, fret not. The digital realm offers a buffet of software solutions like DriverMax, Double Driver, DriverBackup, and Snappy Driver Installer to lighten your load. Still, if you’re keen on a more hands-on approach, this guide unveils two foolproof ways to ascertain your device driver’s version, whether through the Device Manager or with the prowess of Windows PowerShell. Dive in and arm yourself with the know-how to keep your system’s translators in top-notch condition.
How to resolve the driver version using Device Manager?
To examine the drivers’ version of a device on Windows 11/10 using the device manager, perform the following steps:-
Step 1: First, go to the Start button on the taskbar and type Device Manager.
Step 2: Find Device Manager in the search results. Double-click on it to open Device Manager.
Step 3: Find the device category that you want to check the driver version. Now, double-click to expand it.
Step 4: Right-click on the device name and go to the Properties option.
Step 5: Browse the Driver tab in the Device Properties dialog.
Step 6: Here, you will find the driver version, provider, and date.
After completing all the above steps, you now know the driver version. You can visit the manufacturer’s website to see if they have any latest versions made available for the same and update accordingly.
How to check the driver version using Windows PowerShell?
You can also use the PowerShell command to verify the driver version for more devices at once. To see the driver version using PowerShell, follow these steps:-
Step 1: First, go to the Start button on the Taskbar and type PowerShell. In the available search results, please right-click on the Windows PowerShell entry and select Run as administrator to run it with elevated privileges.
Step 2: As the Windows PowerShell opens, type the following command and press Enter. It will list the drivers installed on your computer:-
Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver| select DeviceName, Manufacturer, DriverVersion
Step 3: After executing the above command in the Windows PowerShell window, the driver version of all hardware devices will be there in the third column on the right.
You will know the driver version when the above steps are completed. If they have any latest versions available for the same and update accordingly, you can visit the manufacturer’s website to see them.
Conclusion
Device drivers act as critical interpreters, ensuring the Windows OS and hardware components communicate effectively. Whether they’re out-of-date or corrupted, they can cause considerable system issues. Regular updates by manufacturers help in keeping these drivers optimal. For users who find manual checks tedious, several software solutions can assist. For those who prefer to keep things hands-on, the guide provided two methods: using the Device Manager and Windows PowerShell to check the driver’s version. Equipped with this knowledge, users can maintain their system’s performance by ensuring their device drivers are always updated.
