Rolling Back a Driver

by Eric Wyatt
(last updated August 13, 2018)

There are times where you may discover that after a driver has updated that something isn't working properly. You might run into this type of issue a lot if you are downloading and using pre-release drivers or perhaps the updated driver causes a device to fail. When this happens, you can use Device Manager to roll back the driver to a previously installed version. To do this, follow these simple steps:

  1. Click on the Start button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Windows displays the Start screen.
  2. Type Device Manager and press Enter. Windows displays the Device Manager.
  3. 3. Double-click the desired device category for the item that you want to roll back. Windows expands that category to show all of the corresponding devices.
  4. Find the device you want to roll back and double-click its name. Windows displays the Properties dialog box for that device.
  5. Click on the Driver tab. (See Figure 1.)

    6. Figure 1. The Driver tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box.

  6. Click on the Roll Back Driver button.

Your computer will either roll back the driver automatically or it will display a confirmation screen asking if you're sure you want to roll back the driver. If you do, click Yes and Windows rolls the driver back to the previous version.

Now you're able to return your device to a previous driver state that you were comfortable with.

 This tip (114) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Eric Wyatt

Eric Wyatt is a swell guy (or so his friends tell him). He is a formally trained designer and branding expert, bringing a wide range of skills to his Tips.Net articles. ...

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