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How to Manage Device Drivers with Command Line

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This topic is a how to.
Please keep it as clear and simple as possible. Avoid speculative discussions as well as deep dive into underlying mechanisms or related technologies.

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Generally speaking, the best tool to manage [[device drivers]] is “Device Manager”. That is a GUI snap-in for Microsoft Management Console (MMC). You can start it by launching devmgmt.msc. But that's not an option in some specific cases, namely:

  1. Scripting.
  2. Windows Server installed in [[Server Core]] option.

In these cases, you need a command-line tool. Microsoft provides two such tools that differ both in their capabilities and availability.

Plug-and-Play (PnP) Utility (PNPUtil.exe)

Basic Features:

  • List drivers - PNPUTIL.EXE -e
  • Add driver.
  • Install driver.
  • Remove driver.

Pros:

  • Included out of the box with all current Windows versions.
  • Syntax complexity is medium.

Cons:

  • Does not provide advanced functionality such as:
    • Disable device.
    • Select one specific driver for a specific device from the list of compatible drivers that are currently installed in the system.

Availability:

  • Inbox with all current Windows versions.

More information:

  • For a detailed description, comprehensive list of features, syntax and command-line examples please see official documentation at PnPUtil.

Device Console (DevCon.exe)

Features (also Pros):

  • All device and driver management functionality that can be found in Device Management MMC including advanced functionality such as:
    • Disable device.
    • Select one specific driver for a specific device from the list of compatible drivers that are currently installed in the system.

Cons:

  • Not available out-of-the box.
  • Syntax complexity is high.

Availability:

  • See [[How to Obtain the Current Version of Device Console Utility (DevCon.exe)]] for detailed instructions.

More information:

  • For a detailed description, comprehensive list of features, syntax and command-line examples please see official documentation at DevCon.

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