If you plan to reinstall or Windows update, you may want to back up your operating system drivers so you don't have to search for and download them again from different sources. This is especially useful if your PC does not have Internet access.
Saving network drivers In this case, the PC is a priority in order to be able to immediately connect to the Internet and download the missing device drivers.
- By using special programs, which easily save and restore the main system drivers, but do not guarantee 100% results.
- Using the OS itself using the built-in DISM utility that works with Windows images and saving the maximum number of drivers.
Reference! A driver is a small program used to ensure that the hardware installed on a PC works together with the OS.
Saving drivers with special programs in Windows 7 and 10
Step 1. Press the key combination “Win and R” (“Win” is located to the right of “Ctrl”).
Step 2. Type “devmgmt.msc” in the window that opens and click “OK.”
Step 3. View the device tree. Devices with uninstalled drivers and unidentified devices will be marked in yellow exclamation point and a question mark.
Step 4. Right-click on the required device and select “Update drivers...”.
Step 5. In the window for selecting update methods, click on the “Search and install drivers manually” link.
Step 6. Click “Browse” to select the path (folder) to the drivers, select the folder and click “Next”.
The system will search for the required driver and install it. Once the process is complete, restart your PC.
Working with drivers in DriverPack Solution
When backed up, OS drivers are usually compatible with the same version of the operating system. Drivers enabling use motherboard, also usually install and work fine.
However, there is a risk that some drivers may not work. For example, on laptops after installing the OS touchpad usually functions normally, but its special buttons may not work.
Reference! When using a laptop, you often need to go to the manufacturer’s website to download drivers, including graphics, as those received from AMD or NVIDIA drivers don't always work properly.
You can also install missing drivers in the OS using special programs that include their own proven driver databases. One such program is DriverPack Solution.
Step 2. Run the installation file from the “Downloads” folder or from the bottom panel of the browser. The program will be installed on your PC.
Step 3. DriverPack will check your PC and suggest it automatic setup. On the right side of the window, the program will show which drivers and applications will be installed. Click the green “Configure…” button and wait automatic download and driver installation.
Step 4. Restart your PC.
Installing individual drivers
You can also download individual device drivers from DriverPack Solution. Drivers in the search bar of the site can be searched both by the name of the device and by its ID, which is suitable for searching for “Unknown devices”.
Step 1. To search by device ID, right-click on the device and select “Properties”.
Step 2. Go to “Details” and select “Equipment ID” in the drop-down list.
Step 3. Click in the “Value” field on the top line and press the “Ctrl + C” combination, copying the data from the line to the PC memory.
Step 5. Insert the cursor into the search bar and press “Ctrl+V”, inserting the device ID data into the search bar.
Step 6. If DriverPack finds a suitable device driver, it will provide a "Download Driver" download link. Select the version of your operating system (indicated by the arrow) and click the download link.
Step 7 Run the downloaded file by selecting “Install only...”.
Step 9 Suitable driver device will be installed. Click "Close".
Step 10 Restart your PC.
Backing up your operating system drivers before reinstalling it can easily return all PC devices to their working state. If you were unable to create copies of any drivers, you need to go to the equipment manufacturer’s website and download their latest versions from there.
Video - How to save drivers when reinstalling Windows
Some drivers only come in ".zip" format, which do not include installation file".exe". They are as easy to install as regular drivers. Now we will tell you how to install a driver for their archive printer
Notes:
- there is no need to connect the printer until it is specified in this manual;
- These instructions apply to all Windows operating systems, from XP to Windows 10.
First of all, the downloaded driver needs to be unpacked. This can be done without paid program 7-Zip (you can download it from the official website http://7-zip.org.ua/ru/), or the paid program WinRar. You can also unpack archives with basic using Windows(if the archive is in zip format) or if the archive is self-extracting (usually it is, exe format).
Example 1. If we take as an example Xerox Phaser 3010, then you will download an archive of drivers (in exe format), which are simply packed into one file. You need to launch the downloaded archive (clicking 2 times with the left mouse button) and a window will open where you need to indicate where to unpack the drivers.
Example 2. If we download the driver in zip format, then we need to use archivers to extract the drivers. To do this, you can install one of the above archivers and then right-click on the archive. IN context menu select: “Extract all” or “Extract to current folder” or “Extract to (folder name will be written here)”.
So, the unpacked file, if you haven’t changed anything, will be located in the same folder as the downloaded archive. If you are offered a path where to unpack the drivers, be sure to pay attention to this path so that you don’t have to search for drivers all over your computer later.
After unpacking, make sure that the archive does not contain any files in the “.exe” format (for example, “Install.exe” or “Setup.exe”). If such a file was detected, then the installation needs to be carried out in standard mode (run the file and use the installer’s prompts), if not, we move further according to this guide.
Go to “Control Panel” - “Hardware and Sound” - “Devices and Printers”. IN top menu Click “Add a printer”.
After this, a window with a device search indicator will appear. Without waiting for the results, click “The printer you need is not in the list.”
After that, select the very bottom item - “Add local or network printer..." and click "Next".
In the port selection menu, we also simply click “Next” - the settings in this window are not important.
In the next window, you must click the “Have from disk” button.
In the window that appears, click “Browse”. 
Now we indicate the path to the folder that you unpacked. Next, click on the “.inf” file with the left mouse button, and then click “Open”.
Click "OK".
In the next window, select the printer (by left-clicking) and then click “Next”.
You don’t need to change anything in this window, just click “Next”.
When we complete these manipulations, the driver installation will begin. Now we wait for this process to complete on your computer. A window will appear asking you to share this printer with network users. We don’t need this, so we leave the selected top option as default and click “Next”. It is possible that this window will not appear for you. Then the window will look like this: 
Here you need to click “Done”. Now go to the folder where the devices and printers are located (it was described above how to get here) and right-click on the printer that was just installed. Click “Remove device” (the drivers will remain in the system).
After this, we connect the printer to the computer, turn on the printer and Windows will automatically install the necessary driver for your device.
Installing the driver through device manager
If the method described above did not help you, then in this case we want to offer another. Traditionally, the downloaded driver needs to be unpacked. Most often, the built-in one is enough for this purpose. Windows archiver. We have already discussed this archiver above.
Now you need to do the following: connect the printer to your PC or laptop. Open Start, write “Device Manager” in the search bar and press “Enter”;
You will see a summary of all devices connected to your computer. Your printer will be listed under Other Devices under the heading "Unknown Device". Right-click on this device and select “Update drivers...”.
In the “Driver Update” window, select the item to search for a driver manually (item 2).
Select the driver selection item from already installed drivers.
In the device type selection menu, select “Printers” and click “Next”.
And the final step: in the “Add Printer Wizard” window, select “Install from disk”, then “Browse” and specify the path to the .inf file from the unpacked folder with the driver.
After which your printer will be installed on your computer or laptop.
Backing up drivers in the Windows 10 operating system must be done before reinstalling the system, or before making changes to hardware computer. This is the easiest way to reinstall drivers.
The user can archive the drivers installed on the computer in order to restore all drivers after reinstalling the system, or in the event of a system failure, restore the desired driver from the archive. Sometimes, difficulties arise in finding the necessary drivers, especially for laptops, since manufacturers often equip the same models with hardware from different manufacturers.
Driver backups are performed by specialized programs for working with drivers, for example, free program DriverPack Solution. You can create a backup copy of the drivers installed on your computer directly in Windows 10.
In this article, we will look at four ways to backup drivers in Windows 10: two methods using command line and two ways using Windows PowerShell.
Before creating driver backups, first create a folder in the root of the disk (directly on the disk itself) where you want to save the backups. Give the folder a meaningful name on English, in this example I named the folder “DriverBackup”.
Backing up drivers using the command line
Run Command Prompt as Administrator. Enter the following command into the command line interpreter window (you can copy it from here):
Pnputil /export-driver * D:\DriverBackup
Please note that you may only have a “C” drive, not a “D” drive like I do, and also have a different folder name. Replace the “D:\DriverBackup” part of the code with your data. In the following codes from this article, also change part of the code to your location to save the drivers.
Wait until the drivers are copied, which will take some time. After the process is completed, the command line interpreter window will display the result of this operation.
You can then open the folder to ensure that the driver backups are saved on your computer.
Backing up your drivers using DISM
The second method for saving a backup copy of the drivers will also be done on the command line using the DISM.exe utility.
Run Command Prompt as Administrator. In a command prompt window, enter the following command (note the drive name and the name of your folder):
Dism /online /export-driver /destination:D:\DriverBackup
Then press the “Enter” key on your keyboard.
After this, the process of exporting copies of drivers to the folder selected for saving will begin.
Once completed, close the command prompt.
Saving a backup copy of drivers in Windows PowerShell (method 1)
Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator. Next enter in Windows window PowerShell following code:
Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination D:\DriverBackup
Then click on the "Enter" button.
Wait until the drivers are exported to the backup folder.
That's it, copies of the drivers are saved.
Creating a driver backup in Windows PowerShell (method 2)
The second method differs from the previous one in that a text file with a description of the saved drivers.
Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator. Enter the following commands (copy from here):
$drivers = Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination D:\DriverBackup $drivers | ft ProviderName, ClassName, Date, Version -auto | Out-File D:\DriverBackup\drivers.txt
The backup process will take some time.
Once the export is complete, open the folder you selected to save the backup. There you will find the file “drivers.txt”, which contains detailed information about copied drivers.
Restoring drivers from a backup in Windows 10
To install drivers from a backup after Windows reinstallation, copy a backup copy of the drivers from a permanent storage location to hard drive computer.
In the “Update Drivers” window, to answer the question: “How do you want to search for drivers?”, select the “Search for drivers on this computer” option.
In the next window, select the folder on your computer in which the drivers are saved, and then click on the “Next” button.
Then install the required driver from the list provided.
Conclusion
On the Windows 10 operating system, you can run backup drivers without using third party programs, by means of the system. Backing up drivers is done using the command line and Windows PowerShell.
If you decide to reinstall Windows, then for its further normal operation you will need to install all the necessary drivers so that there is sound, games start, and other functions work normally. Therefore, in order not to complicate your life, it is easier to make a copy of the drivers from the existing one Windows systems. This will save you from the lengthy process of searching, downloading and installing them again. To do this, this article will consider a set of free programs for extracting drivers from windows systems.
Programs for saving a copy of drivers from Windows
1. Driver Extractor is a small and free program that can save a copy of all drivers installed on the system in a short time.
Official website driver-extractor.rusc.ru
The program does not have a lot of bells and whistles and a variety of functions, this can be seen from its visual interface, which means it is intended only for extracting the drivers we need. It’s convenient that everything here is divided into categories.
Among the advantages, we can note its small size and direct purpose; among the disadvantages, there is no Russian language, although it is not particularly needed here, and there is no function (I personally did not find it) for restoring firewood to the system. That is, you will need to manually specify the path to each driver, which is not very convenient if you have to restore quite a few, but if there are 3-6, then this is tolerable.
All latest ones are supported operating systems starting from xp.
3.DriverMax
Official website innovative-sol.com
This free program has a very beautiful user interface. Initially, this program comes as a firewood updater, but the backup and restore function is also present, which made it possible to include the program in this list. Interface in English, support for all latest windows.
4.Double Driver
Visually the program differs from the previous ones, but functionally there are practically no differences. The main purpose of this program is to copy and restore drivers. This software is freely distributed and works on almost all versions of Windows. It works surprisingly very quickly, the entire copying process took less than a minute.
The program can save to the archive if necessary. There is no Russian language, but as I wrote above, it is not needed.
Download Double Driver (Yandex disk)
So the choice is yours, I would personally recommend using the programs from point 2 or 4. In my opinion, these are the two most convenient programs for extracting and restoring drivers from Windows. I tried to choose free options so that there would be no problems with activation or registration and so on, and of course there are many paid alternatives, but I think why pay if you don’t have to do it.
Before you reinstall Windows on your computer, you should take care to save all the necessary data that is located on the OS drive (usually drive C). In this article you will learn how to save drivers when reinstalling.
If you don’t have to take special care of the programs, since after installing a fresh Windows they can be easily reinstalled, then trouble can happen with the drivers. You will have to search for a long time and select what you need software for devices. An unaware user may encounter difficulties, and a professional will have to spend a lot of time. All in all the best option will save the drivers when reinstalling and then simply restore them.
Each external or internal device in a computer has its own software, a driver that allows it to work normally. Some drivers are installed with Windows. The rest must be installed separately. If a driver is not installed on the device, it will not work or will not work correctly.
How to save drivers when reinstalling
To save drivers when reinstalling, you need the Driver Genius program. Download link below. Download it and install it on your computer. When starting, an Internet connection is required, as the program must be updated.
Remember that if you change from one version of Windows to another, then backup drivers may not be suitable for a freshly installed OS, since many drivers are written separately for each version of Windows. For a backup to be restored normally, you must run it on the same Windows versions, on which it was created.
- Follow the instructions in the archive to activate the Driver Genius program.
- Launch it and click “Back Up Drivers”. Scanning of installed drivers will begin. Wait for the process to complete.
In the next window, in the “Select the backup type” list, select “Auto-Installer Archive”. This is the most convenient way save the drivers when reinstalling, since deploying a backup will not require any unnecessary manipulations. That's why I recommend him. In the same window, select a location to save the driver backup. Obviously, the backup does not need to be saved on the same disk partition on which you have installedWindows. To select a location, click the “Browse” button. Click the “Next” button and wait for the reservation to complete. It's not very long. At the end, click the “Finish” button.
Wait for the driver backup to finish 
Finish copying Then make sure that the backup copy is saved in the selected location and begin reinstalling Windows. After reinstalling Windows, run the backup file, select necessary drivers and install them.
Deploy driver backup
Bluetooth
