Remove Old Drivers After Upgrading To New Hardware - TheFastCode

• Home

• Español français Deutsche italiano Polskie русский bahasa Indonesia हिंदी 한국어 日本人 Türkçe اردو česky dansk Ελληνικά suomi Magyar Norsk Nederlands Português română svenska ไทย українська Tiếng Việt

Remove Old Drivers After Upgrading to New Hardware Apr 23, 2025 Hardware

If you are experiencing weird issues after upgrading your hardware, or you’ve just upgraded to the latest hardware device and aren’t seeing the performance you’d like, you might want to remove the old drivers which are still installed for the old hardware, even though you can’t normally see them in device manager.

What you have to do is set a less-known flag to allow you to see non-present devices, and then launch device manager. You’ll then see the old devices in the list, and can uninstall the drivers for them.

In Windows 7 or Vista, the first thing you’ll need to do is open a command prompt in administrator mode. Type cmd into the start menu search box, and then use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open in administrator mode. (You can also right-click on the command prompt and choose Run as Administrator)

Now paste in the following line:

SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1

Then type in devmgmt.msc to start up Device Manager from the administrator command prompt:

Once you are in Device Manager, go to the View menu and choose Show Hidden Devices, which will show all the device drivers including things that aren’t currently installed in your computer.

Notice how I have 6 mice in the list, even though I only have two installed (and my drawing tablet). The other 3 mice are old mice that I’ve used until they died…. the Geek tends to wear through input devices very quickly since he never leaves the computer…

You can right-click on the driver and then choose Uninstall from the menu to remove the drivers for that old hardware.

I’ve found that this can resolve a lot of weird issues, and even increase performance on some machines where you’ve upgraded a ton of times. This isn’t necessarily going to increase performance, but it’s nice to have a tidy computer nonetheless.

This tip also works the same in Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

How To Remove Old Device Drivers From Windows 10

How To Remove Old Device Drivers From Windows 10

How To Remove Old Device Drivers From Vista & Windows 7

How To Delete Your Old Motherboard Drivers

A Beginners Guide: What Are Display Drivers & How To Uninstall Old Drivers & Install New Drivers

Delete Old Drivers In Windows 10

A Beginners Guide: Graphics Card Drivers - How To Uninstall Old Drivers & Install New Drivers

How To Remove Old Devices And Drivers - Improve System Stability - Windows 10 Tutorial - Zany Geek

How To Delete Old Motherboard Drivers - Tutorial

Update Drivers After Upgrading To Windows 10: HP How To For You | HP Computers | HP

Hardware - Most Popular Articles

Smart Light Switches vs. Smart Light Bulbs: Which One Should You Buy?

Hardware Sep 19, 2025

If you want to control your lights from your phone or with your voice, you have two options to consider: buy smart bulbs or buy smart light switches. Here’s how to decide between ..

The Best Games for Your Low-Power PC or Laptop

Hardware May 30, 2025

PC gaming is experiencing something of a renaissance at the moment, but most people still use their machines as utilitarian web and email access points rather than a platform for..

How to Connect Your Nest Cam to a New Wi-Fi Network

Hardware Mar 9, 2025

Whether you’re moving to a place with new Wi-Fi or you just want shake things up and rename your Wi-Fi network , you’ll need to connect all of your devices to t..

What Are the Little Gray-Capped Things on RAM Modules?

Hardware Feb 28, 2025

If you are performing your first ever RAM upgrade, then watching a small piece suddenly “chip off” of a RAM module can be a very worrisome event. But is it as bad as it looks..

How to Avoid Washed Out Colors When Using HDMI on Your PC

Hardware Jun 11, 2025

Black colors may look washed out and gray if you connect your PC to its display via an HDMI cable, and it’s not your display’s fault. This is due to the way your graphics card i..

How to Enable Android 6.0’s Experimental Multi-Window Mode

Hardware Jun 20, 2025

Android 6.0 Marshmallow contains a highly experimental and hidden multi-window mode. Perhaps this will be stable in the next version of Android — it would definitely make..

How to Build a New Custom PC Without Touching a Screwdriver

Hardware Jun 19, 2025

We love building our own computers but it takes quite a bit of time. If you love to build but find you don’t have the time, a custom-built PC still gives you control over y..

How Do You Calculate Processor Speed on Multi-core Processors?

Hardware Nov 1, 2025

The advent of economical consumer grade multi-core processors raises the question for many users: how do you effectively calculate the real speed of a multi-core system? Is a 4-core 3Ghz ..

Categories

• AI & Machine Learning
• AirPods
• Amazon
• Amazon Alexa & Amazon Echo
• Amazon Alexa & Amazon Echo
• Amazon Fire TV
• Amazon Prime Video
• Android
• Android Phones & Tablets
• Android Phones & Tablets
• Android TV
• Apple
• Apple App Store
• Apple HomeKit & Apple HomePod
• Apple Music
• Apple TV
• Apple Watch
• Apps & Web Apps
• Apps & Web Apps
• Audio
• Chromebook & Chrome OS
• Chromebook & Chrome OS
• Chromecast
• Cloud & Internet
• Cloud & Internet
• Cloud And Internet
• Computer Hardware
• Computer History
• Cord Cutting & Streaming
• Cord Cutting & Streaming
• Discord
• Disney+
• DIY
• Electric Vehicles
• EReaders
• Essentials
• Explainers
• Facebook
• Gaming
• General
• Gmail
• Google
• Google Assistant & Google Nest
• Google Assistant & Google Nest
• Google Chrome
• Google Docs
• Google Drive
• Google Maps
• Google Play Store
• Google Sheets
• Google Slides
• Google TV
• Hardware
• HBO Max
• How To
• Hulu
• Instagram
• Internet Slang & Abbreviations
• IPhone & IPad
• Kindle
• Linux
• Mac
• Maintenance And Optimization
• Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Word
• Mozilla Firefox
• Netflix
• Nintendo Switch
• Paramount+
• PC Gaming
• Peacock
• Photography
• Photoshop
• PlayStation
• Privacy & Security
• Privacy & Security
• Privacy And Security
• Product Roundups
• Programming
• Raspberry Pi
• Reddit
• Roku
• Safari
• Samsung Phones & Tablets
• Samsung Phones & Tablets
• Slack
• Smart Home
• Snapchat
• Social Media
• Space
• Spotify
• Tinder
• Troubleshooting
• TV
• Twitter
• Video Games
• Virtual Reality
• VPNs
• Web Browsers
• WhatsApp
• Wifi & Routers
• Wifi & Routers
• Windows
• Windows 10
• Windows 11
• Windows 7
• Xbox
• YouTube & YouTube TV
• YouTube & YouTube TV
• Zoom
• Explainers