How To Update Drivers On Windows 11

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1

I’m running Windows 11 and I think some of my hardware drivers are outdated because I’ve been getting random errors, slow performance, and occasional crashes in games and apps. I’m not sure which drivers I actually need to update, the safest way to do it, or whether I should rely on Windows Update, manufacturer tools, or third-party software. Can someone walk me through the best and safest way to update drivers on Windows 11 and avoid breaking anything?

2

Had the same thing on my Win 11 rig. Random crashes, stutter in games, weird errors. Here is what I do now that keeps things stable.

  1. Start with Windows Update
  • Press Win + I
  • Go to Windows Update
  • Hit “Check for updates”
  • Then click “Advanced options” → “Optional updates”
  • Install “Driver updates” you see there
  • Reboot after

This handles a lot of chipset, bluetooth, some GPU, and random device drivers.

  1. GPU driver (most common cause for game crashes)
    Check what GPU you have first.
  • Press Win + X → Device Manager
  • Expand “Display adapters”

Then grab drivers direct from vendor

  • Nvidia: GeForce Experience or the driver page
  • AMD: Adrenalin software from AMD site
  • Intel: Intel Driver & Support Assistant

Do a “clean install” option if offered.
If games crash after an update, roll back

  • Device Manager → Display adapter → Properties → Driver → “Roll Back Driver”.
  1. Chipset and motherboard stuff
    Go to your motherboard maker site (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, etc)
  • Search your exact model
  • Download:
    • Chipset driver
    • LAN driver
    • Audio driver
    • Sometimes “ME”, “SMBus”, “SATA”, “RAID” if listed

Install chipset first, then the rest. Reboot.

  1. Storage and NVMe
    For Samsung SSDs, grab Samsung Magician and their NVMe driver.
    For WD or others, check vendor tools.
    This helps if you see random freezes or high disk usage.

  2. USB and controller drivers
    If USB devices randomly disconnect

  • Device Manager → Universal Serial Bus controllers
  • Right click hubs with “Power Management” tab
  • Uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.

For game controllers, prefer official drivers or Steam’s built in support.

  1. Audio issues
    If sound pops, lags, or switches devices
  • Update Realtek or vendor audio from your motherboard or laptop support page
  • In Device Manager, uninstall “High Definition Audio Device” duplicates if you know which ones you do not use
  • Restart and let Windows re-add what is needed.
  1. Avoid random driver tools
    Third party “driver updater” apps break stuff more often than they help.
    Stick to
  • Windows Update
  • GPU vendor
  • Motherboard or laptop support page
  • Official device vendor sites
  1. Check for devices with problems
  • Device Manager → View → “Devices by type”
  • Look for yellow triangle icons
  • Right click → Properties → “General / Driver” tab
  • Hit “Update driver” → “Search automatically” first
    If Windows finds nothing and the device matters to you, search the hardware ID from the “Details” tab on the vendor site.
  1. Log issues so you see patterns
    If you get crashes
  • Use Event Viewer
    • Press Win + X → Event Viewer
    • Check Windows Logs → System and Application near the time of the crash
      GPU or driver related entries are common clues.
  1. Basic order that works for a fresh cleanup
  1. Chipset from motherboard
  2. GPU from Nvidia / AMD / Intel
  3. LAN and WiFi
  4. Audio
  5. Storage driver if relevant
  6. Then Windows Update again

If you want to be safer, create a restore point first

  • Search “Create a restore point”
  • Select C:
  • Click “Create”.

Do drivers step by step, not all at once.
Test games after GPU and chipset are updated. If things get worse after a specific driver, roll it back in Device Manager.

3

Couple of extra angles to add on top of what @viajantedoceu already covered:

  1. Figure out which drivers are actually causing trouble
    Instead of shotgun‑updating everything, try to see patterns:
  • Crashes only in certain games → probably GPU or game’s own anti‑cheat / overlay conflict, not “all drivers.”
  • Whole system freezing or stuttering when loading stuff → storage or chipset.
  • Wi‑Fi randomly dying → network drivers, power settings, or crap software from the OEM.

Check Reliability Monitor:

  • Press Start, type Reliability Monitor, open “View reliability history.”
  • Look for red X’s around the time of crashes.
  • Click them and see if it mentions a specific driver or module name (like nvlddmkm.sys, rtwlane.sys, etc). That file name usually points to a specific device driver.
  1. Use vendor tools, but don’t blindly trust them
    People either worship or hate tools like:
  • Intel Driver & Support Assistant
  • AMD Adrenalin
  • Nvidia GeForce Experience
  • Laptop OEM “Support Assist”, “Armoury Crate”, etc.

My take:

  • Use them to check for updates, then read the changelog if possible.
  • Skip “beta” GPU drivers unless a game you play specifically needs it.
  • For laptops, I usually trust the OEM app for BIOS and chipset, but for GPU I go straight to Nvidia/AMD/Intel.
  1. BIOS / UEFI update (with caution)
    This can fix weird stability issues that no driver alone will.
  • Go to your motherboard or laptop support page.
  • Compare your BIOS version (Win + R → msinfo32 → look at “BIOS Version/Date”).
  • If you’re many versions behind and the changelog mentions “system stability,” “memory compatibility,” or “Windows 11 support,” it might be worth updating.

But:

  • Do it only when plugged into stable power.
  • Don’t touch anything while it updates.
  • If your system is already stable except for one game, I’d honestly leave BIOS alone.
  1. Remove old junk drivers that linger
    Sometimes the issue is not “outdated” but “too many leftovers.”
  • Win + X → Device Manager
  • View → “Show hidden devices”
  • Look for grayed out entries under Display adapters, Sound, Network adapters, etc.
  • Right‑click and uninstall devices you know you no longer use (old GPUs, old Wi‑Fi USB sticks, virtual audio you installed months ago).

This can clean up conflicts, especially audio and controller stuff.

  1. Background crap that hooks drivers
    A lot of “driver issues” are actually:
  • RGB software
  • Motherboard utilities
  • Overclocking tools
  • Old virtual audio / virtual network adapters
  • Overlay apps (Discord overlay, Nvidia overlay, MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, etc.)

Try a clean boot test:

  • Win + R → msconfig
  • On “Services” tab: check “Hide all Microsoft services”, then “Disable all.”
  • On “Startup” tab: open Task Manager and disable everything non‑essential.
  • Reboot and test games.

If it’s smooth now, the problem is probably a third‑party service or overlay, not really the core drivers.

  1. When not to update a driver
    This is where I slightly disagree with the “update all the things” approach:
  • If a driver is working perfectly and there’s no security or compatibility fix you need, you don’t have to chase every new version. New drivers sometimes break more than they fix.
  • Network adapters and audio drivers are infamous for this. If your sound and internet are perfect, you can leave them alone unless Windows Update specifically pushes one.
  1. Use DDU only if you’re truly having GPU hell
    If your GPU drivers are really borked (games crash instantly, weird artifacts, black screens):
  • Grab Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU).
  • Boot into Safe Mode.
  • Use DDU to fully remove GPU drivers.
  • Then install the latest clean driver from Nvidia / AMD / Intel.

I wouldn’t do this as a routine thing. It’s more of a “nuclear option” when normal installs fail.

  1. Check temps and hardware too
    Random crashes aren’t always drivers:
  • Install something like HWInfo or MSI Afterburner to watch CPU and GPU temps.
  • If your CPU is pegged at 95–100°C or GPU is cooking, that can feel like a “driver” issue but it’s just thermal throttling or shutdowns.
  • Also run cmd as admin → sfc /scannow just to rule out corrupted system files.
  1. Basic “safe” order I use for a flaky system
    If you wanna clean things up without going crazy:
  1. GPU driver: clean or standard install from vendor.
  2. Chipset driver from motherboard / laptop support page.
  3. LAN / Wi‑Fi from same page.
  4. Audio from same page.
  5. Windows Update, including optional driver updates, but skip anything that looks older than what you just installed.
  6. Test games. Only then touch BIOS if it still acts up.

If you post what hardware you’ve got (desktop/laptop model, GPU, SSD brand), it’s easier to say which drivers are actually worth hunting down vs what you can safely ignore.

4

Skip mass driver updates and start with “what changed right before this got bad?” On Windows 11, that’s often more useful than chasing every new version.

1. Roll back the most suspicious drivers first

Instead of only going forward, sometimes you want to go backwards.

  • Open Device Manager
  • For GPU, audio, and network: right‑click → Properties → Driver tab → “Roll Back Driver” (if available)
  • If your problems started right after Windows Update did a driver update, rolling back can instantly fix it

I slightly disagree with the “always prefer newest from vendor” approach. For some mid‑range laptops, OEM‑tuned GPU or audio drivers are more stable than the newest generic ones, especially with hybrid graphics.

2. Use Windows’ own driver catalog intelligently

Windows Update is not useless here, you just have to control it.

  • Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates → Driver updates
  • Only install:
    • GPU drivers if you are many versions behind and not using vendor software
    • Storage / chipset if the current ones are very old
  • Ignore drivers that are clearly older than what you have (check version/date in Device Manager first)

This is safer than random “driver updater” tools and avoids some of the mess people get into.

3. Check for feature conflicts, not just crashes

Some “driver” problems show up as weird behavior rather than blue screens:

  • VRR / G‑SYNC / FreeSync issues
  • HDR not working properly
  • Second monitor blinking or losing signal
  • Controller input lag or audio crackling only when a controller is plugged in

When that happens:

  • For GPU, test with all overlays off (Steam, Discord, GeForce Experience, Xbox Game Bar)
  • For audio, try a different default format:
    • Right‑click speaker icon → Sound settings → More sound settings → your device → Advanced → change sample rate / bit depth

If a different format suddenly fixes pops/crackles, driver is fine and it was a software / configuration interaction.

4. Test drivers per device class, not all at once

To avoid introducing three new problems while fixing one, update and test in blocks:

  1. GPU only, then test 1 or 2 games you know well
  2. Chipset + storage together, then test:
    • Game loading times
    • File transfers
    • General responsiveness
  3. Network drivers, then test:
    • Ping consistency in online games
    • Large downloads
  4. Audio last, then test:
    • In‑game audio
    • Voice chat apps

If issues suddenly appear after one block, you know exactly what to undo.

5. Use Windows 11’s built‑in reset options as a last resort

If you end up in a state where drivers, services and tools are all tangled:

  • Settings → System → Recovery → “Reset this PC”
  • Choose “Keep my files” and then, if prompted, let it reinstall from the cloud

This keeps personal data but gives you a clean driver & system base. It is slower than targeted fixes but often beats spending days hunting a ghost driver conflict.

6. Pros & cons of relying on built‑in driver updating in Windows 11

Since you mentioned “How To Update Drivers On Windows 11,” here is how the OS itself stacks up:

Pros:

  • Safer default: less chance of grabbing sketchy third‑party installers
  • Usually enough for chipset, storage, and basic network drivers
  • Automatic updates for critical stuff without you needing to track versions
  • Integrates with Windows reliability reporting, which helps correlate issues

Cons:

  • GPU drivers are often slightly behind vendor releases
  • Sometimes pushes older OEM drivers over newer vendor ones
  • Very limited changelog info, so you often do not know what changed
  • Can re‑install problem drivers after you manually switch, unless you pause or block it

So my rule: let Windows 11 handle “boring” drivers, use vendor installers for GPU and sometimes audio, and only change what is clearly related to your symptoms.

7. Where I differ a bit from @viajantedoceu

They gave a very solid breakdown of tools and diagnostics. A couple of places I’d tweak the approach:

  • They are more neutral on vendor tools; I’m more skeptical of laptop OEM suites that bundle telemetry, RGB, “game boosters” and network “optimizers.” I uninstall those where possible and just keep the pure drivers.
  • They recommend BIOS firmware updates more readily. I’d be stricter: if your errors are clearly app / game specific and not system‑wide instability, I would avoid BIOS updates entirely unless the changelog directly mentions a bug you are seeing.

If you post your exact GPU and whether it’s a desktop or laptop, you can narrow this down to maybe 3 or 4 drivers that actually matter instead of nuking the whole system with updates.