How do I stop Windows 10 from updating my graphics driver?
One can block Windows Update from updating one particular device. The procedure below will block updates for all versions of the driver, present and future. The accepted answer will only block one particular version and has to be re-executed every time a new driver version comes out on Windows Update, which is not very practical since we will find about it too late, when the device stops working.
Step 1 : Find device hardware ID
In Device Manager, right-click on the device, choose Properties, then in the Details tab set Property to Hardware Ids and copy the displayed id.
Step 2 : Install your driver
Disconnect the computer from the Internet, go again into Device Manager, uninstall the driver installed by Windows and install your own. Reboot, and ensure that the driver stays as installed.
Step 3 : Block driver update for that device
- Run
gpedit.msc - Go to Local Computer Policy → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → Device Installation → Device Installation Restrictions
- Double-click on Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs and set it to Enabled.
- Click the Show button to launch the dialog titled "Prevent installation of devices that match any of these Device IDs".
- Paste into Value the copied hardware-id for the device.
- Click OK until finished.
Step 4 : Finishing
Reconnect the computer to the Internet. Verify from time to time that the driver has not changed (this should not happen unless Microsoft manages to break this option).
For Windows 10 Home users who do not have gpedit.msc,
you might try to do this manipulation on another computer, not Home,
then export and import the policy to the Home computer from the registry key
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceInstall\Restrictions
See this answer for more information.
Or you may try to use the program Policy Plus, which is a Local Group Policy Editor for all Windows editions. See this article for more information.
There are a few ways around Driver Updates. Sadly most of them behave like a bull in a china shop. The easiest way would be to use the official Microsoft trouble shooting guide consisting of a downladable tool which enables the option to hide updates, as known from previous Windows versions. However this only enables you to hide a driver update; you have to uninstall it manually. The devices manager should help.
Details on the Microsoft site can be found at support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3073930:
To uninstall the unwanted driver:
- Launch the Device Manager with a right click on the lower left corner of the desktop and a left click on Device Manager.
- Located the device driver with the problem driver installed, right click and choose Uninstall.
- In the uninstall dialog, check the box to Delete the driver software for this device if available.
To temporarily prevent the driver or update from being reinstalled until a new driver or updated fix is available, a troubleshooter is available that provides a user interface for hiding and showing Windows Updates and drivers for Windows 10. You can obtain and run the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter by downloading it from the Microsoft Download Center.
The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter package now.
When you click on the download link, you will be prompted to open or save wushowhide.diagcab. Opening wushowhide.diagcab will launch the troubleshooter. Then click Next to proceed and follow the instructions provided by the troubleshooter to hide the problematic driver or update.
There's also the option for some clunky, collateral-damage-inducing solutions I will describe as follows.
Services - The check for Updates is a background service. You can change its settings in the "Services" windows. You could set it to "deactivated", for example, to completely block all updates. This is what I'd call collateral damage (but to be fair, most people I know used to never update their Windows, so blocking updates completely is back to status quo).
A bit more sophisticated, but sadly it does not come with all versions of Windows 10 - Group policies: Set a group policy allowing only the Administrator-Account to start the Update-Service.
You'll find these options here:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components>
..or..
Type "admin" in the taskbars search field, it should show up in the first entry. Type "services" to directly open the service windows.
In Windows 10 (Version 1607 - Redstone - Anniversary Update), you can now set a group policy to not install driver updates by default.
Windows 10 Home users can disable it by creating a 32Bit DWORD called ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate (and under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate if you use a 64Bit Windows 10) and set the value ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate to 1.
