How to Back Up and Restore Device Drivers in Windows 11

Device drivers are small programs that help your computer talk to hardware like printers, keyboards, and graphics cards. Before you reinstall Windows, it’s smart to save a copy of all your current drivers. This way, you won’t have to search for them again later.

⚠️ Admin Required: You need to be signed in as an administrator to back up or restore drivers.

Why Back Up Your Drivers?

When you do a clean install of Windows, you lose all your drivers. Without them, your devices won’t work properly. Backing them up means you can quickly restore them without hunting online.

What You Need to Do First

Create a folder to store your drivers. For example:

C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers

Method 1: Using the DISM Command

Right-click the Start button and choose Windows Terminal (Admin). If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.

Type this command. Replace C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers with your folder path:

dism /online /export-driver /destination:"C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers"

Press Enter. Windows will copy all your third-party drivers to that folder.

Method 2: Using the PnPUtil Command

Open Windows Terminal (Admin) as before.

Type this command. Replace the folder path:

pnputil /export-driver * "C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers"

Press Enter to save the drivers.

Method 3: Using PowerShell’s Export-WindowsDriver

Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Make sure you are in PowerShell (it’s the default in Windows Terminal).

Type this command. Change the folder path as needed:

Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination "C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers"

Press Enter. This saves your drivers to the folder.

How to Restore Device Drivers

Restore One Driver Using Device Manager

Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter to open Device Manager.

Find the device you want to update (for example, your printer or webcam). Right-click it and select Update driver.

Choose Browse my computer for drivers.

Click Browse and navigate to your saved drivers folder (for example, C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers).

Check Include subfolders and click Next.

Windows will look for the best driver in your folder and install it if found.

Restore All Drivers Using Device Manager

Open Device Manager (Windows + R, then type devmgmt.msc).

Right-click the computer name at the top of the list. Or click Action in the menu. Then choose Add drivers.

Click Browse and choose your drivers folder.

Check Include subfolders. Then click Next. Windows will install all drivers it finds.

Restore All Drivers Using PnPUtil Command

Open Windows Terminal (Admin).

Type this command. Replace the folder path:

pnputil /add-driver "C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\MyDrivers\*.inf" /subdirs /install /reboot

This command installs all drivers found in the folder and its subfolders. Then it restarts your PC if needed.

Note: Save your work before running this command. Your computer may restart automatically.

Summary

• Always back up your device drivers before reinstalling Windows or making big changes.
• Use one of the simple commands (DISM, PnPUtil, or PowerShell) to save your drivers to a safe folder.
• You can restore drivers one by one using Device Manager. Or restore all at once using Device Manager or the PnPUtil command.
• Keeping drivers backed up saves time and avoids driver hunting later.
• Make sure your drivers are up to date after restoring for best computer performance.

Want to learn more about these commands? Here are some helpful links:

DISM Driver Servicing Commands

PnPUtil Command Syntax

Export-WindowsDriver PowerShell Cmdlet