Windows 10: Updating Drivers: Let Windows or Use Mfr Updates?

Win 10 Pro 1909 (18363.752)

Things have gotten so complex and I'm confused about best practices. Should I let Windows manage all driver updates (via "push") or should I be updating drivers from the Mfr website ("pull")?

Example: I have an Acer tower. If I go to the Acer support site and punch in my computer's serial number, it lists a boatload of driver updates available - all from 2017. I bought the machine in April of 2019 so I don't know whether I need to install these, or just let Windows handle it. It *used* to be that the most reliable source for driver updates came from the manufacturer; I don't know if that's still true. To add to my confusion, the Acer site has the following statement: "After upgrading to Windows 10, if there are any drivers that haven't been installed, please run Windows Update to install the appropriate drivers." What does *that* mean?

Look at these partial screenshots:







AMT Driver? Do I need that? This is a home machine, not managed by IT, so is it even applicable? From the site, it appears that it's up to me to figure out. There are two bluetooth drivers... which one? Then there are chipset drivers, ya-da, ya-da, ya-da...

I would appreciate a little guidance on "best practices" on these sorts of updates so I don't go poking around and end up regretting what I do with these.

Thoughts?

:)

 

NVIDIA Adds Windows 8 to GeForce Driver Update Stack

AMD may have been the first to be out with drivers for its Radeon GPUs that are optimized for Windows 8 (WDDM 1.2), but NVIDIA went a step ahead of "special-releases" for its GeForce drivers, and added Windows 8 to its update stack, meaning that Windows 8 will feature in the list of operating systems to pick from, to download drivers. NVIDIA will constantly update these drivers along with mainline releases for Windows 7/Vista and XP. The latest such driver is 296.17. This driver supports GeForce and Quadro GPUs, and according to NVIDIA, is a quick-update over 295.73 WHQL, with the addition of performance optimization for Blacklight: Retribution.





Source: VR-Zone

 

Driver update software

Windows Update should have a considerable amount of good drivers. They'll be listed under the "Optional Updates" section. That should give you rather good functionality right off the bat. If it's a branded PC, latest drivers will likely have to come from the manufacturer's website. For the most part, built-in drivers should be Good Enough™

I don't think I've run across an automagic driver installer that wasn't loaded with malware.

 

Windows Updates failed to instal

I'm not sure how differant XP media center Edition is but you could clear the history \ cache if these folders are there.

Step 1 Register DLL files.

=================

By trying this step, we can check if the update engines are working properly.



1. Close all instances of Internet Explorer.

2. Click Start and Run, type "Regsvr32 atl.dll" (without quotes) in the Open box and click OK.



Note: There is a space between regsvr32 and atl.dll



3. Similarly, one by one, register the files listed below:



Regsvr32 msxml3.dll

Regsvr32 wuapi.dll

Regsvr32 wuaueng.dll

Regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll

Regsvr32 wups2.dll

Regsvr32 wucltui.dll

Regsvr32 wups.dll

Regsvr32 wuweb.dll

Regsvr32 qmgr.dll

Regsvr32 qmgrprxy.dll

Regsvr32 jscript.dll



Note: If you encounter errors while registering any of these files then skip that file and continue with the next one.



If the issue persists, let's move on to the steps below to verify Windows Update services and temporary folders.



Step 2 Verify the relevant Windows Update services.

=========================================

1. Click Start->Run, type "services.msc" (without quotation marks) in the open box and click OK.

2. Double click the service "Automatic Updates".

3. Click on the Log On tab, please ensure the option "Local System account" is selected and the option "Allow service to interact with desktop" is unchecked.

4. Check if this service has been enabled on the listed Hardware Profile. If not, please click the Enable button to enable it.

5. Click on the tab "General "; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic" or "Manual". Then please click the button "Stop" under "Service Status" to stop the service.

6. Then please click the button "Start" under "Service Status" to start the service.

7. Please repeat the above steps with the other services:



Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Event Log

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)



Note: Event log service is enabled on all of the hardware profiles; this service does not have an option to enable or disable on certain hardware profile.



If it still does not help, let's proceed to step 3.



Step 3 Reload the Update temporary folders.

===================================

One possible cause is that the temporary folder for Windows Update is containing corrupted files. Let's erase all the files there to get the system clean.



1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.



Net stop WuAuServ



2. Click Start, Run, type: %windir% and press Enter.

3. In the opened folder, rename the folder SoftwareDistribution to Sdold.

4. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.



Net start WuAuServ



Please test the Windows Update website and let me know the result. If the issue persists, to clarify the issue and provide more accurate troubleshooting steps, please assist me in collecting the following information.