Should I get all drivers from third-party websites or Windows to do it?

I am on Windows 10. We have switched off Windows Update (via a registry key provided by Microsoft).

I have prepared an image and once installed (and I am off the network), I can see missing drivers and default drivers being used via Device Manager.

Now I connected to the network and even though a windows update has not occurred (due to key setting), I see the drivers updated (my Microsoft Display Adapter has changed to 'Intel Graphics'). And other drivers are up to date and there are no warning signs in Device Manager.

I was under the impression that the drivers would not update unless I did a Windows update or I installed third-party drivers via Device Manager.

Is this correct behavior?

Also, do I need to visit the third-party web sites to download drivers or is this not necessary as I do not see any issues in Device Manager?

JD.

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 215

I would be really interested to know how you switched off Windows Update! It drives me mad sometimes. I'd love to be back in control. Please can you share the reg key and source? – Avrohom Yisroel – 2017-08-04T15:58:52.133

2@AvrohomYisroel you can disable with ShutUp10, but that's horribly insecure. – Ave – 2017-08-04T16:06:03.063

Chat offline and I'll provide it. – JD. – 2017-08-04T17:17:56.360

3I don't quite understand what you've meant by "3rd party". If it's a website of hardware manufacturer, it's a party in the deal that got you the equipment, therefore "2nd party". "3rd party" would be yet another company that's not related to you, Microsoft or the hardware vendor, like drivers.com - in that case the answer is never. – Agent_L – 2017-08-04T17:54:54.733

You've probably heard this before, and maybe you have a good reason, but for others visiting this post: here's a good article about why disabling Windows update is almost always a very bad idea: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39901382

– CullenJ – 2017-08-04T21:15:48.103

@AvrohomYisroel the easiest way to disable windows update, is by simply stopping the Windows Update service, and then set it to disabled. Just stopping the service will keep it stopped until next reboot, but keep in mind, if Windows Update already scheduled a reboot, a process is active in memory. Don't forget to use task manager to kill that process too, or it will still reboot. – LPChip – 2017-08-04T21:57:24.113

@Agent_L you are the second party, hence why it's not an often-used term. – OrangeDog – 2017-08-05T12:33:43.733

@CullenJ I should have made myself clear. I wasn't intending to disable it completely, I just want to run it on my terms, ie not have Windows reboot my machine when I don't want it to. I understand the benefit of keeping Windows up to date, I just don't like the way Windows 10 takes control away and does it for you, irrespective of whether or not it's convenient (and sometimes it's very inconvenient!) – Avrohom Yisroel – 2017-08-05T21:49:57.883

Answers

Windows performs a routine maintenance check every so many hours. One of the tasks it does is checking if there is a problem with hardware. It will try to fix it automatically or, if not capable, inform the user.

One of the methods of fixing a driver issue, is by checking if a new driver is available online. If so, it will download the driver and install it.

The driverpool Windows uses may or may not be the latest driver available, but it will be a stable driver, unless it somehow is incompatible (usually happens just after a major Windows update). The driver may be a slimmed down version though, but most of the time, that is enough.

In any case, it is safe to use these drivers.

Updating to those provided by the web, can be beneficial, but it may also install a different version of the exact same drivers already installed (for example, Microsoft installed an English driver, and you downloaded the one native to your language).

The only time when using the drivers from the manufacturer website is important, is when you talk about graphics drivers, especially those by AMD and Nvidia, as they continuously tweak their drivers to give better performance.

Microsoft usually does not update the drivers in their driverpool that frequently. If you use hardware that is older, the drivers provided by Microsoft will likely be the latest.

So: Should you update every single device with new drivers from the manufacturer website? My advise is: only if you are missing features or noticing performance issues. When I format my Windows, I rarely install other drivers. Only for my video card and sound card, as they both require special drivers to access the hardware exclusively.

LPChip

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 42 190

Thanks for the reply. So this routine maintenance check is outside of 'Windows Update'? I need to confirm this as I have as mentioned I have automatic updates off by setting a registry key. – JD. – 2017-08-04T15:47:58.070

Yes. It will utilize the Windows Update feature set but is not considered to be part of Windows Update, and therefor even if you have Windows Update set to specific settings, Routine Maintenance will still use Windows Update to do its magic. You can disable Routine Maintenance through group policy or registry setting too. – LPChip – 2017-08-04T21:56:19.693

Thank you, did not realize there was a GPO for Routine maintenance. – JD. – 2017-08-07T13:18:42.190

Several questions are being asked here, I'll try to answer them all in proper order.

Should I get all drivers from third party websites or allows windows to do it?

You should look yourself for drivers on the manufacturers' websites. This way, you are guaranteed to get the most updated drivers for your devices. Allowing Windows Update to install drivers is a risk, and I would not recommend it unless the peripheral did not work and there were no other options available. It has happened (to me, to people I know, to users of this website) that Windows Update installed a driver and the system became unbootable or unstable.

I see the drivers updated. Is this correct behavior?

Yes. Windows itself includes some drivers that do not have to be downloaded from Windows Update. Take as an example the drivers that get installed automatically whenever you insert a USB storage stick.

Do I need to visit the 3rd party web sites to download drivers or is this not necessary as I do not see any issues in the device manager?

It is not necessary, but desirable: it warrants you get the latest drivers and all available fixes and performance improvements. Third-party website should mean the pc or perpheral manufacturer's website, and not just any website offering drivers for download.

simlev

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 3 184

So these driver updates are outside of windows update? – JD. – 2017-08-04T17:19:21.217

I would make a distinction when you say that visiting third party websites is desirable to note that this only applies to the manufacturer's website, and not any number of portals distributing drivers – Patrick Trentin – 2017-08-04T20:38:11.980

@PatrickTrentin The author of this answer specifies using the manufactures website – Ramhound – 2017-08-05T13:37:30.213

@Ramhound the last part is ambiguous due to quoting the question which is ambiguous. – Patrick Trentin – 2017-08-05T16:40:45.653

I see nothing ambiguous about this answer and I am the most cynical person you can find – Ramhound – 2017-08-05T18:22:44.643

@Ramhound I, instead, saw something ambiguous, and it seems to me our opinions are equally relevant. Have a nice day. – Patrick Trentin – 2017-08-06T15:02:29.927

@JD. Yes, in the sense that driver installation happens even if Windows Update is disabled, as you could yourself observe. – simlev – 2017-08-07T08:07:03.113

Yes, this is correct behavior. Microsoft works with manufacturers to provide (basic) drivers. Therefore, Windows update is usually enough. However, if you have an expensive video card, I suggest downloading the drivers from the website of the manufacturer.

John Stoneman

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 491

When you get drivers from Microsoft, you get just that: the driver.

When you get drivers from manufacturer, you sometimes get a horribly bloated bundle of custom software and the driver in one package.

Therefore, I do not recommend getting the driver from hardware manufacturer unless it provides additional features that you actually want. (There is a third option: download the bundle, rip it open, extract the driver and dump the bloatware. But it's difficult, time consuming and unreliable.)

Agent_L

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 1 493

Not only that, but sometimes the manufacturer's driver will have issues. Windows update should be more stable. Historically this has been a problem with intel ethernet hardware, one of the reasons why vendors keep previous versions for fallback. – mckenzm – 2017-08-05T04:03:01.053

1Very incorrect, you have a 50/50 chance of getting the correct driver from either. I have seen Windows update messing up really bad installing the wrong drivers during the years of transition from Windows XP to Vista then Windows 7. – Ulkoma – 2017-08-05T09:41:26.717

I tried a lot of drivers sources. The best is always the website of your laptop, or of the manufacturer of that hardware. There you can specify exactly what hardware you have, and in which operating system you want to install. I don't prefer driver searching installing software because they occasionally download garbage, or fail to find proper drivers.

Mohammed Noureldin

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 1 123

Always get drivers from the manufacturer's website. For one thing I seem to download them faster directly rather than through Window's update service.

Or get them through the computer maker's site. If you have a Dell they'll have a list of all drivers for your model of laptop to save you having to go to each specific site, unless of course you already know exactly the drivers you need.

T Crumpen

Posted 2017-08-04T13:58:27.640

Reputation: 421