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How to Uninstall a Driver: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

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Drivers serve as key communication bridges connecting your operating system to hardware devices. Whether they’re your network adapter, printer, or graphics card, drivers make everything run smoothly. But out-of-date, corrupt, or unused drivers often lead to system slowdowns, crashes, or faulty hardware. When that happens, the removal of the faulty driver is often a troubleshooting necessity.

In this tutorial, we will show you, step by step, how to safely remove a driver. We’ll discuss built-in system processes and introduce you to a robust tool, Master Uninstaller, that removes residual driver package files left after default uninstalls. 

Methods To Uninstall a Driver 

Method 1: Use Master Uninstaller to Remove Drivers and Clean Residual Files

If you want a hassle-free method of deleting drivers and erasing all traces they leave behind, Master Uninstaller is a robust tool to consider. With its compatibility with Windows 10 and 11, it’s a tool that allows you to remove residual package files of drivers, directories, and registry entries. It’s a tool for users who desire more than what you can achieve with a standard Windows built-in uninstaller.

What distinguishes this application uninstaller from other software is that it searches deep within your system to find hidden leftovers that most often linger after regular removal.

Whether you have a pesky driver package or want to declutter, Master Uninstaller guarantees a hassle-free, uncluttered experience with a mere click. With a new, user-friendly interface and deep system cleaning technology, Master Uninstaller keeps your PC in top shape and responsive.

Key features of Master Uninstaller

  • One-click uninstallation for drivers and installed software
  • Thorough removal of residual files, folders, and registry entries
  • Batch uninstall functionality for managing multiple programs at once
  • Ability to disable unnecessary Windows services for performance improvement
  • Efficient space cleaner to remove large and rarely used files
  • Clean and modern interface suitable for all users

Steps to uninstall a driver using Master Uninstaller

Follow these instructions to safely and permanently remove a driver with Master Uninstaller:

Step 1: Download & install Master Uninstaller

Visit the Master Uninstaller website and download the tool’s current version. After downloading, execute the installer and follow the instructions to install it in your Windows 10 or Windows 11 system.

A screenshot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Step 2: Open tool and find residual driver files 

Open Master Uninstaller and navigate to Residual Software in the left panel menu. The software will scan automatically and show a list of residual driver components from previous removals. Find the files you want to eliminate and hit Clean.

A screenshot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Step 3: Start cleanup 

Master Uninstaller will start deleting chosen driver files. It not only uninstalls the primary driver, but it cleans up related directories, files, and registry entries—leaving nothing behind. When finished, your computer will be cleaner and possibly more responsive.

Method 2: Uninstall drivers via  PC Management 

This process employs the native Computer Management tool in Windows to access as well as delete drivers. It works most effectively if you’d rather eliminate drivers manually without third-party software.

Step 1: Open Computer Management

Right-click “This PC” on your desktop or in File Explorer, then choose “Manage” from the context menu.

Step 2: Access Device Manager

From the Computer Management window, click “Device Manager” in the left panel under “System Tools”.

Step 3: Find and remove the driver 

Expand the category about the driver you’d like to delete (e.g., Display adapters, Network adapters, etc.). Right-click on the device’s name and select “Uninstall device.”

In the dialog box, check “Delete the driver software for this device” if it’s available, then click Uninstall.

Step 4: Restart your computer 

After uninstalling the driver, reboot your computer to complete the task and implement the changes.

A screenshot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Method 3: Use Control Panel to Remove Driver-Associated Software

Drivers in some cases, most notably, those for sound devices, video cards, or printers, come coupled with extra software. These packages can usually be uninstalled from the Control Panel.

Procedure to remove driver-related software through Control Panel:

Step 1. Open Programs and Features

Visit Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. Alternatively, search for “Programs and Features” in the search bar.

Step 2: Find the driver package

 Scroll through the list to locate software pertaining to the driver, like NVIDIA Graphics Driver, Realtek Audio Manager, or Intel Chipset Software.

Step 3: Remove the software

Choose the item that applies to you, then click Uninstall. Proceed to follow any further instructions. Reboot your computer if necessary. 

Note: Although it does not remove the driver from the Device Manager, it does remove supporting utilities and files that can slow down performance or create conflicts.

Conclusion 

Uninstalling drivers is essential in maintaining your PC’s health as well as its performance. Be it resolving hardware issues or updating newer drivers, or clearing out old files, removing drivers in a correct manner guarantees system stability as well as prevents conflict.

With utilities like Master Uninstaller, which can scan thoroughly through leftover files that most removal processes tend to leave behind, it can be made easier.

There also exist built-in programs in Windows, like Device Manager, with which manual uninstalls can effortlessly be carried out without a requirement to launch other programs.

Therefore, by keeping to the instructions given in this tutorial, you can safely remove drivers from your PC running Windows 10 or 11, keep your computer in a healthy, updated, and functional state.

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GeoSn0w is an iOS and Jailbreak enthusiast who has been around for quite some time in the community. He developed his own jailbreaks before and is currently maintaining iSecureOS, one of the first iOS Anti-Malware tools for jailbroken devices. He also runs the iDevice Central on YouTube with over 149.000 Subscribers!

With over a decade of iOS jailbreak experience and several jailbreak tools built by him, GeoSn0w knows the jailbreak scene quite well having been part of several releases over the years.

GeoSn0w is also a programmer focused primarily on iOS App Development and Embedded programming. He codes in Swift, Objective-C and C, but also does PHP on the side.

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