Keeping your system up-to-date, which includes regularly updating your drivers, is necessary for its reliable performance. If your PC is running Windows 10, then the system will update drivers automatically if it discovers that some hardware is not working properly.
Occasionally, however, updated drivers may end up causing additional issues. If this is the case, you will probably want to undo the updates and stop Windows from installing them again.
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated tool in Windows 10 that would allow you to select which drivers you don’t want to be automatically updated.
(Windows Pro and Windows Enterprise, on the other hand, do come with a new feature called Group Policy Editor that lets users make changes to avoid updates for selected drivers).
In Windows 10, you will need to use Microsoft’s wushowhide.diagcab tool to block driver updates that you do not want.
What is wushowhide.diagcab in Windows 10? In short, it is a troubleshooting app created by Microsoft to give users more control over the Windows 10 driver updating feature.
In this article, we explain how to block Windows driver updates, using the wushowhide.diagcab tool.
How to block Windows driver updates?
The first step to fixing the problem is to reverse the driver update performed by the system.
In order to do that:
- Go to Cortana’s search box, type in “Device Manager” and run the program.
- Select the device you want to reverse the update for.
- Right-click on the device and click Uninstall.
- You will see the Confirm Device Uninstall window pop up.
- Check the Delete the driver software for this device box in this window
- Click OK to confirm.
However, even after you’ve uninstalled the update, Windows will probably try to update the driver again. The only way to stop this cycle would be to use the wushowhide.diagcab tool.
Download the wushowhide.diagcab tool (also known as the Show or hide updates tool) and proceed as follows:
- Open the folder with the wushowhide.diagcab tool and open the program.
- Click Next to check for available updates.
- Then, choose the Hide updates option.
- You will see a list of updates appear below with unmarked check boxes next to them.
- Check the boxes next to the updates that you don’t want performed.
Once you’ve done that, the updates for the drivers you’ve checked will no longer be installed automatically.
If you want to take control of your driver updates and make sure your system stays up-to-date, consider installing a specialized program like Auslogics Driver Updater that will scan your PC for outdated drivers and efficiently update them before problems arise.
Have you ever encountered problems after a driver update? Share in the comments below.
