Every user familiar with the basics of computer operation knows that absolutely all hardware and some virtual devices installed in a computer system will not work without special control software called drivers. Checking drivers in Windows 10 or any other system of a rank below implies several basic aspects. It is proposed to talk about them in order to find out all the nuances as detailed as possible. And it’s worth starting with what types of checks can be in the system and why they are needed.
Checking drivers in Windows: what is it and what is it for?
So, let's immediately determine what exactly the system checks. Firstly, when installing such software, a request is made to confirm the so-called digital signature, confirming the officiality of the driver and its publisher (developer). Secondly, checking drivers very often concerns the relevance of their status to the current date. It is clear that the initially installed software becomes obsolete over time, and some updated programs that present their own requirements for installed drivers do not accept their outdated versions. Because of this, neither the hardware (hardware) nor the installed program works. As an additional aspect, you can add a check for missing or damaged device drivers.
Can I install drivers without a digital signature?
Based on the main areas of monitoring, for a start we will focus on checking driver signatures. Why does the system require such a signature? It's not even that it confirms the developer or the legality of the installed software. The key point is that the presence of a driver signature indicates its official security. And Windows-systems (especially the latest modifications) in this matter are very picky and block everything that is possible. Nevertheless, installing such software even in the absence of a signature can be completely elementary.
When issuing a UAC request, you just need to give permission to perform the operation. If a notification appears about blocking the execution of the launched file or program, go to the extended description and click the "Run Anyway" button.
Another way to bypass the digital driver check is to agree with a warning message that may appear directly in the installer.
For example, when installing the DriverPack Solution program at one of the stages, simply activate the line confirming your agreement to install the driver without a signature. The system will issue a warning that it is better not to install such a driver.
Ignore the warning and press the "Install anyway" item. Then again, a requirement may appear that, they say, Windows requires a driver with a signature. Close the warning and continue the installation.
But why does Windows driver signature verification require time and time again? Yes, only because in the above example, the software package itself is freely distributed. In addition, its contents can be changed (which many enthusiasts do). It turns out that only the very first official package has the publisher’s signature, and all the other repacks posted for free access on the Internet do not. In other words, Windows cannot find a reliable source that could confirm the reliability of the user who posted the application on a specific resource, despite the fact that the reliability of the Internet resource itself does not raise questions.
How to disable driver signature verification at system startup?
Finally, let's move on to practical steps and see how to deactivate the check and get rid of constant requests and warnings. The most believed to be the simplest method that allows you to quickly disable the digital signature verification of drivers is to perform the necessary actions even at the start of the operating system by calling the boot menu by pressing the F8 key at the beginning of the boot.
In the menu itself, you just need to select the option to disable the mandatory check, after which the desired driver can be installed without any problems.
Deactivating verification through group policies
You can disable driver checking for signatures through group policies. The editor is called from the Run console by the gpedit.msc command.
Here, in the user configuration section, you need to go to the administrative templates, select the system folder, and use the driver installation section in it. Next, you need to go into editing the digital signature parameter, which is located in the window on the right and set the following options for it:
- of the three main points, the line “Enabled” is activated;
- in the driver detection parameters section without a signature, the value “Skip” (ignore) is selected from the list, by pressing the “OK” button, the installed options are saved, and the questions of disabling the scan can be considered exhausted.
Disabling verification through the command line
In principle, driver signature verification can also be deactivated through the command console (cmd) using the bcedit tool. It goes without saying that the console needs to be run exclusively on behalf of the administrator. There may be two options. In the first case, two commands are written sequentially:
- bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS;
- bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON.
The second option looks preferable, since it implies the use of only one command:
- bcdedit.exe / set nointegritychecks ON.
Actually, in both cases, the result is the same.
Using the Driver Verifier Tool
To verify drivers (missing components) or disable various kinds of checks, the Driver Verifier utility built into Windows is suitable, which is launched through the command line by entering the verifier command.
In the check manager window, check the box for deleting existing parameters, and then, returning to the command console, write verifier / bootmode resetonbootfail. By the way, it is this command when restoring the system after the appearance of blue screens that eliminates driver problems if the failures were associated with them.
Windows driver update issues
But all of the above concerned only the verification of drivers for their respective digital signatures. Now let us dwell on the issues of updating such management software. There are no automated update tools on Windows. The maximum that you can use is the “Device Manager”.
The use of this toolkit seems somewhat inconvenient. The fact is that you can update drivers only for each individual device, after making sure that the driver version is outdated. But the update itself is by default made either from its own database, the status of which may be irrelevant at the moment, or by searching for the appropriate software on the Internet, but, again, only on the Microsoft website. Specifying the location of the driver saved by the user is tantamount to self-installation, and in previous cases, the system usually reports that the most suitable software has already been installed. In addition, for non-standard equipment, checking drivers in the system database will not reveal anything, and the devices themselves will not work. The only plus is the ability to display information on the equipment ID with the identifiers DEV and VEN, by which you can search for a driver on the Internet yourself.
Programs for automatic search and updating of management software
But why complicate your life using the Windows toolkit, which, as already understood, is far from perfect? You can use automated tools specially designed for such purposes, among which the most powerful and popular are DriverPack Solution, Slim Drivers and Driver Booster.
The first two applications have their own database and can be used even during the initial installation of drivers, if the original disk with such software is missing. The third utility is intended only for installing or updating drivers via the Internet. The advantage of such programs is that they use only the official resources of the equipment manufacturers and developers of the appropriate drivers for the update, which completely eliminates the penetration of viruses into the system and allows you to install only the latest drivers that are most suitable for a particular type of device without user intervention. User actions come down only to agree with the installation proposal and check the box for the automatic restart of the system after integrating the drivers into the system. Scanning, installation and rebooting will be done automatically.
DriverPack Solution
This utility is available in three versions: a stationary program, a disk application with the ability to download before the start of the system, and an online application.
In any case, you can use your own database for the initial installation of any software, and update via the Internet. By the way, it is this package that leads in all ratings, since its driver database is the largest of all known (Windows, as they say, was not around here). When starting the application, as usual, driver checking starts. First, missing components are identified, if they are detected, they are installed, and then updates are installed for the entire list of devices.
Slim drivers
This application is not much different from the previous one and works on the same principle. Here are just a smaller database. However, to quickly install drivers without connecting to the Internet at startup, for example, from a regular USB flash drive or over a network, the program is just perfect.
Driver booster
In this application, the drivers are also first checked for their presence and for the current status, after which a notification is issued on how many drivers need to be updated.
You can install updates either for each individual component or use the "Update All" button, after which the latest versions of the management software will be installed for absolutely all devices that require updating drivers.
Afterword
So, we examined the main areas related to monitoring some important aspects related to drivers. Naturally, many now have questions about what methods to use to disable various kinds of checks from the system and to update drivers.
You can disable signature verification by any of the proposed methods. There is not much difference between them, but the output is the same. Here, as they say, who is more convenient. But in matters of updating, it is better to give preference to third-party utilities, especially since when installing them, special clients are integrated into the system that monitor the release of updated versions of drivers and promptly remind the user of the need to install them. And the applications themselves are updated quite often.