Steps to Disable Automatic Driver Installation on Windows 10

Disabling Automatic Driver Updates on Windows 10

Automatic driver updates can sometimes lead to issues, especially when Windows 10 installs incompatible or incorrectly functioning drivers. If you find yourself in need of a stable driver version or wish to take manual control over your driver installations, this guide will walk you through several methods to disable automatic driver updates on Windows 10.

Here’s an overview of the methods you can utilize:

Using Settings
Using Group Policy Editor
Using the Registry Editor
Using Troubleshooter

1. Disable Automatic Driver Installation via Settings

To manage driver updates through the Windows Settings, follow these straightforward steps:

Open Settings from the Start menu.
Select System.
Click on About.
Locate and choose System Protection within the “Related settings” section.
Go to the Hardware tab.
Click on the Device Installation Settings button.
Select No (your device might not work as expected) and confirm by clicking Save Changes.
Finally, click OK.

After completing these steps, your Windows 10 machine will no longer install driver updates automatically for new hardware. Any required updates will need to be downloaded manually from the manufacturer’s website.

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2. Disable Automatic Driver Installation with Group Policy Editor

If you are using Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions, you can prevent automatic driver updates by using the Local Group Policy Editor. Here are the steps:

Open Start and type gpedit, then select the Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to the following path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update
Double-click on the Do not include drivers with Windows Updates option.
Select the Enabled option and click Apply.
Confirm by clicking OK.

With this setting enabled, your system will no longer fetch drivers during Windows Updates, ensuring more control over driver versions.

3. Disable Automatic Driver Installation through Registry Editor

For users of Windows 10 Home, you can manage driver updates through the Registry Editor—assuming you are comfortable with making changes to the system registry. Please make sure to back up your data before proceeding:

Open Start and search for regedit to access the Registry Editor.
Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching
Double-click the SearchOrderConfig DWORD value and change it from 1 to 0.
Click OK to apply your changes.
Restart your computer to enforce the new settings.

Setting the SearchOrderConfig to 0 will prevent drivers from updating when Windows checks for updates. Reverting this change is just as simple: change the value back to 1 following the same steps.

4. Disable Specific Driver Updates using Troubleshooter

If a specific driver continues to be automatically downloaded, the “Show or hide updates” troubleshooter can be useful to block it:

Download the Show or hide updates troubleshooter.
Open the wushowhide.diagcab file.
Click Next.
Select Hide updates.
Choose the driver you wish to block and click Next.
Click Close to finish the process.

This tool will prevent the specified driver from being downloaded again, although Windows may attempt to install newer versions in the future. To fully block a driver already installed, uninstall it first via Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates.

Update as of August 19, 2025: This guide has been refreshed to ensure all instructions are accurate and align with the latest Windows 10 updates.

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