The folders, files and programs that make it possible for a system like Windows 10 to be functional number in the thousands. These components come by default with the system, or are added over time. Here we want to focus on a series of small applications that are key to all this, we refer to drivers .
The truth is that initially, as we use Windows, install programs and uninstall them, or add our own information, all of this accumulates. With this, what we really want to tell you is that over time the Microsoft software saves a series of files of greater or lesser importance on the disk drives.
Well, they are fundamental contents for Windows , files belonging to the users, belonging to the programs that we install, temporary files, etc. It is precisely for this reason that, as we have mentioned on countless occasions, it is most convenient for us to be careful when eliminating this content. We can seriously damage the operating system by having to take more drastic measures to recover it. Whether we like it or not, due to this set of things, all this little by little takes up considerable space on the disk drives.
Save disk space by deleting unnecessary drivers
It may be the case, as surely many of you have already verified first-hand, that we want or need to free up space on the disk drives . But not only that, but it can also happen that we want to perform a cleaning to optimize the use of space and the operation of the system. You already know that your photos and videos are one of the files that generally occupy the most space, more if they are of high quality.
But here we want to help you in this same sense by talking about one of the elements that we can safely erase. In particular we refer to the backup copies of the drivers and the old controllers. These, over the months and years and with the use of Windows, are saved on the hard drives of the Windows PC . Here the first thing we should know is that when we refer to drivers, these are very important small applications for the computer. The main reason for this is that they are necessary so that any hardware device that we connect to the PC can work.
Without these little bits of software, those components we plugged in wouldn’t work, or wouldn’t work as expected. It is worth mentioning that Windows itself has a large number of generic drivers by default. Thanks to these elements that Microsoft integrates from the outset, the operating system works as well as possible from day one.
How to Clear Unnecessary Drivers from Windows
On the other hand, we will tell you that each manufacturer of the components that we use in the PC, have their own official drivers. In this way, in the event that Windows does not install them automatically, we can always use them. The problem comes, as we mentioned before, that with the passage of time, both the automatic backups and the old installed Windows drivers accumulate on the hard drives.
This can become a serious inconvenience when it comes to saving disk space. And not only that, but also in some cases there may be an incompatibility problem with the current drivers. Therefore, below we will show you how to get rid of these outdated and useless Windows elements.
Delete driver backups from CMD
At the same time, it is important to know that every time we update a driver, the operating system itself saves a backup copy of the old one. With this what it achieves is that if we have problems with the new one, we can easily go back to the previous version. But of course, over time the previous versions accumulate over time. In this way it is possible that these drivers begin to take up too much space, so it is possible to save hundreds of megabytes by eliminating these.
Of course, we must carry out these types of tasks as long as we are sure that our computer works correctly with the current drivers. This is something that for example we can do from CMD. To do this, the first thing we have to do is open a command prompt window in Windows with Administrator permissions. Just type CMD in the search box on the Taskbar.
Therefore, once in the command prompt window that opens, we execute the following command:
cleanmgr
At that moment a new window will appear where we must choose the hard drive from which we want to clean the backup copies of the Windows drivers. Once we have selected it, Windows analyzes that unit and the elements that we can clean will appear in this case.
To say that the one that interests us is called Device Driver Packages, so we select it and click on OK. At that moment Windows will clean the drivers that are no longer necessary, something that takes little time.
Remove old Windows drivers in Task Manager
Another step that we can take in this sense is to get rid of the drivers that are already old from the ones that Windows itself provides us. Here the first thing we need is to see these drivers in Device Manager . Generally and by default they tend to remain hidden, so first we reopen a CMD window with administrator permissions as before. Now we execute the following command:
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
This will help us to see the hidden elements of this type. Next we must go to the Device Manager. For example by right-clicking on the Start menu. Once in it, we will be able to see all the installed drivers, although a little more transparent we will see those that are not being used because they are old.
To make sure of this, we recommend that you go to the option View / Show hidden devices in this window. Now we only have to click with the right button on those more transparent elements to be able to select the option to Uninstall the device.
