Could someone recommend a good way to backup and restore drivers on a Window 11 PC? I have done this in the past with a few methods (but not in a while). I am wondering what is the best way these days. Thanks
I used to use DISM via cmd: dism /online /export-driver /destination:[path]
However, nowadays I don't bother backing up and restoring drivers. Instead, for PCs I use Snappy Driver Installer (not the Origin version, for as much as I'd love to support the original developer, it's much more buggy, I never got it to work properly, and it's usually not as up-to-date). I do have the full version on a USB drive but I usually resort to the online Lite version.
I personally tend to run NVIDIA's Studio Drivers, so I ignore those drivers in SDI and then update those with NVCleanstall instead.
On laptops, I always just stick to the drivers as provided by the manufacturer, and I store a copy of those for if I were to need them again. Driver update tools (including SDI(O)), often ruin or even completely brick laptops for using altered and more propriety versions of drivers. And then still checking the manufacturer's site for updates every other month.
A bit beyond drivers, but I do the same with BIOS updates, checking those every other month at the manufacturer's website, and if it's something brand new I may wait another month for if there were to be any bugs.
It's a ritual I tend to share around with everyone, without needing to guide people through anything too technical, for both brand new and older machines.
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Hi, thanks for the reply. I like what you show. Not needing the internet to get a computer up and running is a dream come true. Of course, most of the time, I have it, but it is nice to have the option not to.
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