If you frequently change graphic cards, it’s good to have a tool to remove drivers. Here are two tools that will get the job done.
Drivers are convenient little pieces of software that allow the various pieces of hardware in the computer to all communicate with each other. Literally every single piece of hardware out there comes with an associated driver, which is installed the first time the hardware is used with the computer. Over time, the computer can accumulate loads of unnecessary drivers. When that happens, you need to use one of the following programs.
Removing Drivers Without a Tool
Though certain program can help make the task of removing drivers easier and more efficient, it is not absolutely necessary as the drivers can generally be removed from Windows directly. In the Control Panel, open up the Device Manager. Select view from the top menu and check “Show hidden devices”. A list of all the devices on the computer will be populated. Right click on any of the devices to uninstall it completely, or double click to bring up a pop up. One of the tabs in the pop up is for the driver and has the option to uninstall the driver.
A Word of Warning
Removing drivers should never be attempted by a novice, no matter what the driver is or even if the very best tool is being used. If the wrong driver is uninstalled, the computer may be unable to communicate with the motherboard or CPU. The danger is especially great if the driver is uninstalled through the Registry (a method of not detailed here). Messing with the Registry can seriously mess up the computer and should only be done by those who know precisely what they are doing.
1 Driver Sweeper
If you are certain that you want to remove the drivers, you may want to look into Driver Sweeper from Phyxion. The tool is super fast and can be used to update or remove drivers from the computer. It creates a backup of all deleted drivers so they can be restored if necessary and allows users to create custom parameters or filters to determine which drivers should be removed. Best of all, the software is completely free!
2 Driver Cleaner
When it comes to graphic drivers, a typical uninstall is often not sufficient to properly remove all the bits and pieces of the driver. Instead, users should consider downloading software to remove drivers for graphic cards – Driver Cleaner. The software only works for ATI and nVIDIA graphics drivers, it but does an incredible job within that specific niche. It has a minimalistic and easy to navigate user interface that offers simple choices like file backup, logging, and cleaning up directories, registry entries, and files. Like Driver Sweeper, Driver Cleaner is completely free to download.
Driver removal is a dangerous job, but it can also be a job that is necessary to the functioning of the computer. When that happens, you have a few options. You can take the computer in to a professional and let him/her handle the task, or you can download the tool and do it yourself. You can also open the Control Panel and uninstall the device or driver that way.
