How to Install Driver from Offline Microsoft Repository on Windows 10

The retail and downloaded versions of Window usually come with the necessary software, drivers and applications to run the bare minimum functions of windows. When you install your Windows operating system, this software and applications and drivers also gets installed to the system. The drivers are either available from the firmware of the devices on your PC, or from the Windows installation files themselves. Since drivers change with the type of operating system, Windows finds it necessary to include as many drivers as possible in their offline repository.

Windows 10 is no exception; it comes with thousands of drivers included.  This includes the necessary drivers to run essential devices like the DVD/RW, USB ports, keyboards and audio. If Windows 10 finds a compatible driver, it installs it to your system.

Why Windows 10 drivers fail

Windows will always install a compatible driver for your devices from the installation files. However, there is an exception when you are upgrading or updating to a new operating system. Windows 7 and 8 users were offered a way to update to Windows 10 without losing any of their data and settings. So if you choose to update as opposed to a clean Windows 10 installation, Windows will keep all your drivers intact. Devices might work normally at first, but you might find them malfunctioning after a while.

An example of a device that malfunctions when you upgrade to windows 10 is the Realtek and the Conexant audio device. One user running a Toshiba laptop complained on tenforums that “The sound system is misbehaving and I suspect a driver issue. Here is the problem: I was running windows 7 and upgraded via the free upgrade offer to Win 10. Everything worked OK for a while and then the problem with the audio system appeared. I checked the Toshiba website and they list no drivers for Win10.”

In cases like this, it is possible to use the drivers that come with Windows 10 to run your devices. The Microsoft High Definition Audio drivers are usually almost always compatible with most audio devices including Realtek and Conexant devices.

This article will tell you how you can uninstall your current bad/malfunctioning drivers and install the ones in the Microsoft offline repository.

Method 1: Uninstall the current drivers and force windows to install the desired drivers from the offline Microsoft driver repository.

The idea is to get rid of the current bad or malfunctioning drivers from your PC and install the already provided drivers.

Step 1: Uninstall the bad drivers

1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box, then press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow
3. In Device Manager, find the faulty device (in the case of Conexant audio device, scroll down to and expand the ‘sound, video and game controllers section’) right-click on the device and then click Uninstall.
4. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to remove the device, click OK.

Step 2: Reinstall drivers

To install your drivers, you have these options, if the first one doesn’t work, try the next one.

Option 1: Reinstall drivers manually

1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box, then press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow
3. Since your device was uninstalled, it might not be visible to you. From the device manager window, click View and select show hidden devices (unless it already has a tick on the left). If you still don’t see your device, click on Action then select scan for hardware changes.
4. Find your uninstalled devices. It is likely to be listed under ‘Other Devices’ (usually lists uninstalled devices) with a yellow triangle on it.
5. Right click on the device and select, “Update Driver Software”
6. Click on “Browse my computer for driver software” to allow a manual installation
7. On the next page click on “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”
8. Two things might happen, either you are taken straight to a list or the computer asks you to choose the type of driver you want to install e.g. (sound, Bluetooth, display, keyboard etc). Select the type of device on this page (For the High Definition Audio, select the Sound, Video and game controllers devices)
9. You will see two panels; the type of manufacturer on the left and the driver options on the right (If you were taken straight to the list in step 8, you can uncheck the ‘show compatible hardware’ checkbox to show the list of all drivers in the category of drivers you device lies within). It is always advised to install compatible drivers the system finds. This way, the device has more chances of working
10. Find the manufacturer of your device on the left panel, and from the right panel find your drivers (In the case of High Definition Audio drivers, scroll down to Microsoft on the left panel and click on Microsoft; on the right select High Definition Audio device)
11. Click Next. You might get a warning about compatibility; allow the installation by clicking Yes/OK. This will install your device
12. You might have to restart your PC if you are prompted to.

Option 2: Reinstall using troubleshooter

If you can’t install your drivers manually, troubleshooter is likely to find the best drivers and install them automatically for you.

1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type control in the Run dialog box, then press Enter.
3. In the Search box in Control Panel, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting.
4. Under the Hardware and Sound item, click Configure a device. If you are prompted to enter an administrator password or provide confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
5. Press Next and let the troubleshooter scan for problems. Fix all emerging problems.

Option 3: Restart PC to install devices

Restarting your PC will find all uninstalled devices that result in hardware changes and attempt to install the drivers. This will probably install the best and functional device drivers.