How to Troubleshoot and Repair Driver Conflicts

At any one time your computer can have a hundred or more driver files working to communicate with your operating system. It stands to reason then that eventually some of that communication is going to collide. Driver conflicts can wreak havoc on your PC and your productivity. They can cause system crashes, Blue Screens or worse yet, the continual-reboot syndrome. Troubleshooting driver conflicts or incompatibilities can be very a tough nut to crack. Sometimes the issue lies in two files not playing well together, vs. just one single file creating the problem.

If you start experiencing the above problems with your PC immediately after you've installed an updated driver file or package, it's pretty easy to trace the root of the problem back to the new driver you installed. To start with, removing or uninstalling that new driver package can help , or using the Roll Back Driver feature of Windows XP and Vista. Occasionally, new drivers can be removed automatically using the Add/Remove Programs control panel found in Vista and XP.

Next, you may want to have a peek at the Windows Device Manager. The Device Manager may also allow you to remove drivers that don't show up in the Add/Remove Programs Window.

Here's how to access the Windows Device Manager:

Windows Vista:

Select Start, Control Panel, System And Maintenance, and then select Device Manager. If you get the User Access Control Dialog, just click Continue to open the Device Manager.

Windows XP:

Pop open the Control Panel, click Performance And Maintenance, and then System. Select the Hardware tab and then select the Device Manager option.

Now, find the device you're having trouble with in the Device Manager tree, double-click it, select the Driver tab at the top, and then select Uninstall.

If you happen to still be using Windows 98, Me or 2000, you can still remove a driver manually using the Device Manager, but you need to go a different route to access it. Click Start, then Control Panel. Next, select the problematic device, and hit Remove. You'll have to restart your computer and click through as Windows locates the device and tries to find a driver for it, or alternatively, asks you to point it to an updated version you may have on a disk or CD. If you don't have the driver CD you can always use an automated tool to download correct drivers - we have them listed on our Driver Tools Download page.

Another great feature of the Device Manager is the yellow exclamation mark that shows you which drivers are having issues, possibly conflicts. You can then follow the above steps to troubleshoot these manually.

Most vendors have a Downloads or Drivers website pages that contain the latest drivers for their device. It's often found in the Support section of the website. Other users may be having the same problems you are, and as a result the manufacturer may have released updated drivers to fix the known issue. Be sure to pay attention to the driver version numbers to determine if you already have the new version in which case an update may not be needed.

Note: sometimes simply reinstalling the same version of the driver you already have can solve some issues, so don't write it off entirely if you have the identical version to the new one on the vendor's site. Technical support forums can also point you to 'unreleased' versions of new drivers that manufacturers are using to test for fixes to known issues. Be careful with these though, it's usually best to stick with fully released versions of drivers.

If, after updating your drivers, you're still not having any luck with your problem, you could use the System Restore option found in Windows XP and Vista. This feature will restore your computer to an earlier point in time when your system's state was healthy. To access this feature, select Start, All Programs, System Tools, and System Restore, following the directions from there. You can learn more about it in our article on Rolling Back Drivers.

Best of luck with your driver troubleshooting!