Change a driver via Powershell or CMD

Question

Change a driver via Powershell or CMD

Stephenie Siegmann EDA 5

I have two device drivers to choose for the camera.

in the UI I go:

Device Manager -> Device -> Update Drivers -> Browse my computer for driver software -> Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer -> Select one of two available drivers.

While the Driver from the Notebook Manufacturer is not working correctly for some models I need to switch back to the Microsoft Standard Driver (usbvideo.inf) that is already installed on the system.

While changing this in the devicemanager works fine, with PNPUTIL it does not.

What we have is this:

$Cameras = Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object { $_.FriendlyName -eq "HP IR Camera" -or $_.FriendlyName -eq "HP HD Camera" }
		
		If ($cameras -eq 0) {
			
			$Cameras = Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object { $_.DeviceClass -eq "Camera" -and $_.Devicename -eq "HP IR Camera" -or $_.DeviceName -eq "HP HD Camera" }
		
			$NewDriverPath = (Get-WindowsDriver -Online -All | Where-Object Driver -eq "usbvideo.inf").OriginalFileName

			foreach ($Camera in $Cameras) {
			if ($Camera.InfName -ne "usbvideo.inf") {
				Write-Host "Driver is getting updated"

				# Retrieving the associated driver package
				$CurrentDriver = Get-WindowsDriver -Online -All | Where-Object Driver -eq $Camera.InfName

				# Uninstalling current driver
				pnputil.exe /delete-driver $CurrentDriver.OriginalFileName /uninstall

				# Installing new driver
				pnputil.exe /add-driver $NewDriverPath /install
		
				} else {
				Write-Host "Driver is already updated"
				}
			}
		}

For some this works, but sometimes this leaves the device in an unknown state without any driver and then it is forked. There seems to be no way that I can go via PNPUTIL and tell it that it should install the usbvideo.inf for

DeviceID : USB\VID_04F2&PID_B6BF&MI_02\6&1737142C&0&0002

So I have to login with my admin account to klick update driver in Devicemanager.

If anyone could help out with a good idea how this can be done I would appreciate this very much.

Thanks,

Stephenie

Charles Nørskov 0

Try adding "" around the path to the drivers.

Like this:

# Uninstalling current driver
Invoke-Expression -Command "pnputil.exe /delete-driver ""$($CurrentDriver.OriginalFileName)"" /uninstall"

# Installing new driver
Invoke-Expression -Command "pnputil.exe /add-driver ""$($NewDriverPath)"" /install"

Stephenie Siegmann EDA 5

Well, Thank you for that!

We found a workable solution by adding a nefarius dll to the script, that can be found here:
https://github.com/nefarius/Nefarius.Utilities.WindowsVersion

Our solution looks like this

$nefarius = Get-ChildItem -path 'C:\files' -Recurse -Filter 'Nefarius.Utilities.DeviceManagement.dll' -File | Select-object -ExpandProperty Fullname

#add method
add-type -path $nefarius 

#search for cams
$Cameras = get-pnpdevice -class 'camera' -presentonly

#if no cam found look for deviceclass
if ($Cameras.Count -eq 0) {
$Cameras = Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object { $_.DeviceClass -eq "Camera" -and ($_ -match "HP IR Camera" -or $_ -match "HP HD Camera") }
        }

        foreach ($Camera in $Cameras) {
            if ($Camera.Manufacturer -ne "Microsoft") {
                Write-Host "updating Driver"

# uninstall current driver
$Device = [Nefarius.Utilities.DeviceManagement.PnP.PnPDevice]::GetDeviceByInstanceId($Camera.deviceid,'normal')

                $Device.InstallNullDriver() 

                # install new driver (usbvideo.inf)
                $Device.InstallCustomDriver('usbvideo.inf')

1 answer

Your answer

Charles Nørskov 0 Reputation points

2023-12-08T07:47:54.8833333+00:00

Try adding "" around the path to the drivers.

Like this:

# Uninstalling current driver Invoke-Expression -Command "pnputil.exe /delete-driver ""$($CurrentDriver.OriginalFileName)"" /uninstall" # Installing new driver Invoke-Expression -Command "pnputil.exe /add-driver ""$($NewDriverPath)"" /install"
Stephenie Siegmann EDA 5 Reputation points

2023-12-08T08:11:09.95+00:00

Well, Thank you for that!

We found a workable solution by adding a nefarius dll to the script, that can be found here:
https://github.com/nefarius/Nefarius.Utilities.WindowsVersion

Our solution looks like this

$nefarius = Get-ChildItem -path 'C:\files' -Recurse -Filter 'Nefarius.Utilities.DeviceManagement.dll' -File | Select-object -ExpandProperty Fullname #add method add-type -path $nefarius #search for cams $Cameras = get-pnpdevice -class 'camera' -presentonly #if no cam found look for deviceclass if ($Cameras.Count -eq 0) { $Cameras = Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object { $_.DeviceClass -eq "Camera" -and ($_ -match "HP IR Camera" -or $_ -match "HP HD Camera") } } foreach ($Camera in $Cameras) { if ($Camera.Manufacturer -ne "Microsoft") { Write-Host "updating Driver" # uninstall current driver $Device = [Nefarius.Utilities.DeviceManagement.PnP.PnPDevice]::GetDeviceByInstanceId($Camera.deviceid,'normal') $Device.InstallNullDriver() # install new driver (usbvideo.inf) $Device.InstallCustomDriver('usbvideo.inf')

Answer 1

Hi,

I'd be happy to help you out with your question. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Here are the steps on how to change a driver via PowerShell or CMD:

Open PowerShell or CMD as an administrator.
Run the following command to get the device ID of the camera:

pnputil /enum-devices

Look for the device ID that corresponds to the camera. In your case, the device ID is USB\VID_04F2&PID_B6BF&MI_02\6&1737142C&0&0002.
Run the following command to install the usbvideo.inf driver for the camera:

pnputil /add-driver "C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\usbvideo.inf" /install /driverid "USB\VID_04F2&PID_B6BF&MI_02\6&1737142C&0&0002"

Restart your computer.

Once you have completed these steps, the camera should be using the usbvideo.inf driver.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind:

You may need to download the usbvideo.inf driver from the manufacturer's website.
If you are not sure how to find the device ID of the camera, you can use the Device Manager to find it.
If you are still having problems after following these steps, you may need to contact the manufacturer of the camera for support.

For more Information, please refer to following resource :-

Set-CMDriver (ConfigurationManager) - https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/configurationmanager/set-cmdriver

If you have any other questions or need assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm here to help.

If the reply was helpful, please don’t forget to upvote or accept as answer, thank you.

Stephenie Siegmann EDA 5 Reputation points

2023-05-25T13:18:15.0666667+00:00

In step 4 you write the command:
"pnputil /add-driver "C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\usbvideo.inf" /install /driverid "USB\VID_04F2&PID_B6BF&MI_02\6&1737142C&0&0002"

This cannot work, as "pnputil /add-driver" does not know the command "/driverid"
And even if you want to use "/deviceid" because this "USB\VID_04F2&PID_B6BF&MI_02\6&1737142C&0&0002" is the deviceid, that still will not work, because the "/add-driver" does not feature the "/deviceid".

And why do you point me to Set-CMDriver (ConfigurationManager) ? that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue.

Thanks for trying, but 0 points.

Anyone a better idea?

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Change a driver via Powershell or CMD

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