Trying to get a list of all drivers on my system WITH their version details.

Question

I'm preparing to Clean-Install Windows 11. I want to get a list of all my drivers I have currently installed so that I can compare it with a second list I would make after doing the reinstallation, so that I can be sure I haven't missed any drivers in that reinstallation. I know that "driverquery/v" in Command Prompt will give me the names of the drivers. This Power Shell command "Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | select devicename, driverversion", which I read somewhere is what someone on Windows 7 would run for this, does actually return the version details, but it seemingly only returns entries for half of the drivers; it gives a list of about 200 drivers whereas the "driverquery/v" command gives about 400.

Answer 1

Hi Galen,

The discrepancy between the output of driverquery /v and Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Select Description, DeviceName, DriverVersion lies in their underlying mechanisms and the information they retrieve. Let’s delve into the details:

1. driverquery /v: This command provides an extensive list of drivers, including additional details such as whether a driver is currently running. It is suitable for advanced users who require comprehensive information.

If you want a more detailed list of drivers, you can use this command:

driverquery /FO list /v

This command shows more information about each driver, such as its status (running or not).

2. Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Select Description, DeviceName, DriverVersion: This PowerShell command retrieves information specifically from the Win32_PnPSignedDriver class. It selects and displays only the Description, DeviceName, and DriverVersion properties. The DriverVersion property contains the version number of the driver. If you want to sort the results by version, you can use a calculated property to cast the driver version as [version] and then sort accordingly

In summary, the difference lies in the level of detail and the specific properties retrieved by each command. While driverquery /v provides a more comprehensive list, the PowerShell command focuses on specific properties related to signed drivers.

Answer 2

Hi galen_burnett_7,

I think the Win32_PnPSignedDriver class only gets the Plug and Play drivers for the Plug and Play devices. You can check the difference between the two results.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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Answer 3

@Ian Xue (Shanghai Wicresoft Co., Ltd.) Thanks for that.