Listing and Exporting Installed Drivers in Windows

By

 

As a system engineer, it is often necessary to track the drivers installed on a device and identify any drivers that may be causing issues such as blue screen of death (BSOD) or crashing. To help with this task, we can use the following PowerShell script to export a list of all the drivers installed on a Windows machine to a CSV file.

This script uses the Get-WmiObject cmdlet to query the Win32_PnPSignedDriver class from the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) database, which represents a device driver that has been installed and signed by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). The script then uses the Select-Object and Export-Csv cmdlets to select the DeviceName and DriverVersion properties of each driver and write them to a CSV file named driver_list.csv in the user's home directory (C:\Users\username). This will generate a CSV file with the list of installed drivers, which you can then use to track and troubleshoot driver-related issues on your device.

Listing Installed Drivers

To list the drivers installed on a Windows machine, we can use the Get-WmiObject cmdlet and query the Win32_PnPSignedDriver class from the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) database. This class represents a device driver that has been installed and signed by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL).



Exporting to a CSV File

To export the list of drivers to a CSV file, we can use the Select-Object cmdlet to select the DeviceName and DriverVersion properties, and the Export-Csv cmdlet to write the resulting objects to a CSV file.



The Select-Object cmdlet selects the DeviceName and DriverVersion properties of each Win32_PnPSignedDriver object in the list, and the Export-Csv cmdlet writes the resulting objects to a CSV file named driver_list.csv in the user's home directory (specified using the $env:USERPROFILE environment variable). The -NoTypeInformation parameter prevents PowerShell from writing type information as the first line of the CSV file.

 

Full Script

Here is the full script that combines the two steps above: The Script






Conclusion

In this Blog, we saw how to use PowerShell to list all the drivers installed on a Windows machine and export their names and versions to a CSV file. This can be useful for tracking the drivers installed on a system or for troubleshooting driver-related issues.

I hope you found this Blog helpful! Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Popular posts from this blog

Comparing the Different Ways to Set Up a Single-App Kiosk on Windows 10/11: Local Setup, Windows Configuration Designer, and Microsoft Intune

By
Image
Comparing the Different Ways to Set Up a Single-App Kiosk on Windows 10/11: Local Setup, Windows Configuration Designer, and Microsoft Intune What is a Kiosk and why would we use it on a Windows Device   A kiosk is a computer terminal that is typically used to access a specific application or service. Kiosks are often used to provide information or allow users to interact with a service in a public setting, such as a museum or airport. They are designed to be user-friendly and easy to use, and typically do not require any technical knowledge to operate. There are several reasons why someone might want to use a kiosk on a Windows 10/11 computer: To provide information or services to the public in a convenient and accessible way. For example, a museum might use a kiosk to provide information about exhibits or a tourism bureau might use a kiosk to provide maps and information about local attractions. To allow users to interact with a service or application...
Read more
By
Using SCCM to track the status of computer builds and display the results on a web portal Introduction: System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a powerful tool for managing and deploying software and operating systems in organizations of all sizes. One of the key capabilities of SCCM is the ability to track the status of computer builds, which are deployments of operating systems or software to one or more computers. In this document, we will describe how to use SCCM to track the status of computer builds and display the results on a web portal, so that you can easily monitor the progress of computer builds and take appropriate action as needed. We will cover the steps to set up a web server and web application framework, install the SCCM reporting services point, create a web report, and customize the report to meet your specific needs. By following these steps, you can use SCCM to track the status of computer builds and keep your organization's computers up-to-date and full...
Read more

Creating a List of Installed Applications with PowerShell

By
Image
As a systems administrator, it is my responsibility to ensure that all necessary applications are installed on each computer in our organization. Recently, my manager asked me to create a list of all applications that are installed on a Windows 10/11 device as part of the initial build process, before the device receives additional applications from the Software Center. This list should be in an Excel file, along with descriptions of each application. My manager needed this information to track the applications that are being installed on new devices and understand their purpose. After some research and experimentation, I was able to come up with the following script to automate this process: https://github.com/Imran76Awan/Daily-Tasks/blob/dfdecc9fb30bcc3a7b266d6283b332b083bc25e1/Get%20All%20Install%20Apps%20with%20Description.ps1     This script uses the Get-WmiObject cmdlet to retrieve a list of all installed applications on the computer. It then sorts the list by th...
Read more