How to Backup and Restore Drivers in Windows 11

Backing up your drivers in Windows 11 creates a snapshot of all installed driver packages, which you can restore later if a driver becomes corrupted, a Windows update causes problems, or you reinstall the OS. This guide shows you how to export drivers to a folder and then reinstall them from that backup, using only built-in Windows tools.

What You’ll Need

A Windows 11 PC with administrator access.
A USB drive or external hard drive with enough free space (drivers typically take 1–5 GB, but can be more).
An internet connection (optional, but recommended for downloading any missing drivers).

Step-by-Step

Backing Up Drivers

Create a backup folder. Plug in your USB drive or use a local folder. Create a new folder named DriverBackup (or any name you prefer). Note the full path, e.g., E:\DriverBackup.
Open Command Prompt as administrator. Click the Start button, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. Confirm the UAC prompt.
Run the export command. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
dism /online /export-driver /destination:"E:\DriverBackup"
Replace E:\DriverBackup with the actual path to your backup folder. If the path contains spaces, keep the quotes.
Wait for the process to complete. DISM will scan all installed third-party drivers and copy them to the destination. The output shows progress and a summary of how many drivers were exported. This may take a few minutes.
Verify the backup. Open the backup folder in File Explorer. You should see subfolders with names like oem0.inf, oem1.inf, etc., each containing driver files. If the folder is empty, the command may have failed—check the error message.

Restoring Drivers

Open Device Manager. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
Locate the device you want to restore. Expand the relevant category (e.g., Display adapters, Network adapters). If a device has a yellow exclamation mark, its driver is missing or not working.
Update the driver. Right-click the device and select Update driver.
Choose manual installation. In the wizard, click Browse my computer for drivers.
Point to your backup folder. Click Browse, select the DriverBackup folder (or the specific subfolder if you know the device), and ensure Include subfolders is checked. Click Next.
Complete the installation. Windows will search the backup and install the driver. If a matching driver is found, it will install automatically. If not, you’ll see a message saying no drivers were found—try the troubleshooting steps below.

Alternative restore method: If you want to restore all drivers at once (e.g., after reinstalling Windows), you can use the pnputil tool. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:
pnputil /add-driver "E:\DriverBackup\*.inf" /subdirs /install
This installs all drivers from the backup folder. Note that this may not install drivers that require additional software or specific installation order.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to run as administrator. The DISM command requires elevated privileges. If you get an “access denied” error, close and reopen Command Prompt as admin.
Using a path with spaces without quotes. If your backup path contains spaces (e.g., E:\My Drivers), you must enclose it in double quotes in the command.
Backing up to the same drive as Windows. If you back up to the system drive (C:) and then reinstall Windows, the backup will be lost. Always use a separate drive or partition.
Not verifying the backup before relying on it. Always check that the folder contains .inf files after export.
Restoring drivers from a different Windows version. Drivers exported from Windows 10 may not work perfectly on Windows 11, and vice versa. It’s best to back up on the same OS version you’ll restore to.

Tips

Back up regularly. Do this after installing new hardware or updating critical drivers.
Keep the backup on external media. A USB drive or cloud storage ensures it survives system failures.
Label the backup with the date. Rename the folder to include the date, e.g., DriverBackup_2025-01-15.
Use DISM to see what’s exported. The command output lists each driver as it’s copied, so you can see if any fail.
For a clean Windows install, back up drivers before reinstalling. This is especially useful for network and storage drivers that Windows might not have built-in.

Troubleshooting

“Error: 87” or “The parameter is incorrect.” This usually means the destination path is wrong or not accessible. Double-check the path and make sure the folder exists. Also, ensure you’re using the correct drive letter.
The backup folder is empty after export. This can happen if you don’t have administrator rights or if the DISM command failed silently. Run the command again and watch for error messages. If you see “No driver packages found,” it means Windows didn’t detect any third-party drivers—this is rare but possible on a fresh install.
Restore says “The best driver for your device is already installed.” This means Windows thinks the current driver is fine, but you want to force a different one. In the Update Driver wizard, choose Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer, then click Have Disk, browse to your backup folder, and select the .inf file.
Some devices still show errors after restore. The driver might require additional software (like control panels) that wasn’t in the backup. Download the driver from the manufacturer’s website for that specific device.
pnputil fails with “The INF file is not valid.” This can happen if the backup contains corrupt or incomplete files. Try restoring via Device Manager for that specific device instead.
Windows Update overwrites your restored driver. To prevent this, you can temporarily pause Windows updates or use Group Policy to block driver updates for specific devices (only available in Pro/Enterprise editions).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this backup include all drivers, including those from Windows Update?

No. DISM exports only third-party drivers that are not part of the Windows installation. Built-in drivers from Microsoft are not included, but Windows usually has them available.

Can I restore drivers on a different computer?

Technically yes, but it’s not recommended. Drivers are often specific to hardware, so they may not work or could cause instability. Only use this backup on the same PC or identical hardware.

How long does the backup take?

It depends on the number of drivers. Typically 1–5 minutes. The command shows progress as it copies each driver.

Is it safe to delete the backup after restoring?

Yes, once you’ve confirmed all devices work, you can delete the backup folder. However, it’s wise to keep it until you’re sure the system is stable.

Can I schedule automatic driver backups?

Yes, you can create a scheduled task that runs the DISM command at intervals. Use Task Scheduler to run the command as administrator.

What if I don’t have a USB drive?

You can back up to a different partition on your internal drive, but it won’t survive a disk failure. Cloud storage is another option, but you’ll need to upload the folder manually.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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