Is there a method to stop Windows from updating your GPU drivers automatically?
Is there a method to stop Windows from updating your GPU drivers automatically?
The actual chipset drivers are stored as ".inf" on the motherboard manufacturers support page. Intel chipset drivers are consistently shown under ".inf" when checking chipset drivers. It’s important never to let Windows updates dictate driver installations unless the manufacturer no longer supports them, especially since newer OS versions may not be compatible and Microsoft offers updates instead. Always keep updating chipset, LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth, audio, and any required storage controller drivers directly from the motherboard's official site.
The person in that Reddit thread is clearly mistaken and completely out of touch with the topic.
No, it isn't. To demonstrate this, I simply downloaded the ".inf" package for my Z690 Aorus elite AX, which produces a zip file named mb_driver_647_infupdate_10.1.19198.8339.zip. Upon extraction, you'll find a file called mb_driver_647_infupdate_10.1.19198.8339.exe.
If you then unpack that file, you'll discover everything listed above, such as Setupchipset.exe, InstUpd.exe, and the DriverFiles folder.
While it might seem like just a product name, this is far from it. The ".inf" package has consistently served as the method for updating chipset drivers on modern systems, as long as manufacturers needed to provide these updates.
The Intel website often presents only the product name, but that's not entirely accurate. The .inf files are crucial because they contain the necessary driver information for AGP or USB hardware, according to Intel. However, it's important to note that Intel has a tendency to provide misleading details on its site and media.
For precise information, consulting the datasheets is essential. In fact, many motherboard makers offer their own custom chipset driver packages tailored to specific models, which are listed under ".inf" in their documentation. This practice has persisted even when Intel stopped offering direct downloads of its chipset drivers.
The ".inf" label is therefore a standard reference for the correct driver package, not a random name. It ensures compatibility and proper functionality of your system's hardware.
Ty. Your motherboard is 10 years old, a gigabyte z87x-ud3h, and chipset driver updates have been unavailable for a long time. In this situation, is Windows Update the only choice to update your chipset? Or would an 8-year-old chipset driver from your motherboard website, last updated eight years ago, be preferable to the latest Windows driver?
that is something that manufacturer added into package..if theres any actual driver in it..im not sure, havent checked...but lets look at intel inf drivers from intel website
single executable file, once extracted, there is bunch of language files, xml parser, some certificates...hmmm not a single driver
there is actually a realtek audio driver hidden inside instupd.exe during the webinstall setup. the setupchipset.exe from intel provides no driver, so apart from the hidden realtek driver in intel inf drivers from gigabyte, there isn't a single intel driver included. also, inf is not a standalone driver—it's just a catalog listing devices and their names in the device manager, showing which drivers will be used. intel infs only changes device names, not providing additional functionality beyond that. before installing intel infs, you can use the existing windows\inf\machine.inf file, which is what you normally have.
I really question whether Intel has provided much useful information about a Haswell chipset in a long time, apart from updates in the BIOS that don't relate to Windows.
Intel currently doesn't provide chipset drivers for newer systems. They explicitly recommend obtaining them from the motherboard maker. This isn't a debate I need to have since I'm familiar with the situation. In reality, it's been quite some time since you could simply download chipset drivers for any Intel chipset in recent years. Many years, actually.
However, for older systems, they were available, though as DSzymborski has mentioned, there hasn't been much innovation in those chipsets over the past few years. Without Intel releasing new drivers for these older models, it's unlikely Microsoft would have any updates either. The drivers you receive through a Windows update will be identical to what you'd download directly from the board manufacturer or Intel's site—such as the 2014 release or whatever version was available for that specific chipset. Microsoft doesn't create new chipset drivers for end-of-life Intel chips.