Backing up Windows drivers. Double Driver Driver backup

How to do it quickly copy of drivers for further recovery. Usually creation driver backup, is done when reinstalling Windows, or when copying drivers for the same hardware.

[Backup Windows drivers Xp] [Backup Windows 7, 8, 10 Drivers]

Copy of Windows Xp drivers

Backup of drivers in the operating room Windows system Xp, we will do it using the Double driver program. Therefore, first of all we need to download Double driver [Download Double driver]
After you have downloaded, extract everything from the archive and run the file dd.exe

Select an item Backup


Click Scan Current System for scanning drivers on your system


Now let's choose those drivers which we need for backup copy. To do this, check the boxes. If you want to make a backup of all drivers, then go to Select All


All you have to do is press the magic button Backupnow and choose where exactly we will save our drivers (For example, drive D:)


Now all you have to do is wait 2-7 minutes, after which a success message will pop up. creating a driver backup

If we look at the D: drive, we will see that the name of the driver folder is the name of our motherboard with today's date and time

Restoring drivers from a Windows Xp backup

In order to restore drivers from backup copy, open dd.exe

Select an item Restore


Click LocateBackup-> select the item Otherlocation and indicate the path to our drivers -> OK


Click Restore Now –> OK-> We wait 5-7 minutes until the recovery is successful, reboot the computer and that’s it! Recovery drivers from backup copy successfully completed!

Copy of Windows 7, 8.1, 10 drivers

To create driver backup we need the Driver Magician Lite program - you can download it
After you have downloaded the program, unzip it and run it using Driver Magician Lite administrator

Now let's check the boxes for those drivers backup copy which you want to do. If you are afraid of missing something, you can mark everything. I usually mark or by date (than the older you get better, since some drivers are installed with Windows itself) or in red. After you have marked them (if you want to mark them all, click Select All), click Start Backup and specify the location where to save them)



Now wait 5-15 minutes while it is created driver backup
After the message Driver backup finishes successfully we can close the program

How to restore drivers in Windows 7, 8, 9

So, on the computer where you need to restore the drivers, press Winkey + R and enter devmgmt.msc - Ok.




The drivers that need to be installed will be located in the subsection Other devices. Also look at the video adapter. If it says “Standard video adapter” then it also needs to be installed or updated (from a backup copy of the driver). In the picture, drivers that were automatically installed are marked in green and drivers that are not are marked in red.



In order to restore the drivers, click on to the desired device right mouse button -> Select “Update drivers” - Search for drivers on this computer - Browse - Specify the folder where we backed up the drivers, then click Ok and Next. After some time, the system will install the selected driver automatically. You will need to do this with each unknown device.





Do this procedure for each device in the other devices list!

A small driver backup program that does not require installation. It allows you to find all the drivers installed on your PC and save them for later restoration after reinstalling the system. Its main feature is the ability to save drivers not only for a running system, but also for an inactive or even inoperable one!

Reinstalling the system is a simple matter, but quite troublesome. First, you need to copy all your data to backup media in advance. necessary information(documents, photos, music, etc.).

Then you should take care not to forget the bookmarks and passwords saved in your browsers. You may also need to save the necessary configuration files for a variety of applications...

And it often happens that everything seems to be saved, the system has already been reinstalled, but it turns out that the driver disk for your PC or laptop has disappeared somewhere! Has this ever happened to you?

If you have access to the Internet, then you can somehow get out of this situation (although you will spend a lot of time downloading new drivers). What if not? Then you'll have to look necessary disks with friends or even somewhere unknown :).

But it turns out that all these troubles can be avoided quite easily by making backup installed drivers ! And an excellent free program will help us with this. Double Driver.

Comparison with a paid analogue

Double Driver does not have rich functionality, but it copes with its main task with a bang - it saves installed drivers and helps restore them to new system. The paid My Drivers utility has similar capabilities:

From the comparison it is clear that in paid application There are slightly more possibilities than in Double Driver, but all of them (with the exception, of course, of the ability to download drivers from the Internet) are practically useless. But our free program also has its trump cards.

Firstly, Double Driver can search for drivers even on an inactive system (can be a big help when working with LiveCD)!

And secondly, it allows you to save logs of your work and lists of detected drivers. This might help experienced users find the necessary drivers on the Internet.

Getting started with the program

Double Driver does not require installation, so to start working with the program, simply unpack the folder with it on your hard drive and run the file dd.exe:

The program interface is in English, but quite simple, so translations to a greater extent does not require. The application window consists of two parts: a toolbar with functional buttons and a work area.

When loading, we find ourselves in the “Home” section, where we can see the program’s event log, save it to a text file or print it on a printer. In this section, the “Select” button is inactive, since there is nothing to choose here :).

Backing up your drivers

To view the list of installed drivers and back them up, we need to click the second button on the toolbar - “Backup”:

In order to get a list of drivers, you need to click the “Scan Current System” button.

However, as I mentioned above, Double Driver can also search for drivers in inactive system directories. To do this, use the “Scan Other System” button. This function will be useful if you have several operating systems on your hard drive (for example, XP and 7).

You just need to specify the folder with the desired OS and scan it without having to download it!

By default, the list will highlight all drivers that are not included with Windows (although standard drivers everyone is present!). Using the “Select” button, you can quickly select all drivers, deselect them, or invert the selection (that is, select all drivers from Microsoft).

Naturally, you can also select the necessary drivers manually using the checkboxes to the left of the name.

So, using the “Select” button (the “None” item), we remove all selections, mark only the item we need, and then press the “Backup Now” button. The following window will appear in front of us:

Here we can select the folder to save the driver (section “Destination”) and the format of saving itself (section “Output”). As for the latter, we can save the drivers:

1. In the format of structured folders that will be used by the program for recovery;
2. In zip archive format, which can also be used for recovery using Double Driver;
3. In an executable file format that can be used separately from the program as a standalone installer.

Choose required format save (I chose the first one) and press the “Ok” button. After some time, the backup copy will be ready!

Driver recovery

For the purity of the experiment, I completely removed the drivers of the tested network card from the system and now I will try to restore them using Double Driver.

To switch to driver recovery mode, you need to click the third button on the toolbar - “Restore”:

Click the “Locate Backup” button and in the window that opens, select the option for the location of our driver (or drivers, if you copied several at once). There are also three recovery options available here:

1. Restoring from the default folder (My Documents) will suit you if you did not change the backup location when saving the backup copy (section “Destination”);
2. You will need to select Restore from archive if you selected the second option (archiving) when creating a backup copy;
3. We will need to restore from the specified folder (I used it) if we changed the default backup storage folder.

If you have chosen the correct location, you will see a list of drivers available for installation:

We mark the items we need and click the “Restore Now” button. The standard Device Driver Installation Wizard will launch, which will automatically configure the system properly and prepare our hardware component for operation:

After completing the installation of the driver backup, the system successfully detected my network card and I was able to restore all my settings to it without much effort. The test showed that Double Driver works quite correctly, which is what we need :).

Additional features

Basically nothing special additional features Double Driver does not. The only thing the program can do beyond the functionality described above is save logs of its work and lists of found drivers.

This information may be useful for advanced users or system administrators, because it allows you to immediately see all components installed on the system.

To use this function, you just need to click the “Save” button on the tab with the required data. So, in the “Home” tab we can save the Double Driver operation log, in “Backup” - a list of installed drivers, and in “Restore” - a list of reserved ones:

For example, in the screenshot above we can see a fragment of the saved list of installed drivers. In it, in addition to, of course, the name of the device, we can see the date last update driver, its version, class and identifiers (ven and dev), with which you can find everything software for the selected device!

Advantages and disadvantages of the program

• no installation required;
• the ability to select any drivers (including system ones) for backup;
• backup of drivers from an inactive system;
• creating backup copies of drivers with automatic installation;
• saving in text document list of installed drivers.

• It is not possible to download drivers from the Internet.

Conclusions

Double Driver is a simple workhorse for backing up installed drivers. However, this “horse” can sometimes help even in situations when other backup “monsters” are powerless.

For example, I have not yet come across a program that would be able to save all the drivers from an already “fallen” system. And Double Driver, thanks to its portability and the “Scan Other System” function, copes with this task with a bang!

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that open credit is given. active link to the source and preservation of the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny.

Drivers are an important component of the interaction between computer hardware and the operating system and software installed on it. Therefore, when experimenting with them, or updating them, it is recommended to create a backup copy of the already installed drivers, so that if something happens, you can restore normal work computer. Today we will tell you about a small utility called Double Driver, with which you can quickly make driver backups.

Double Driver is a free program that is, in the truest sense of the word, a driver manager for devices connected to the computer’s motherboard with the ability to back them up. Utility, like file manager, displays all drivers installed in the operating system in the form of a list, and also allows you to save this list and print it.

The most popular function of the Double Driver utility is the backup of Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP drivers. Most users choose this particular program to work because it is free and very fast speed driver backup. By the way, in just a couple of minutes it can create a complete backup copy of an operating system that has been installed for more than a year, and, therefore, it has accumulated quite a few drivers. In addition, when creating copies, the utility sorts all files into folders whose names correspond to the names of the devices. In addition to sorting by folders, the utility also contains a filter in its functionality that filters all drivers by their developers, for example, from Microsoft, etc.

Backing up your drivers

You can create a backup copy of the drivers installed in the system quickly and in just a couple of clicks using the Double Driver program, which can be downloaded from the link below. The utility does not require installation and can be used on any removable media.

Run the utility on your PC and in its main window, in top menu, click on the “Backup” button, then click on “ScanCurrentSystem” as shown in the figure below.

Next, check the checkboxes next to those drivers for which you are going to make a backup copy, and then click “Backup Now”. You can mark them all if you have doubts that you have marked the right ones.

In the dialog box that appears, indicate to the program the location on your hard drive where it should save the backup copy of the drivers, and also activate the “Compressed (zipped) folder” radio button if you want the copy to be compressed into an archive. In addition, if you need to create a self-extracting archive, then instead of the above radio button, activate “Single file self extract (executable)”. Click “Ok” to start the copy creation process.

Wait until the Double Driver utility finishes its work and informs you about it with a corresponding message.

The created archive with a backup copy of the drivers will be stored in the location you previously specified and will have the name of your motherboard model, as well as the date the backup was created. To restore drivers from of this archive, you need to unpack it, then run the installation wizard and follow its instructions and tips.

Similar materials

Before you reinstall Windows on your computer, you should take care to save all the necessary data that is located on the OS drive (usually drive C). In this article you will learn how to save drivers when reinstalling.

If you don’t have to take special care of the programs, since after installing a fresh Windows they can be easily reinstalled, then trouble can happen with the drivers. You will have to search for a long time and select the necessary software for the devices. Not knowledgeable user may encounter difficulties, and a professional will have to spend a lot of time. All in all the best option will save the drivers when reinstalling and then simply restore them.

Each external or internal structure The computer has its own software, a driver, that allows it to work normally. Some drivers are installed with Windows. The rest must be installed separately. If a driver is not installed on the device, it will not work or will not work correctly.

How to save drivers when reinstalling

To save drivers when reinstalling, you need the Driver Genius program. Download link below. Download it and install it on your computer. When starting, an Internet connection is required, as the program must be updated.

Remember that if you change one version of Windows to another, the backup copy of drivers may not fit the newly installed OS, since many drivers are written separately for each version of Windows. For a backup to be restored normally, you must run it on the same version of Windows on which it was created.

• According to the instructions in the archive, activate Driver program Genius.
• Launch it and click “Back Up Drivers”. Scanning of installed drivers will begin. Wait for the process to complete.

In the next window, in the “Select the backup type” list, select “Auto-Installer Archive”. This is the most convenient way save the drivers when reinstalling, since deploying a backup will not require any unnecessary manipulations. That's why I recommend him. In the same window, select a location to save the driver backup. Obviously, the backup does not need to be saved on the same disk partition on which you have installedWindows. To select a location, click the “Browse” button. Click the “Next” button and wait for the reservation to complete. It's not very long. At the end, click the “Finish” button.

Then make sure that the backup copy is saved in the selected location and begin reinstalling Windows. After Windows reinstallation run the backup file, select necessary drivers and install them.

Drivers are an important part operating system. They act as intermediaries between the system and hardware devices. Their main task is to interpret incoming signals from both the system and the device itself. Without the proper drivers, the device will either work incorrectly or not work at all.

As a rule, each device comes with a CD or DVD with necessary drivers. Or drivers can be downloaded from the device manufacturer's website. The latter, by the way, may be more relevant, since on the site you can find the most latest versions drivers. This is especially true for video cards.

But sometimes it happens that driver disks are lost, and the manufacturer’s website no longer supports this device. Or the situation simply develops in such a way that it is almost impossible to find this driver. In such cases, the most the best way out- creating backup copies of drivers. There is special software for this, which, in fact, allows you to create backup copies of already installed drivers in the system.

If you have an old operating system and you have lost some of the disks, or you cannot find drivers for some of the devices (for example, for a printer that has been serving you faithfully for 5-6 years). It would be a good idea to make a backup copy of all installed drivers on the system. Even if you have all the drivers at hand, it is still highly recommended to make a backup copy and store it somewhere safe. This is not only a way to protect yourself from unforeseen circumstances, but also an opportunity to save time during their recovery.

Advice: it's best to use several different programs. Since anything can happen in life, it is possible that one of the programs will not be able to restore drivers correctly. In this case, you will always have backup options at hand. This way you will save yourself time and nerves.

Note: never forget to make backup copies of your data.

IN this review considered programs that can not only create backup copies of drivers, but also restore them. Programs that cannot restore drivers are mentioned in the “Other programs” section. First of all, this is due to the fact that for ordinary users, and even more so for beginners, the task manual recovery drivers may be overwhelming. Therefore, in the review, one of the most important criteria for consideration is the correct restoration of drivers in the system.

Some of the programs reviewed can also update drivers, but this is not important criterion. Initially, the consideration comes precisely from the point of view of backup and restoration. The update is just an additional plus. In addition, we specifically draw your attention to the fact that the most best place Where you can find driver updates is the manufacturers' websites.

Unfortunately, not all of the programs reviewed are able to show a list of drivers installed on the system. If you're specifically interested in the list of installed drivers, you can use an excellent little utility called DriverView from Nirsoft.

Review of free driver backup and recovery programs

Double Driver is a convenient and powerful tool for backing up and restoring drivers

It has a simple interface and is very easy to use. The most notable feature is that the program allows you to backup drivers from non- running system. Which will be especially useful in cases where for some reason your system does not boot, and it is not a fact that you will be able to revive it. This functionality gives the program a significant advantage over its analogues. So keep it with you, marked “for a rainy day.”

By default, only third-party drivers are selected in the list for backup. This is very convenient, since there is no special meaning in copying Windows There are no drivers, except in rare cases. To work with the list, there are a number of buttons for quick selection: invert selection, select all, or deselect. You can also select individual drivers. Selected drivers can be copied to a separate structured folder (the default option), to a compressed folder, or to a self-extracting file (some kind of archive). The last option, by the way, led to the program crashing.

Recovery is just as easy. Select the location where your copies of the drivers are stored. Then select from the list exactly those drivers that you want to restore. And start the process. It is worth noting that the drivers are restored quite quickly. Moreover, after restoration, all devices felt great.

Double Driver allows you to save a list of drivers in text file. You can also print the list directly from the program. This is very convenient when you need to keep track of which drivers have been installed on the system. The list is quite informative. For each driver, its name, version number, date, hardware identifier and much more are written.

Overall, Double Driver is a simple, reliable program, which includes a number of unique features. Therefore, it can be safely placed at the head of any list.

SlimDrivers driver backup and recovery program is a good tool with a nice design

has a modern and attractive user interface, which puts you at ease from the first minutes. The backup and restore selection lists are very similar to standard dispatcher devices. And if you consider that SlimDrivers is a gold certified Microsoft partner, then this fact becomes completely unsurprising. However, SlimDrivers works just as well with both system and third-party drivers. But, unfortunately, you will not be able to select all system or all third-party drivers. So in such cases, you will have to either backup all drivers or manually select from the entire list.

Another feature that can be classified as a disadvantage is that SlimDrivers saves drivers in folders named based on the base name or device ID. If you restore drivers yourself with SlimDrivers, then this will not cause much of a problem. But, if for some reason you have to restore drivers not through the SlimDrivers program, then it can really become big problem, since you will have to work hard to find the necessary driver.

Unfortunately, SlimDrivers was unable to backup drivers for devices that were not connected to the system.

Also, during driver recovery, several errors occurred. However, after the restoration was completed, a detailed inspection showed that all drivers were restored. But still, mistakes are mistakes. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the program is reliable.

One more point that needs to be mentioned. Don't forget to select the same folder for backup and restore. If you do not do this, the list of drivers in the recovery section will be empty. And you won't be able to select individual drivers. You will have to restore the entire backup.

By default, SlimDrivers starts every time the system starts. Therefore, you will have to spend a little time to disable this setting, for example, using the startup manager. In addition, when you launch the program for the first time, SlimDrivers will open home page in the browser. But, only at the first time.

SlimDrivers has a habit of remaining in the system tray even if you close it. To actually exit the program, you need to close the program in the tray. Honestly, it's obvious unnecessary function, and it clutters up your desktop more than it is useful. After all, backup and restore operations are sporadic in nature, not daily.

However, for the program of this class SlimDrivers does its job quite well.

Note:

1. SlimDrivers can only be installed online. The program does not have an offline installer. So if you do not have access to the Internet, this will come as an unpleasant surprise for you.

2. When installing, carefully look at the checkboxes and what exactly will be installed. Since the installer is in every possible way and under different types(depending on the program version) tries to install the panel AVG Security.

3. The program is inherently portable. You just need to copy executable file from the SlimDrivers folder to Program Files. Oddly enough, there are no other files in the folder. And it seems that the program only needs an executable file to work. Here the question arises: “Why create an installer then?”, and from point two the answer arises: “Then”. Well, plus everything, the program leaves traces on your system. In principle, the reasons are clear, and it is difficult to condemn free program. On the other hand, once installed, you will get portable program forever.

The DriverMax driver backup program is a good example of when older versions are better than new ones

. Before version 6 it included a lot useful options. But, starting with version 6, most of them have sunk into oblivion. Quite an unpleasant moment.

In terms of the set of settings and capabilities, each is free new version DriverMax takes a few steps backwards, which is very disappointing. It is no longer possible to see and save a list of existing drivers. Previously, these features were a big plus for the program. Also more early versions allowed to save as system drivers, and third parties. Currently you can only save third-party drivers. Previously, you could also create backup copies for hidden devices. Now there is not even a mention of them.

The interface looks modern and attractive. Also, now the interface does not freeze between operations. Earlier versions experienced delays. It seems that the developers decided to make free version nice prototype. And they are successfully moving towards this goal from version to version.

In the backup window, you will only see third-party drivers. In principle, everything is quite clear in the window. You can select all or just a few drivers. If you do not select a path to save the backup, the drivers will be saved in zip archive in the My Drivers folder inside My Documents. By the way, this is exactly the place where DriverMax looks for backups for recovery by default. Subsequently, you will not need to do anything with these archives; the program restores drivers directly from them.

The recovery process is still slow. Noticeably slower than its analogues. If we compare DriverMax versions, then of course it’s faster than previous versions, but nevertheless still very slow. But, despite the speed, the program restores drivers conscientiously.

Note:

1. Again, carefully study the installer windows. They will try to force AVG Security on you again. Look at all the checked boxes. When installing additional components, look carefully at their names. And if you see AVG Security, then feel free to cancel the installation.

2. Now the program starts with the system by default. So you will again have to take the time to disable this setting. Again, you can use the startup manager. Just like SlimDrivers, when closed it hides in the system tray. So to close completely, you need to close the program in the system tray.

DriverBackup driver backup program! not a bad alternative

allows you to both create backup copies of drivers and restore them. But, unfortunately, during testing the program was unable to restore the drivers, according to unknown reason. Really more of a disappointment. Since the program feeds high hopes, because he can do a number of really good things. DriverBackup! can create backup copies of drivers from a non-running system, which clearly sets it apart from its analogues.

DriverBackup! does a really good job of creating backups, as it includes a number of useful settings. When launched, the program displays all installed drivers on the system. With one click you can select both system and third-party drivers. In this case, the choice can be further detailed. You can select all drivers with full portability (according to DriverBackup!) or all drivers with digital signature. And all in one click. Drivers are saved in folders with the corresponding device names. The program also generates a special .bki file, unique to the program, which contains information about the backup files. This file is used during recovery setup to provide a human-readable list of drivers.

DriverBackup! can create backup copies of phantom devices, i.e. devices that were once installed on the system, but are not present in at the moment time. Which is especially useful if you often connect various peripherals(printers, scanners, etc.)

The help file is well organized. It describes all possible operations in sufficient detail and clearly. The program can be used from the command line.

Although the program is portable, it is nevertheless difficult to call it fully portable because starting from version 2 it requires .NET 2.0. Therefore, if the computer does not have a 2.0 framework, the program will not work. This can be considered a disadvantage. It would be possible to use earlier versions, but they do not know how to restore drivers.

However, the program is made to last, and if it were not for the problems when restoring drivers, as well as the mandatory presence of .NET 2.0, then it could be called the best program.

DriverBackup! is in active development, so all that remains is to wait for a release that can be put at the top of the list.

Other Windows driver backup and recovery programs

These programs are also designed to create backup copies of drivers.

• Driver Magician Lite. It copes very well with the task of creating a backup copy of installed drivers, but, unfortunately, it does not know how to restore drivers at all. The interface is nicely organized. All third party drivers are highlighted among general list. It’s really convenient, because there can be quite a lot of drivers in the system. To create a copy, you can select either individual drivers or the entire list. The backup is created in the form of beautifully structured folders with clear device names.
• DriverPack Solution Lite. Not recommended. The program is more likely intended to update drivers than to create a backup copy. Just like other programs on this list, it cannot restore drivers. And it seems that it is not working quite correctly. According to the description, the program can save a backup copy to an exe file. But! There is no difference between backups with the selected exe format and the regular format.

  The program installer contains a bunch of unnecessary adware. She suggests installing Delta Toolbar, changing search engine to Delta, as well as change the browser home page. And a number of other changes. Therefore, during installation, you need to very carefully look through each installer window for checked boxes.

  The program's interface is quite strange. Plus, you will find a number of functions that are not needed at all for driver update/backup programs. Of course, the device manager can be considered a necessary functionality, but it doesn’t make much sense. But what is clearly superfluous is access to the control panel installed programs. It is also unclear why the program has a bunch of unnecessary utilities, such as memory testing, defragmentation, anti-virus scanning. The program also has an item for BIOS updates. And apparently this point is not only unnecessary, but also dangerous.

• DriverGrabber (link is incorrect). The program is too simple and has no settings at all. Creates backup copies of third-party drivers only. You can make copies of Windows drivers only by editing the necessary INI files. It's hard to imagine that regular user will be able to do this. The program is not developed and does not have its own normal website. However, it is difficult to say whether the program will work on 64-bit systems and on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
• Driver Collector. The official website no longer exists and the program is no longer being developed. There are no settings in the program. It also cannot create backup copies of drivers in batch mode. Instead, you need to select and create copies manually. This somewhat undermines the goal of “making the world a simpler place.”

Testing procedure

Testing was carried out on Windows XP. Despite this, the software reviewed is also perfect for backing up drivers for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

First of all, using each program, backup copies of drivers were made from the reference operating system. It had drivers installed from various manufacturers' CDs. Motherboard, webcams, network cards and others.

After that, driver recovery tests were done on another hard drive, which was connected instead of the drive with reference system. The test hard drive had an identical copy of Windows XP. But, in which no third-party drivers were installed (essentially a clean system). A system image was made for a test copy of the system so that after each test the system could be returned to its original state. initial state. Within each test, only the program under test was installed (if required). And, in fact, an attempt was made to restore all the drivers. Then the drivers were compared according to the list, as well as simple checks equipment performance. For example, try to watch a picture from a webcam.

Quick selection guide (download free Windows driver backup and recovery program)

Double Driver