{
  "id": 19765421,
  "title": "How to Install Drivers Using CMD in Windows",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/how-to-install-drivers-using-cmd-in-windows",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-13T06:16:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KahawaTungu",
    "slug": "kahawatungu",
    "url": "https://kahawatungu.com/how-to-install-drivers-using-cmd-in-windows/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "To install drivers on a Windows computer using the Command Prompt, you must first open Command Prompt with administrator privileges. This can be done by clicking the Start button, typing \"CMD\" in the search box, right-clicking Command Prompt, and selecting \"Run as administrator.\" Once Command Prompt is open, navigate to the folder containing your driver files. For example, if your drivers are stored on your desktop in a folder called \"Drivers,\" navigate to that location by typing \"cd Desktop\\Drivers\" and pressing Enter. Next, use the PnPUtil command-line utility to install your driver. To install a single driver, type \"pnputil /add-driver\" followed by the path to your driver file and \"/install.\" For instance, \"pnputil /add-driver C:\\Drivers\\driver.inf /install.\" Press Enter and wait for Windows to process the installation. If you have multiple driver files, you can install them all at once by using the \"pnputil /add-driver\" command with the \"C:\\Drivers\\*.inf\" argument and \"/subdirs /install.\" This searches the specified folder and its subfolders for INF driver packages and attempts to install them. After installing the drivers, you can check which drivers are currently installed on your computer by entering \"driverquery\" in Command Prompt and pressing Enter. The results can be saved to a text file for future reference. If you need to update a driver, use the same PnPUtil command with the path to the updated driver file. Finally, some driver installations require a restart for the hardware to function correctly. To restart your computer immediately, enter \"shutdown /r /t 0\" in Command Prompt and press Enter.",
  "summary": "Learning how to install drivers using CMD in Windows allows you to add or update hardware drivers through Command Prompt without relying entirely on Device Manager. Drivers help your computer communicate with hardware components such as printers, graphics cards, network adapters, Bluetooth devices, and sound cards. Windows provides built-in command-line tools that make it possible [...] The post…",
  "key_points": [
    "Open Command Prompt as administrator",
    "Navigate to driver folder using 'cd'",
    "Use 'pnputil' to install drivers"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Utilizing the PnPUtil utility through the command line offers administrators a streamlined method to manage hardware drivers and batch-install multiple packages without navigating the standard graphical user interface.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}