Out of the box, Windows 10 offers several convenient features, such as the ability to factory reset without losing any important data or resize partitions without erasing files. Another built-in feature is the ability to backup and restore Registry keys without requiring a third-party tool. However, for driver backup, while there are third-party tools like DriverBackup available, users who prefer to avoid additional software can use the Command Prompt or PowerShell. This is particularly useful when preparing for a clean installation of Windows 10, as it’s crucial to backup hardware drivers that may not be available on the manufacturer’s website. The Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool, which is pre-installed in Windows 8 and later versions, can help prepare, scan, repair, and backup drivers to ensure that they function correctly in Windows 10.
Topics Covered
How to Backup Device Drivers in Windows 10 using Command Prompt?
Step 1. Click on the
Step 2. Right-click on
Step 3. In the command prompt window, write the following:-
dism /online /export-driver /destination:"full_path_of_folder"
Replace
dism /online /export-driver /destination:"F:\Drivers_Backup"
Quick Tips: If you don’t want to type a long command in command prompts, copy from here and right-click the command prompt window. Copied text will be pasted automatically.

Step 4. Press
Step 5. It will start exporting drivers in your selected folder. Once the driver’s backup is completed, you will see a message, “The operation completed successfully.”

Quick Tips: You can use the following command also, to create a backup of drivers in Windows 10:-
pnputil /export-driver * "full_path_of_folder"
Note: Replace the
Step 6. The device drivers will now be available in the specified folder location (e.g., F:\Drivers_Backup).

How to backup device drivers in Windows 10 using Power Shell?
Step 2. Right-click on
Step 3. If User Account Control prompts, click the
Step 4. In the Windows PowerShell window, type the following command, and press
Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination “Full_path_of_location”
Note: Replace
Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination “F:\Drivers_Backup”

Quick Tips: If you don’t want to type a long command in PowerShell, copy the text from here and right-click on the PowerShell window. Copied text will be pasted automatically.
Step 5. It will start exporting drivers from your PC.
How to restore device drivers in Windows 10 using Command Prompt?
We are using the command method to restore all drivers on your Windows 10 PC at once.
Step 1. Click on the

Step 2. Right-click on Command Prompt app and select
Step 3. In the command prompt window, write the following:-
pnputil /add-driver "full_path_of_folder*.inf" /subdirs /install /reboot
Note: Replace
pnputil /add-driver "F:\Drivers_Backup*.inf" /subdirs /install /reboot
Step 4. Press
How to Restore a Device Driver in Windows 10 using Device Manager?
If you want to restore/install/update the selected device driver, this method is useful.
Step 1. Click on the

Step 2. From the available search results, click on the
Step 3. Locate the device under the device manager for which you want to install or update the drivers.

Step 4. Right-click on the device name and select the
In my example, we are updating the drivers of Bluetooth.

Step 5. Click “Browse my computer for driver software.”

Step 6. Click the

Step 7. Check “Include subfolders” and then click on the

Step 8. Now, it will start searching for the correct drivers in the selected path and will automatically install the drivers for you.

Conclusion
Driver backups are essential. However, driver backups are insufficient to protect our computers from data loss. To secure your computer’s data, you can use backup software such as EaseUS Todo Backup Free to perform a disk image.