Export Drivers Using Windows PowerShell

This article is for those looking for a detailed and clear guide on how to export drivers using Windows PowerShell.

The ability to export third-party drivers using PowerShell using the Export-WindowsDriver cmdlet was first introduced with Update 1 for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. This great feature is also present on later operating systems from Microsoft.

Exported drivers can be useful for manual installation on new computers or using automated solutions. In addition, drivers can be added to the Windows installation image.

NOTE

The guide will discuss the export of drivers with their description.

We go into the system under an account with administrator rights.

On the keyboard, press the key combination “Win” and “x” and in the menu that opens, select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.

Click on the “Yes” button.

NOTE

In this manual, the drivers and their descriptions will be exported to the “Temp” folder on the “C” drive. The description of the exported drivers will be saved to the “drivers.txt” file.

Let’s prepare the variable using the command:

1
$drivers = Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination C:\Temp\drivers

We export the drivers using the command:

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$drivers | ft ProviderName, ClassName, Date, Version -auto | Out-File C:\Temp\Drivers\drivers.txt

The drivers and their descriptions have been successfully exported to the “Temp” folder on the “C” drive.