How to fix Windows 11 computer running slow due to outdated or corrupted device drivers

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix Windows 11 computer running slow due to outdated or corrupted device drivers. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Outdated or corrupted device drivers are a common cause of slow performance, freezing, and system instability in Windows 11. Drivers act as the communication bridge between your hardware and the operating system. When a driver is faulty, Windows may struggle to manage the affected component efficiently, consuming excessive CPU, memory, or disk resources. This guide walks you through identifying problematic drivers and restoring your computer to optimal performance.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Open Device Manager and look for warning icons (yellow triangles).
2. Run Windows Update to install the latest driver versions automatically.
3. Use the built-in Driver Verifier tool to detect corrupted drivers.
4. Roll back or uninstall a recently updated driver if problems began after an update.
5. Reinstall the driver from the manufacturer's official website if issues persist.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1: Identify problematic drivers in Device Manager

1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
2. Expand each category (e.g., Display adapters, Network adapters, Sound, video and game controllers).
3. Look for any device with a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark, a red X, or a down arrow icon. These indicate driver errors, disabled devices, or unknown hardware.
4. Note the device name and category for the next steps.

Step 2: Update drivers via Windows Update

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Select Windows Update from the left sidebar.
3. Click Check for updates.
4. If optional driver updates are available, click Advanced options, then Optional updates.
5. Expand Driver updates, tick the boxes for any drivers you want to install, and click Download & install.
6. Restart your computer after installation completes.

Step 3: Update a specific driver manually

1. Open Device Manager again.
2. Right-click the problematic device and select Update driver.
3. Choose Search automatically for drivers. Windows will search online for the latest version.
4. If Windows cannot find a newer driver, select Browse my computer for drivers and navigate to a driver file you have already downloaded from the manufacturer's website.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

Step 4: Roll back a recently updated driver

If your computer started running slowly immediately after a driver update, rolling back to the previous version may resolve the issue.

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Right-click the device and select Properties.
3. Go to the Driver tab.
4. Click Roll Back Driver. If the button is greyed out, no previous driver version is available.
5. Select a reason for rolling back and click Yes.
6. Restart your computer.

Step 5: Uninstall and reinstall a corrupted driver

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Right-click the problematic device and select Uninstall device.
3. Tick the box labelled Attempt to remove the driver for this device if available, then click Uninstall.
4. Restart your computer. Windows will attempt to reinstall a clean version of the driver automatically.
5. If Windows does not reinstall the driver, return to Device Manager, right-click your computer name at the top of the list, and select Scan for hardware changes.
6. If the device still shows an error, download and install the latest driver from the manufacturer's website.

Step 6: Run Driver Verifier to detect corrupted drivers

Driver Verifier is a built-in Windows diagnostic tool that stress-tests drivers to identify corrupted or faulty ones. Use this only if the above steps have not resolved the issue.

1. Press Windows key + R, type verifier, and press Enter.
2. Select Create standard settings and click Next.
3. Select Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer and click Finish.
4. Restart your computer and use it normally. If a driver is faulty, Windows will display a blue screen error naming the offending driver file (e.g., nvlddmkm.sys).
5. Note the driver file name, then boot into Safe Mode.
6. Press Windows key + R, type verifier /reset, and press Enter to disable Driver Verifier.
7. Open Device Manager, locate the device associated with the driver file, and uninstall or update it as described above.

Troubleshooting

Computer still slow after updating all drivers

If performance issues persist after addressing driver problems, the cause may be unrelated to drivers. See our guide on Computer running slow for additional performance troubleshooting steps, including disk cleanup, startup program management, and memory diagnostics.

Blue screen errors during driver installation

If you experience a blue screen error while installing or updating a driver, restart your computer and boot into Safe Mode. From Safe Mode, open Device Manager, right-click the affected device, and select Uninstall device. Then restart normally and install a different driver version from the manufacturer's website. For more information, see Blue screen of death (BSOD) - restart steps.

Applications freezing after driver update

Some driver updates can introduce compatibility issues with specific applications. If applications begin freezing after a driver update, roll back the driver using the steps in Step 4 above. If freezing continues, see Applications freezing or crashing.

Network driver issues causing slow internet

A corrupted network adapter driver can cause slow browsing and intermittent connectivity. After updating your network driver, if web pages still load slowly, see Browser not loading pages for further troubleshooting.

Unable to identify the problematic driver

If you cannot determine which driver is causing performance issues, open Device Manager and look for devices with warning icons. You can also check the Event Viewer for driver-related errors: press Windows key + X, select Event Viewer, then navigate to Windows Logs > System and look for entries with a yellow warning or red error icon that mention a driver file name. Use that information to locate the device in Device Manager and update or reinstall its driver.

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