Prevent Windows Update from Updating Specific Device Driver  

Jim Rockford said:

Hello,

I'm running Windows 10 Pro and have followed the instructions here to prevent Windows from updating a driver for a Prolific USB to Serial Com port. I installed a working driver and verified that it was working, then proceeded to activate a group policy as described here to prevent Windows from updating the driver. (The new driver that Windows wants to install does not work. I've been through this process twice now.)

Yesterday, my computer updated to version 2004. When I tried to use the Prolific device today, I received a notification that a group policy prohibited the update but that the device was ready for use. When I tried to use the device, it didn't work at all. So I checked Device Manager and it looked like Windows installed a generic Com Port driver and uninstalled the working driver as part of the update.

So, I went back to the group policy editor and changed the setting to "Not Configured". Then I plugged the device into a USB port and looked at the Device Manager and, lo and behold, the working driver was installed. I tried to use the device and it worked correctly.

I'm no expert, but it seems like what happened is that Windows did not install an updated driver and also did not uninstall the old one. But it effectively uninstalled the device itself and then wouldn't install a driver for it when I plugged it in. Setting the group policy back to "Not Configured" allowed Windows to reinstall the device and the old, working driver.

Now, the group policy is not enabled for this device and, next time Windows 10 updates, I suspect it will install a new, non-working driver that I'll have to uninstall again.

I'm thinking I've done something wrong, and I'm really hoping I can prevent Windows for messing up this device every time it updates. I'd like to change a setting somewhere to prevent any updates to this device driver and prevent Windows from effectively uninstalling it as part of the update process. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Same happened to me for the Intel video driver I had blocked from updating. I had to redo everything as you did after just upgrading from 1909 to 2004.

Guys,
I really don't know what a feature update does to all these GPOs.
Just guessing, that it uninstalls all drivers and then reinstalls and updates them to the previously installed version....but that is just a guess.
The fact remains, according to your experience that the GPO should be removed and re-applied.
Just pay attention to the "Also apply to matching devices that are already installed" toggle. it might be the culprit.

Jim Rockford said:

Thanks for the response. Are you saying I should toggle the "Also apply to..." box on or off or try it both ways? When I set the policy, I had it toggled off.

Are you saying that each time a feature update is installed we may have to remove and reapply the policy? If I'm understanding correctly, that means setting the group policy in the first place seems to be of little or no value.

Please excuse me if I'm misinterpreting what you're saying. Thanks again for the reply.

When the "Also apply to..." box is off it will not go to retroactively apply the setting to the existing devices.

Now, since we don't know what exactly the FU does with the drivers, I would suggest to remove and reapply the GPO, after each new Feature Update.

acuvic said:

Hi Dimitri

Thanks for your post which I found very useful. I have a Home edition of Windows 10, so had to modify the registry.

However, your .reg file which I downloaded already had a prefilled values for some random devices in the DenyDeviceIDs sub-folder. OK probably a leftover from your own tests but it confused me! So anyone finding this, just modify the value to your own hardware ID. String name remains as 1.


Ok, the dodgy driver was stopped from automatically updating - great!

Welcome to TenForums.
You're most welcome. I'm glad it helped you.

Just to clarify:
The HWid is not a remnant. The reg file you downloaded is a "template"...I.e to show you how it's done.

To make it work for the device you want, follow closely Step 2 and copy the HWid of your device.
Then open the. reg file you downloaded in notepad and replace the HWid in the file with the one you copied from Device Manager.
When changing the HWid pay attention:

1. The required quotes (don't delete them) and
2. Precede each backslash (\) with a second backslash (\\). The reason behind it is that the single backslash is regarded as an ESC character. That's why you need two of them.

When done, save the file with .reg extension and then double click it to merge it into the Registry.
That's it!