driverquery /v

driverquery /v

Command: driverquery /v

Category: Configuration

Type: CMD

Purpose

Displays a comprehensive list of all installed device drivers on your Windows system. The /v (verbose) parameter provides detailed information including driver name, type, status, start mode, memory usage, and file path.

Quick Summary

One command lists every driver installed on your system with full details. Perfect for driver audits, troubleshooting driver issues, identifying problematic drivers, or documenting system configuration. The verbose output gives you everything you need to understand your driver landscape.

How to Use

Basic usage:

1. Open Command Prompt (no admin rights required).
2. Type driverquery /v and press Enter.
3. View the detailed driver list displayed in the console.

Common variations:

• driverquery - Basic driver list without verbose details
• driverquery /v - Verbose output with detailed information
• driverquery /fo csv - Output as CSV for spreadsheet import
• driverquery /v /fo list - Verbose output in list format (easier to read)
• driverquery /v > drivers.txt - Save verbose output to a file

Tips and Best Practices

• Use /fo list for more readable output: driverquery /v /fo list
• Redirect to a file for easier review: driverquery /v > drivers.txt
• Use CSV format for analysis in Excel: driverquery /fo csv > drivers.csv
• Look for drivers with "Stopped" status to identify potential problems.
• Check the "Path" column to identify third-party drivers.
• Compare driver lists before and after system changes to track what changed.
• Filter output with findstr: driverquery /v | findstr "USB"

Common Use Cases

• Driver audits: Document all installed drivers for system records.
• Troubleshooting: Identify problematic or outdated drivers causing issues.
• Security analysis: Spot suspicious or unknown drivers that might be malicious.
• System comparison: Compare driver configurations between systems.
• Pre/post change documentation: Track driver changes after updates or installations.
• Driver cleanup: Identify old or unnecessary drivers for removal.

Prerequisites

• Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell
• No administrator rights required to view driver information
• Available on Windows 2000 and later

Key Information Provided (with /v)

• Module Name: Driver file name
• Display Name: Descriptive name of the driver
• Description: Detailed description of driver function
• Driver Type: Kernel, File System, Adapter, Recognizer, etc.
• Start Mode: Boot, System, Auto, Manual, or Disabled
• State: Running or Stopped
• Status: OK or error status
• Accept Stop: Whether the driver can be stopped
• Accept Pause: Whether the driver can be paused
• Paged Pool (bytes): Memory usage in paged pool
• Code (bytes): Size of driver code
• Path: Full file path to the driver
• Init (bytes): Initialization memory usage

Output Formats

• TABLE: Columnar format (default, good for console viewing)
• LIST: One property per line (easier to read, better for redirected output)
• CSV: Comma-separated values (best for importing into spreadsheets)

Troubleshooting

• Output too wide for console - Use /fo list format or redirect to a file.
• Too many drivers to review - Use findstr to filter: driverquery /v | findstr "Display Name"
• "Access denied" for signed driver query - Some parameters require admin rights, but basic /v doesn't.
• Driver not listed - Only loaded drivers are shown; use Device Manager for all drivers including unloaded ones.

Filtering Examples

Search for specific drivers:

driverquery /v | findstr /i "network"
driverquery /v | findstr /i "USB"
driverquery /v | findstr /i "audio"

Find stopped drivers:

driverquery /v | findstr "Stopped"

Related Tools

• devmgmt.msc - Device Manager for GUI-based driver management
• msinfo32.exe - System Information includes driver details
• pnputil - Add, remove, or enumerate driver packages
• Get-WindowsDriver - PowerShell cmdlet for driver information