Microsoft provides a wide range of device drivers through Windows 10 Push, which enables the system to work with specific hardware, such as network adapters, graphics cards, storage, and various peripherals, including touch Boards, keyboard, or mouse.
On Windows 10 systems, Microsoft uses Windows Update to detect and install drivers for the connected hardware. Although drivers are important to improve performance and security, some drivers have been breaking Windows 10.
Last year, drivers from Intel and other manufacturers caused endless trouble for users. In some cases, the driver can cause audio freezes, cause system crashes, degraded performance, and more. Due to compatibility issues, the driver also prevents some users from updating the Windows 10 system.
Microsoft said in January 2020 that hardware partners can now ask them to block Windows 10 feature upgrades on PCs running incompatible drivers. Previously, only Microsoft identified and blocked Windows 10 feature updates due to driver compatibility issues, which caused a very wide range of issues.
In February of this year, Microsoft began rolling out a new optional driver update experience to a few Windows 10 testers.
Previously, all Windows 10 computers automatically received major or minor driver updates through Windows Update. The driver update will be released to all users that day, but Microsoft is now switching to the new method.
Microsoft says that a driver update will be rolled out in stages, which means that the driver will first appear on active devices and then be pushed to everyone, as it helps to get targeted diagnostic data, especially incompatibility The problem aspect.
These devices are considered “highly active” and more likely to get diagnostic data, and they will receive driver updates first.
“It targets specific clusters of HWID / CHID combinations so that the quality of the driver can be evaluated in a way that represents the average total number of devices,” Microsoft said.
Based on feedback from the first set of devices, Microsoft will approve or reject the wider rollout of Windows 10 driver updates. According to Microsoft, this approach ensures that all consumers get the highest quality updates.
With all these changes, Microsoft aims to improve the driver and Windows Update experience. In the coming months, as compatibility improves, you can expect fewer driver issues on Windows PCs and faster performance.