If your Wi-Fi, audio, or graphics card started crashing right after an automatic driver update, rolling back to the previous stable driver takes 60 seconds.
Why This Problem Happens
- New driver release contains a regression bug.
- Windows Update forced a generic OEM driver over customized manufacturer software.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Procedure
Step 1: Open Device Manager and Locate Offending Device
Objective: Target the updated hardware.
- Press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager.
- Locate the problematic device (e.g. Network adapters > Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200).
Step 2: Click “Roll Back Driver” in Properties
Objective: Restore previous binary version.
- Right-click the device and choose Properties > Driver tab.
- Click the “Roll Back Driver” button, select a reason (e.g., “Previous version of the driver was more reliable”), and click Yes.
Step 3: Pick from List of Device Drivers on My Computer
Objective: Choose specific installed driver.
- If Roll Back is greyed out, click “Update driver” > “Browse my computer for drivers” > “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.
- Select the older version date and click Next.
Verified Troubleshooting Tips
- Use the Microsoft “Show or hide updates” troubleshooter tool (wushowhide.diagcab) to prevent Windows Update from re-installing the bad driver.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Roll Back Driver button greyed out?
It is greyed out if this is the only driver version ever installed on the computer, or if Windows Disk Cleanup purged the previous driver backup.