How to stop Windows from updating your SOLIDWORKS certified video card driver!

It is a story we hear time and again from customers: They take the time and effort to download the correct certified driver for SOLIDWORKS from the SOLIDWORKS certified list, only to have a Windows update come along and displace that driver with the “Latest & Greatest”, which in many cases, turns out to be not so great!

We can prevent the Windows operating system (Windows 11) from automatically updating your drivers with the “Latest & Greatest” by following the simple series of steps below:

1. Open the Windows 11 System Properties Dialog by searching for and selecting  “View Advanced System Settings” using the Windows 11 Start Menu Search. This dialog may also be accessed by navigating via the Windows 11 settings app: System > About > Advanced System Settings.
2. Within the System Properties Dialog, navigate to the “Hardware” Tab, choose the “Device Installation Settings…” button under the “Device Installation Settings” area.
   

   Advanced Property Dialog

3. Within the Device Installation Settings dialog, choose the option:

“No (your device might not work as expected)”

Device Installation Settings

Please keep in mind that this will not prevent other update utilities from potentially affecting your driver settings – many hardware companies have their own applications that run on startup of the operating system that check for the latest updates and automatically download and update your hardware with the latest drivers available.

Making these selections will require you to undertake regular checks for updates of the other hardware on your system, as Windows will no longer be doing so automatically.

This is only one step toward exercising full control over your system and preventing any unwanted changes that may cause SOLIDWORKS  downtime.