How to Import or Export Device Drivers on Windows 11?

On Windows 11, users will need to replace an old PC and if you have legacy devices installed, you may want to export the drivers for those devices so you can reuse them on the new PC. Some critical devices you have installed on your machine may no longer be supported by their manufacturers. Once you have a working device with drivers installed, you can export the device driver, usee the device on your new PC and reinstall the drivet.

It might also be a good practice to back up your device drivers just in case you need them when you’re corrupted or simply need to reinstall. Windows allows you to export and import device drivers with simple commands, then risewindows steps will guide you on how to do it.

How to Export or Backup Device Drivers on Windows 11?

If you want to export or backup drivers from installed Windows 11, use the following:-

Step 1. Firstly, open the Command Prompt with administrator rights.

For that, press Windows + R keys from the keyboard to open the Run dialog box. In the Run box, type cmd and then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter from the keyboard to run the command prompt as an administrator.

Step 2. Now, in the elevated command prompt, type the following to export the drivers for all devices installed on Windows 11 machine:-

dism /online /export-driver /destination:"full_path_to_export_folder"

Note: In the command, replace “full_path_to_export_folder” with a folder you want to export to. For example, if you’re going to ship drivers in the “C:\Drivers” folder, then your full command will be like:-

dism /online /export-driver /destination:"C:\Drivers"

So, Windows may take a while exporting drivers; it all depends upon the driver’s size. After you are done, you find all component drivers in your predefined folder.

Also, you can use the following command to export device drivers on a Windows 11 PC:-

pnputil /export-driver * "full_path_to_export_folder"

Here, if you prefer to use PowerShell, then open Windows PowerShell with elevated rights and use the following command to export all device drivers:-

Export-WindowsDriver -Online -Destination "full_path_to_export_folder"

How to Import Device Drivers on Windows 11?

To import or restore device drives on Windows 11, perform the following steps:-

Step 1. Firstly, open an elevated Command Prompt.

Step 2. Now, in the command prompt, type the following and then hit Enter from the keyboard to execute it:-

pnputil /add-driver "full_path_to_import_folder\*.inf" /subdirs /install /reboot

Note: Replace the “full_path_to_import_folder” with your folder path where you have kept the backup of drivers.

That’s it for the article.

I hope this post will be informative to you.

You guys are amazing; keep reading, learning & growing.

Also, read How to Backup and Restore Registry Keys on Windows 11/10/8/7?