Win 7 - Downloads USB drivers when USB device inserted in different

[mbluett]

I wish Microsoft had a wish list submission website. I would like to get them to change the retarded way Win 7 works with regard to downloading a driver for a USB device that has been used on a different USB port in the same computer. Why can't they check and see if the driver is already present and then if not then download it?

This is pretty simple thing to do.

Doing it the way they have wastes my time and wastes bandwidth and unnecessary access to Microsoft's servers.

But since this is Win 7 they will probably not do anything. So, I guess I will have to live with it because I am certainly not switching to Win 10. I absolutely hate the UI.

 

[ComputerGeek]

When you plug a device into a different port, I'm guessing you're seeing Windows say it's installing the driver.

If it's any comfort, the driver is only downloaded once, if needed (many drivers already come packaged in the OS: both MS drivers + some standard drivers for common devices from some 3rd party vendors come with the OS)

I can explain more but, first, confirm what device(s) you're talking about and messages you're seeing.

 

[Berton]

An issue with the ports is that most times a different drive letter is assigned to a Thumb/Flash drive when it is plugged in, changing ports can change that lettering usually taking the first available letter. I have 2 internal HDDs [C: & D:], 2 ODDs [E: & F:], 3 External USB HDDs [G:, H:, I:] and an internal card reader [O:, P:, Q:, R:, S:] along with 2 NAS/Network Attached Storage] drives plugged into my Router [Y: & Z:]. Whenever I plug in a Thumb drive it takes letter J: and a second Thumb drive will take K:. It all works out but I make sure to set a Label on each drive [right-click & Properties] to identify it in Windows Explorer [Win7 and earlier] and File Explorer [Win8 and later]. Attaching a NAS drive starts lettering at Z: by default and works back up the alphabet. Such an arrangement can be difficult for most users but I'm working with files on most of the drives at least weekly if not on a daily basis.

 

[mbluett]

When you plug a device into a different port, I'm guessing you're seeing Windows say it's installing the driver.

If it's any comfort, the driver is only downloaded once

No I don't see that it is installing. What I see is that it is searching Windows Updates for an appropriate driver. This takes a considerable length of time.

 

[Berton]

I see that happen as I tend to plug in numerous drives I work with, just all part of recovering data for clients and cleaning drives for recycling.

 

[ComputerGeek]

No I don't see that it is installing. What I see is that it is searching Windows Updates for an appropriate driver. This takes a considerable length of time.

That's not how the driver install process is supposed to work. When Windows looks for a suitable driver for a device it first checks the DriverStore on the local computer. If it's there, it uses it. It does not go to Windows Update. Only if no suitable driver is found on your machine does Windows go check Windows update. Quote below is from MS Technet about Server 2008 and Vista. Didn't find the win 7 spec on a quick look but it;s the same

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753091.aspx

By default, Windows searches the Windows Update driver repository on the Internet if the driver cannot be automatically discovered locally.

What device do you have that search and downloads from Windows Update every time? Does it happen with a specific device vs. others? (like shouldn't happen with standard usb mass storage and disk drivers)

/* EDIT */
p.s. Now i have seen post in forums, time to time, where a plug and play driver always needs to be reinstalled (tho i think is from local DriverStore) but those have many times was h/w issue or BIOS update needed as I recall

 

[ComputerGeek]

I see that happen as I tend to plug in numerous drives I work with, just all part of recovering data for clients and cleaning drives for recycling.

I believe you're seeing the Windows installing a driver bubble that pops up at bottom of the screen. That only means it's installing, not searching online. The standard, generic usb storage and disk drivers needed for usb disks, flash and storage device interfaces are already on your computer. Windows shouldn't go to Windows update.

On the other hand, what you might see if you connect a "smart" drive (where vendors like WD have added extended functionality to their disk device)
> Again, the standard usb and storage drivers are installed from the machine. No Windows search needed
> The driver needed to support the interface to the vendor's extra non-standard functions probably wouldn't be pre-loaded on your computer. Only in those cases Windows need search Windows update for the vendor specific driver for the added functions