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Drivers - Clean Left over Files after Uninstalling
How to Clean Left Over Driver Files with DDU or Driver Sweeper
Published by Crispy
09 May 2010
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 Published by |
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How to Clean Left Over Driver Files with DDU or Driver Sweeper
 Information
This tutorial will show you how to clean driver files left over after uninstalling hardware such as: Graphic Card, Sound, Microsoft mouse and even PhysX using the free Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) or Driver Sweeper. Not cleaning left over files from uninstalling drivers can result in problems when utilizing the hardware.
 Note
Driver Sweeper is very easy to use. You only have to select the drivers you want to clean up.
The best way to clean drivers is to first uninstall the drivers using the official uninstallers, reboot in Safe Mode and run Driver Sweeper. However, rebooting and not going into Safe Mode also works, but can cause some files not to be cleaned.
What can it be used for ?
The current supported drivers are NVIDIA (Display and Chipset), ATI (Display), Creative (Sound), Ageia (PhysX), MMouse, Realtek (Sound), NEC (USB), Fresco Logic (USB), Marvell (Storage), JMicron (Storage), HP (Printer).
All the settings are saved in an ini file. Nothing is created in the registry, so it's possible to use it as a portable program. Log files can be saved to the hard disk and viewed as well. You can find the logs under the Tools menu.
System requirements:
Operating Systems - Any Windows version (32-bit and 64 bit) with Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 from Official Microsoft Download Center or higher installed.
Disk Space (Downloaded) - 5MB
Disk Space (Installed) - 20MB
1. Click on Download below to download the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) file to your desktop.
OR
Note
If you wanted the older Drive Sweeper 2.1.0, then:
2. Extract (drag and drop) the contents of the .zip folder into a "New Folder" on your desktop, and run the DDU or Driver Sweeper.exe.
3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
4. Uninstall the driver from Programs and Features within the Control Panel as your usually would, restart the computer if needed.
5. Run DDU or Driver Sweeper, check the driver(s) you wish to clean, then click either the Analyse button to see what is left over or click Clean to clean the left over files and registry entries straight away.
6. When finished, you will be prompted to Restart the computer.
7. When the computer has finished restarting, you can now install the new drivers if you like.
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09 May 2010
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#1
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Great guide, but there's a spelling error: "3. After clicking the drivers you with to clean you can do one of two things you can click the "Analyse" button to see what is left over or you can click "Clean" to clean the left over files and registry entries strait away."
Straight is spelled wrong. ^ But other than that, excellent guide  .
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My System Specs |
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System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Built/ Built by me, CR-48
OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU INTEL CORE I5 750 180x20 all powersaving 1.168v
Motherboard MSI P55-GD55
Memory OCZ 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666 (7-7-7-20-2t) @1.651v
Graphics Card ASUS 9800GT GLACIATOR FANSINK
Sound Card ONBOARD REALTEK ALC889
Monitor(s) Displays VIEWSONIC VX924, VIZIO VS420LF1A
Screen Resolution VX924: 1280x1024 75hz, VS420LF1A: 1920x1080 60hz(1080p)
Keyboard Logitech K520
Mouse LOGITECH M310
PSU OCZ MODXSTREAM PRO 700 WATT SEMI-MODULAR
Case ANTEC 900
Cooling CoolerMaster Hyper 212+
Hard Drives HITACHI Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K 1TB 7200RPM 32MB CACHE SATA II
Internet Speed CHARTER PIPELINE 15MB DOWN/ 3MB UP
Other Info ROUTER: DLINK DIR-655, Netgear WNR3500L (SamKnows)
MODEM: MOTOROLA SB6120
HTPC: AMD Athlon II x2 255 C3, Pegatron M2N78-LA (Violet 3.02) , Galaxy NVidia Geforce 210, HP OEM 300WATT PSU, Zalman Z7 Plus, SAMSUNG 3GB PC2-5300, SEAGATE 80GB SATA, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800
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09 May 2010
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#2
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Fixed thanks for the heads up.
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| My System Specs |
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OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution 1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Keyboard Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
PSU ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Hard Drives 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
Internet Speed Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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14 Sep 2010
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#3
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First post updated, new version 2.50.
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| My System Specs |
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OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution 1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Keyboard Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
PSU ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Hard Drives 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
Internet Speed Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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25 Oct 2010
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#4
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NEW version 2.60 first post updated.
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| My System Specs |
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OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution 1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Keyboard Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
PSU ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Hard Drives 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
Internet Speed Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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25 Oct 2010
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#5
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Thanks Crispy.
Never had any issues (as yet) with driver uninstalls.
Will have a go at driver sweeper for future uninstalls.
Regards
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| My System Specs |
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System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom
OS Win7 HP (x64)/Win7 Ultimate (x64)
CPU Core i7 920
Motherboard Intel X58
Memory 6 x 2GB Corsair XMS3
Graphics Card CF HD4890
Sound Card Asus Xonar
Monitor(s) Displays Dell 2408WFP
Screen Resolution 1920 x 1200
Keyboard Razer Lycosa/N52te
Mouse Razer Lachesis
PSU Corsair HX1000W
Case Antec 1200
Hard Drives 2 x 150GB WDC Velociraptors (Raid 0)
1 x 1TB Seagate
1 x 1.5TB Seagate
Computer type PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Build
OS Windows 7 Professional SP1 - x64 [Non-UEFI Boot]
CPU Ivy Bridge Core i5 3570K (Delidded)
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS
Memory G.Skill "Ares" DDR3 PC3-12800 - 1600MHz (16Gb)
Graphics Card Asus Dual-RX480-O4G
Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster Z w/5.1 sound system
Monitor(s) Displays Asus Led 21,5"
Screen Resolution 16/9
Keyboard Cooler Master QuickFire XTi
Mouse Razer Imperator 2012 (4G)
PSU In Win C 900W Series 80+ Platinum
Case Thermaltake Chaser A71
Cooling Custom Water Cooling Loop
Hard Drives Internal:
500Go Sata 6Gb/s (x2)
500Go Sata 3Gb/s (x2)
SSD 60Go Sata 6Gb/s
Antivirus MSE
Browser IE 11.0.37 Rtm
Other Info "Raid0" with Intel Smart Response Technology (HDD/SSD) - GPU Virtualization (iGpu + dGPU)
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31 Jan 2011
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#7
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Ya i know about that, I was just updating it, all updated now 2.8.5 latest version.
9/2/2011: Download Link updated.
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| My System Specs |
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OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution 1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Keyboard Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
PSU ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Hard Drives 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
Internet Speed Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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09 Feb 2011
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#8
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So this just removes the old files left over after the uninstallation of the said drivers? It doesn't clean the extracted or temporary files that the installers create? For example, when installing an Nvidia driver, it will be extracted first (as far as i know). After installation, we don't need those files anymore right? It doesn't clean these right?
I've downloaded the application but will wait for a response before I start using it. Cheers!
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| My System Specs |
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Computer type PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Build
OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1
CPU AMD Athlon II x4 Propus 2.9 GHz
Motherboard ASRock N68C-GS FX
Memory 2 x 4GB Corsair XMS 3 DDR3 -1600 CL9
Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5
Sound Card On-board 6-Channel HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays 18' LG Flatron E1942TC-BN on DVI, 18' Chimei 95ND on HDMI
Screen Resolution 1366 x 768 x 2
Keyboard Dragonwar Desert Eagle
Mouse Logitech B85
PSU Seasonic S12II 520W
Case Generic with Cable Management
Cooling Deep Cool Gammaxx 200
Hard Drives 1 x 500 GB Seagate
1 x 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Green
1 x 1 TB Hitachi Touro Mobile USB 3
Internet Speed 5Mb/s DL, 0.9Mb/s UL
Antivirus ESET Nod32
Browser Google Chrome 64 Bit
Other Info LG G4 H818P - Rooted with Xposed Framework
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09 Feb 2011
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#9
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That "NVIDIA" folder you just delete manually, this program is designed to delete the left over files once you have uninstalled the driver through "Programs and Features", there can be problems caused if you just uninstall then install the new drivers, the old and new drivers may conflict with each-other and cause errors.
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| My System Specs |
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OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 (Build 6.1.7601)
CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Kentsfield) LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R (Rev. 2.1)
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A 4GB PC-10600 (2x XMS3 2GB)
Graphics Card ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 560
Sound Card RealTek ALC885/889A/890
Monitor(s) Displays ChiMei CMV CT-730D 17inch (LCD Monitor)
Screen Resolution 1280-1024 60Hertz (Ture Colour 32bit)
Keyboard Labtec Media Desktop Y-SAD65
Mouse Razer DeathAdder 3G Infrared Sensor (1800DPI)
PSU ANTEC 750w Earthwatts
Case Thermaltake Shark (VA7000SWA ATX) Full Tower
Cooling Front 120mm fan (1400 RPM) /Rear 120mm (1400 RPM) blue LED
Hard Drives 2x Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 160-GB Hard Drive ST3160815AS (AHCI)
Internet Speed Telstra BigPond Elite Liberty ADSL2+ 24Mbps/256kbps
Other Info ASUS PCE-N13 802.11n Wireless LAN card
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