[mrguyorama]

I just had to reimage my girlfriend's Windows laptop, which managed to utterly corrupt it's Windows install, all by itself, to the point it couldn't even reset itself.

For some ungodly reason, this personal laptop to be used for watching netflix had bitlocker turned on by default. 48 digit keys are obscene. It was so painful to try any triage or repair step because every single reset would require typing in all 48 digits. It's so stupid.

Meanwhile, what wasn't turned on automatically? System restore. God forbid you set aside 20gb for a chance at recovery. I had to reinstall from raw Windows installer. Now the speakers don't work, because Asus doesn't aknowledge that they've even sold this model of laptop, only showing drivers for the version of the laptop with an OLED screen, which uses a different wifi chipset and audio chipset, so it keeps trying to stomp over the drivers!

[pachouli-please]

use snappy driver installer origin and it will find all drivers based on hardware IDs. it rarely misses https://www.glenn.delahoy.com/snappy-driver-installer-origin...

I've used this on our fresh windows installs for years

[technofiend]

This is the kind of logic Microsoft should include in Windows by default.

[reginald78]

Microsoft actually has a driver updater with windows update that downloads and installs not just basic drivers but also OEM crapware onto your PC. It is on by default.

I know this because I had a PC where Microsoft insisted on installing a broken GPU driver that left me with nothing but a black screen. I had to install windows on that PC with it disconnected from the internet because if Windows Update merely got wind of the driver existing it would insist on downloading and installing it even after disabling driver updates.

It seems like the disable option is hidden in the advanced tab of the ancient computer properties dialog, I can't remember seeing it in the mess of new settings menus but those change all the time so I don't really bother learning them anyway.

[ziml77]

Also anyone who's plugged in a Razer product has seen the driver download mechanism in action. Razer drivers include the installer for their Synapse software so you get the installer prompt when plugging one in.

As annoying as I think it is that they let the hardware manufacturers include software like that in the bundles uploaded to Windows Update, I wouldn't be surprised if they're actually offering the experience most people expect (the software is a part of the product's whole feature set after all).

[nyanpasu64]

IIRC SDIO sources drivers from various motherboard, peripheral, and prebuilt/laptop vendors (not always the same company that made your laptop!), and does not always pick the latest/best version or the right driver for a peripheral. Personally I use it when I can't find a driver myself, and it often finds a working driver (but possibly not always).

[broknbottle]

Why would Microsoft prioritize silly feature like auto discovery of hardware and installing the drives when they could put that time towards more meaningful features. For example, more Ads, making the systems settings menu worse, more Bing AI features, etc

[mrguyorama]

Okay so uh, I tried this tool. It seemed awesome. Except out of the 30ish drivers it installed, several of them were entirely wrong and not needed, to the point that they made boot up hang as multiple drivers waiting on each other crashed and failed and windows finally killed them.

It didn't even install the missing/incorrect driver! Asus's nagware that got autoinstalled by windows update managed to install the correct one, which is insane because I feel like I installed 5 different versions of the exact driver Asus asked to install while troubleshooting and there was zero sound each time. WTF.

Anyway, that app is way too aggressive. It's just throwing Hardware IDs against some list and installing whatever it finds and that's not how Hardware IDs can work in practice.

[WithinReason]

BTW YubiKeys can be programmed to input passwords by simulating a keyboard. Some mice and keyboards can also be programmed with macros stored in onboard memory. (e.g. A4Tech mice)

[m-p-3]

I use an InputStick to paste the recovery keys I need on affected machines, works quite well.

http://inputstick.com/

Disclaimer: not affiliated, just a happy customer