Windows Lets Users Restore Drivers Offline With 2 Built-In Tools as Cloud Rebuild Needs Internet
Updated
Updated · Neowin · Jul 9
Windows Lets Users Restore Drivers Offline With 2 Built-In Tools as Cloud Rebuild Needs Internet
1 articles · Updated · Neowin · Jul 9
Summary
Windows can already back up and restore installed drivers offline, giving users a fallback when Windows 11's new Cloud Rebuild cannot fetch drivers because a PC lacks internet access.
Two built-in command-line tools handle the process: DISM exports all third-party drivers to a pre-created folder, and pnputil later bulk-installs matching .inf packages after a clean reinstall.
The method requires copying that export folder to a USB stick or another drive before wiping the system, then running the import command from an elevated PowerShell window on first boot.
Windows skips drivers that do not match current hardware and ignores older packages if Windows Update already installed newer ones, but it restores only drivers already present on the machine.
That also means problematic existing drivers can come back after reinstall—an important tradeoff as Microsoft tests Cloud Rebuild in Windows 11 Insider Experimental builds.