UIU Blog

With the release of each successive new Microsoft operating system, from the most recent Windows 8.1 going back to at least Windows 2000, Microsoft tries to tell us the same thing; namely that the operating system already contains all the required drivers for all hardware components on all machines, old and new.

Arguably, with Microsoft's release of each new operating system, new drivers are included in the inbox driver store and can increasingly, successfully avoid initial problems with BSOD, and other common first-run issues. Windows 10 promises to be nothing different.

But here's what you should know. The drivers that do get included in the inbox driver store (native to the OS) are by and large generic drivers or, at the very least, antiquated versions of drivers that are multiple revisions old. While these outmoded drivers may successfully install and control the individual hardware components, interoperability with the operating system and certainly feature richness for that hardware may be impacted or altogether missing. Furthermore, the inbox drivers generally include no access to customization software.

For example, the new Microsoft Surface includes a driver for the Intel HD 4000 graphics chipset which, in fact, is discovered and installed allowing the device to operate. That said, there is noticeable performance increase when using the official, up to date driver from Intel including access to more features native to the hardware relating to frame rate and power saving technology (improving battery life), which may be considered paramount to the usefulness of such a portable device.

Also, on many platforms including the Surface, there is a noticeable improvement to SSD disk access (random and/or sequential reads and writes) when using Intel's AHCI drivers (iastor) over Microsoft's AHCI drivers (msahci).

We have found, (since 2005), that as time progresses, particularly as it extends past the release of the new OS and generally past the release of each successive Service Pack, that the quantity of drivers specific to a released OS/SP (and not included in the inbox driver store) grows substantially up to and shortly following the end of MS Support for that OS.

Microsoft has consistently demonstrated no willingness to deliver updated drivers in a time-critical or comprehensive manner; instead, they have relied upon OEM PC manufacturers (new hardware releases/sales), component manufacturers (existing hardware), and third-party software (regular OS deployments) to provide updated, OS-specific drivers.

So overall, the native inbox driver store will in fact get the associated hardware to operate with rudimentary functionality. But such generic drivers will not allow the machine to take full advantage of the hardware to which they're associated, and represent a potentially significant opportunity lost on a substantial capital business investment.

So, does Microsoft include all of the drivers you need?  Well, again, not really.