If you exported your drivers before reinstalling Windows, PnPUtil can add them back from the command line. This is how to do it for one driver or a whole folder, and how to check that it worked.
A driver package is a folder with an .inf file, which describes the hardware and the files, plus the driver binaries and usually a catalog (.cat) file used for signature checks. Always keep the whole folder together, not only the .inf.
PnPUtil is the Windows command-line tool for the driver store. It is useful after a reinstall when you have exported drivers with DISM or PnPUtil, or when the maker supplies only an unpacked driver folder without an installer.
Right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin) and confirm the prompt. PnPUtil needs administrator rights.
Run: pnputil /add-driver "D:\Drivers\Network\netdriver.inf" /install
The /install option also installs the package on matching devices that are present. Without it, the package is only added to the driver store.
Run: pnputil /add-driver D:\Drivers\*.inf /subdirs /install
This adds every INF found in that folder and its subfolders. Start with the network driver folder alone if you want to bring connectivity back first.
Run pnputil /enum-drivers to see the packages in the driver store, then open Device Manager and check that warning icons are gone. Right-click a device, choose Properties and look at the Driver tab for the version and provider.
Common reasons: the driver is for a different Windows version or architecture (for example 32-bit on 64-bit Windows), the catalog is missing or the signature cannot be verified, or the INF does not match any device in this PC. Do not disable driver signature checks as a general fix; get the right package from the maker instead.
Windows only uses a driver for a device whose hardware ID it matches, and it prefers the best match, not simply the newest version. An exported driver from a different PC model may install but not be used.
Rain Driver (public beta, Windows 7 to 11) can export your working drivers into a Driver Passport with checksums and restore them in a sensible order, using PnPUtil underneath on current Windows. The builds are not yet code-signed; see our Trust page for hashes and scan results. You can do the same by hand with the commands above.
Last updated: 2026-10-01
It adds a driver package to the Windows driver store, and with /install it also installs it on matching devices.
Yes, use pnputil /add-driver FOLDER\*.inf /subdirs /install in an administrator terminal.
Only if the hardware matches. A driver that does not match the device will not be used, and a wrong driver can cause problems.
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