HOWTO install a driver .INF by command line

Up to now, there are different ways to install a device driver:

  • by a dedicated setup file by the manufacturer.
  • by using Device Manager to update the ones of a previously installed device.
  • by File Explorer right-click menu.
  • by script or command line

This last option can be useful if you need to include in a script the driver installation, or in a troubleshooting phase you need to install it from an administrative Command Prompt.

According to MS PnpUtil documentation, we can use the following:

pnputil /add-driver <device.inf> /install

or its legacy form (deprecated but more compact):

puputil /a <device.inf> /i