How to find files used with Windows computer drivers

Drivers for hardware are often stored in the Windows System32 folder. But, if you need to know what driver files are used for a particular hardware device, follow the steps below.

Locating driver files

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the hardware section for the device you need to find the driver files.
3. Right-click the hardware device name and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
4. In the device properties window, click the Driver tab.
5. On the Driver tab, click the Driver Details button.

In the Driver File Details window above, there's a list of driver related files for the computer video card, and the full path to those files.

With the driver file details, you can know if a hardware device uses a .dll file or another file as its driver instructions. The driver file details can also help determine if an error you may be experiencing with a file is related to that hardware device.