New Windows10-22H2 on a Asus X299 chipset: Help with WU offered drivers

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[Mike]

This a a X299 chipset if that matters.  After a clean, new install of Windows 10 22H2, I went to the Asus website and downloaded and installed all the latest drivers.  Everything went as expected and there were no errors in Device Manager.

On my first run of WUmgr, it reported a lot of drivers.  A few make sense, some appear to be duplicates (some might be processor security related), but so many though that it’s overwhelming.

Take a look at this screenshot of WUmgr and let me know what you think.  Also, in general, what might some of these updates be used for?

• This topic was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Mike.
• This topic was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Mike.

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I’m running Windows10-22H2 (PRO) on a Asus X299 chipset, but my motherboard is not new. It’s the Asus X299 TUF Mark 1 MB. The latest X299 chip set for my MB is July 2020 and it’s the one I have installed. I do not use WUmgr. Offering updates for Xeon processors seems excessive unless you are using that CPU, and that seems very unlikely even with a much newer MB.

I have no input beyond this, but since I’m using an X299 chipset I thought a simple reply might be helpful. I’d be interested to know what you decide to do however.

TT

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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Mike

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WuMgr is telling you what Windows Update is offering. Windows thinks you need those drivers.

I rarely agree with Windows on such things and hide all offered driver updates. Then I use the computer manufacturer’s update utility to check for drivers.

cheers, Paul

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Bookman, Mike, Alex5723

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Paul T wrote:

I rarely agree with Windows on such things and hide all offered driver updates. Then I use the computer manufacturer’s update utility to check for drivers.

I do the same.

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Mike

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Paul T wrote:

I rarely agree with Windows on such things and hide all offered driver updates. Then I use the computer manufacturer’s update utility to check for drivers.

Same here with my old Asus Maximus VIII Gene with the Z170 chipset and my current Asus Maximus XI Gene motherboard with the Z390 chipset.

Like you, I downloaded/installed all the newest drivers from Asus when I first installed the motherboard but, after a Windows update of the “audio driver” killed my audio (I had to download/install the “older” version from Asus to get it working again), I disabled driver updates in Group Policy and use WUmgr to hide any driver updates being offered by Windows.

I haven’t had any “driver problems” since I did that and occasionally, about once a year, I’ll check the Asus and actual device manufacturer’s sites to see if any newer drivers might be available; which I then download/install.

I also keep copies of the installers for the “currently working” drivers in case a new one doesn’t work and I have to revert back to the old one!

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Bookman, Mike

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Mike-

Although your initial question was about the myriad of drivers showing up in the list within WUMgr, I would advise you to INSTALL one of the other items that shows up in the list (if you haven’t already) KB5022729, the update for .net framework. It includes fixes for two separate security vulnerabilities, so it’s a definite install.

The other .net framework patch, KB5025367, as it’s listing says, is a preview, so feel free to NOT install it and instead, please hide it.

As far as the myriad of drivers that are listed, I agree with what @bigal67 (alejr) said…since you’ve installed the latest drivers from your motherboard manufacturer, hide ALL of the remaining drivers in the list.

One of the drivers that’s listed multiple times, the one from Intel that’s version 10.1.1.38 dated 10/3/16, I’ve had listed on my list of “Optional” updates within Windows Update since I got my current computers back in August of 2020 (i.e. I haven’t bothered to hide it) and there it sits, uninstalled. From what I can tell, no harm no foul…nothing misbehaving because it isn’t installed! 

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Bookman, Mike

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Thanks again for all the input.

Thinking about all this; looking at the offered driver dates and their duplicates tells me not to install those.  Some of the processor ones might be for those early-on Intel processor exploitation(s).  Not sure, but I’ll decline those too.

Appreciate all the wisdom.

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Hello @Mike. Wow that is quite a list.
I am having a similar experience to you except I am on on a clean install of Win 11 21H2 and am using wushowhide instead of WUmgr. I was also puzzled on why duplicate drivers were offered and began by hiding them all with wushowhide until I had a chance to investigate. After making a backup, researching, and finding that some of these offerings were older but legitimate drivers from Intel, I unhid the 2 bluetooth drivers in wushowhide and clicked check for updates. The older version of the bluetooth driver downloaded and installed. I repeated the same procedure by unhiding 2 Intel-net (wifi) drivers and again only the older driver of the two seen in wushowhide downloaded and installed. Running wushowhide again, I see the newer intel bluetooth and wifi driver are available for install. I hid these in wushowhide and plan to download and install the latest drivers from Intel. Why 2 versions of the same driver and not just the newest one MS has, who knows? In researching the drivers in my list, I also had 2 versions of Intel Management Engine and 2 versions of what I believe is (ICls Client) Intel Compatibility Licensing Interface. They are only identified as being Intel-SoftwareComponents and a version number. Fyi – you have the same ones in your list, except you are offered a newer wifi driver.
I decided to play it safe and hold off installing any more driver updates from MS. Hope my story does not cause more confusion – just wanted you to know you are not alone.

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Bookman, Mike

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Yeah Suseka all those drivers are pretty confusing.  Thanks for the comment.

In the past (with another machine), I’d search the Internet and Microsoft’s Update Catalog for the driver names.  From there I would be able to get version numbers, dates, hardware ID’s and a description.  Then I’d compare those with the ones on my computer using Device Manager.  It was a time-consuming process.  Typically, if the driver was newer then the one I had, then I’d install it.  Now, I’m not so sure.

So, bottom line, most of those drivers are real and legitimate, but I’m thinking that if your computer is working okay, then you rarely need the drivers being offered by Microsoft.  I would say, however, that many new drivers are created for upgraded security from what I’ve read.

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Bookman, Sueska, Deo

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