The Driver Roll Back feature in Windows Vista, available within Device Manger, is designed to remove the current driver for a hardware device and then automatically enable the previously installed driver.
The biggest reason you might want to roll back a driver is if a driver update doesn't correct an issue you expected it to or it caused a new problem.
Follow these easy steps to roll back a driver in Windows Vista:
Open Device Manger from the Control Panel.
Note: There are several other ways of opening Device Manager in Windows Vista as well.
With Device Manager open, locate the hardware device that you want to roll back the driver for.
Note: Navigate through the categories of hardware devices by clicking the [+] icon. You can find specific hardware devices are under these major categories.
After finding the hardware you're rolling back the driver for, right click on the hardware's name or icon and choose Properties.
In the Properties window, click the Driver tab.
On the Driver tab, click the Roll Back Driver button.
Click the Yes button to the "Are you sure you would like to roll back to the previously installed driver software?" question.
The previously installed driver will now be restored. You should see the Roll Back Driver button as disabled after the roll back is complete.
Click the Close button at the bottom of the device properties screen.
Click Yes on the System Settings Change dialog box that says "Your hardware settings have changed. You must restart your computer for these changes to take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now?"
If you can't see this message, close the Control Panel window if it's still open. You won't be able to close the Device Manager tool until you confirm the computer restart.
Note: Depending on the device driver you're rolling back, it's possible that you won't see this message. If you don't see it then consider the roll back complete.
Your computer will now automatically restart.
When Windows Vista starts again, it will load with the device driver you had previously installed for this hardware.
Driver Roll Back only allows you to roll back a driver one level. In other words, Windows Vista only keeps a copy of the very last driver installed. It does not keep an archive of all previously installed drivers for the device.
Not a Windows Vista user? See How do I Roll Back a Driver in Windows? for specific instructions for your version of Windows.
