Should I get all drivers from third-party websites or Windows to do it?

I am on Windows 10. We have switched off Windows Update (via a registry key provided by Microsoft).

I have prepared an image and once installed (and I am off the network), I can see missing drivers and default drivers being used via Device Manager.

Now I connected to the network and even though a windows update has not occurred (due to key setting), I see the drivers updated (my Microsoft Display Adapter has changed to 'Intel Graphics'). And other drivers are up to date and there are no warning signs in Device Manager.

I was under the impression that the drivers would not update unless I did a Windows update or I installed third-party drivers via Device Manager.

Is this correct behavior?

Also, do I need to visit the third-party web sites to download drivers or is this not necessary as I do not see any issues in Device Manager?

Answer

Windows performs a routine maintenance check every so many hours. One of the tasks it does is checking if there is a problem with hardware. It will try to fix it automatically or, if not capable, inform the user.

One of the methods of fixing a driver issue, is by checking if a new driver is available online. If so, it will download the driver and install it.

The driverpool Windows uses may or may not be the latest driver available, but it will be a stable driver, unless it somehow is incompatible (usually happens just after a major Windows update). The driver may be a slimmed down version though, but most of the time, that is enough.

In any case, it is safe to use these drivers.

Updating to those provided by the web, can be beneficial, but it may also install a different version of the exact same drivers already installed (for example, Microsoft installed an English driver, and you downloaded the one native to your language).

The only time when using the drivers from the manufacturer website is important, is when you talk about graphics drivers, especially those by AMD and Nvidia, as they continuously tweak their drivers to give better performance.

Microsoft usually does not update the drivers in their driverpool that frequently. If you use hardware that is older, the drivers provided by Microsoft will likely be the latest.

So: Should you update every single device with new drivers from the manufacturer website? My advise is: only if you are missing features or noticing performance issues. When I format my Windows, I rarely install other drivers. Only for my video card and sound card, as they both require special drivers to access the hardware exclusively.