How to Delete Drivers on Mac

Although most driver issues are mainly related to the Windows operating system, Macs usually either don’t require them, or their drivers’ usage is minimal. But the situation becomes different when you connect any third-party hardware devices like GPU, and USB peripherals.

Some of these devices require dedicated drivers to function properly, and without them, you can run into many issues. However, on many occasions, these drivers themselves can start to malfunction. There can be many reasons behind this, and it can cause your system more harm than good.

In this guide, we will discuss this particular situation and see how to delete drivers on Mac. Let’s get started.

How to Locate Drivers on Mac

If you are planning to delete drivers on mac manually, then the task might be a little more difficult than you think it seems. Because, unlike Windows, which keeps all of its drivers in one place, Mac does not follow this rule.

It stores every driver in different locations, so for some, you might have to go to your System Preferences, but you’ll find some others in the Applications folders or even in the Library folder as well. They are scattered all over your Mac, which makes it difficult for users to locate the exact location of the driver they want to delete.

How to Delete Drivers on Mac

Although locating Mac drivers can be quite difficult, there are still ways to get the job done, and we are about to discuss two in detail below. So let’s check them out one by one:

Uninstall via Third-Party Application

The first method that you can use to delete drivers on Mac is via a third-party application. We recommend this method because it is fast, smooth, and minimizes the risk of you deleting any crucial files or folders related to your operating system.

In addition, most of these applications will also provide you with additional benefits related to your Mac, including system optimization, cleaning junks, malware removal, privacy check, speed maintenance, mail attachments, and much more.

Here are the steps that you can follow to delete drivers on Mac via an application:

Clean My Mac X
  • Head to the official website of CleanMyMac X to Download and Install the application.
  • Once the application is installed, open it and click on the Uninstaller tab from the left sidebar.
  • Now click on All Applications and examine the list of apps currently available on your Mac.
  • After inspecting everything, mark the drivers you want to uninstall from your Mac.
  • Finally, click Uninstall.

Now your Mac will automatically start the process of uninstallation. Once it is finished, simply restart your Mac and you will have successfully deleted unnecessary drivers on your Mac.

If this hasn’t fixed your problem, and you can still find the drivers on your hard disk, then you can use the following steps to delete drivers on Mac:

  • Open the CleanMyMac X application and click on the Optimization tab from the left sidebar.
  • Now click the Launch Agents tool and wait for it to complete its search.
  • Once finished, simply mark all the relevant drivers.
  • Finally, click on Remove.

That’s it! All the unneeded drivers should no longer exist on your Mac.

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Uninstall Manually

If you don’t want to install any external application for some reason, you can use another method to delete drivers on Mac. Here are the steps to execute this task:

  • Head to Finder on your Mac and click the Go menu,
  • Now pick Go to Folder and paste each of the following directories one by one:

~/Library/Application Support/
~/Library/LaunchDaemons/
~/Library/Preferences
~/Library/Caches/
~/Library/LaunchAgents/

  • After you paste each of these directories, hit Return to open the respective folder.
  • Once you are inside each folder, look for anything related to the respective drivers that you want to delete from your Mac.
  • Select the Driver and drag it to the Trash.
  • After this, head to your Spotlight, paste the name of the respective driver and hit Return.
  • If any files or folder pops up, drag them to the Trash as well.
  • Finally, empty the Trash.

After following these steps, you have successfully removed any unneeded drivers from your Mac. Keep in mind that since we are dealing with locations containing crucial data, you should double-check each file and folder before you delete them.

How to Reinstall Drivers on Mac

Mac usually installs all the necessary drivers and keeps them up to date, which is why it is considered one of the best low-maintenance operating systems. 

But if it doesn’t update an app or software for some unforeseen reason, there are multiple methods you can follow to reinstall drivers on your Mac. One of them is to head to the Apple Store via the dedicated link and install any necessary updates, or you can use the method mentioned below:

  • Press the Apple menu and select Software Update from the list of options.
  • Now, it will automatically take you to the Apple Store and display all the available updates for your drivers and software.

Look for your respective driver in the list and click Update to download the latest version.

  • Finally, Restart your Mac.

Congratulations, you have successfully reinstalled drivers on Mac.

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Why Do You Need Drivers on Your Mac

A driver is a program that creates a bridge or line of communication between your device’s software applications and hardware components. It is a translator between these components that allows your operating system to function flawlessly.

Since Mac is also an operating system just like the rest, it also needs drivers to communicate with hardware devices like graphic cards, audio devices and printers. In addition, you might also need to install different drivers when it comes to other third-party devices and peripherals.

update drivers Particular drivers

How to Delete Drivers on Windows

Unlike Mac, Windows allows a more convenient method for uninstalling drivers, users can either head to their respective driver applications like Nvidia’s GeForce or AMD’s Radeon to uninstall the drivers, or they could use the methods mentioned below to get the same results:

Via Control Panel

The first method on the list revolves around the Control Panel. Here are the steps to execute it:

  • Open the Start Menu via the Taskbar, and type Control Panel.
  • Once the application appears, open it, and click on Programs.
  • Now click Programs and Features, and you should see a list of applications and drivers on your screen.
  • Navigate to the respective driver you want to remove, and right-click on it to select Uninstall.

Now let the uninstallation process finish and that’s it, you have deleted any unnecessary drivers from your Windows operating system.

Via Device Manager

Here are the steps that you can follow to uninstall unneeded drivers via the Device Manager.

  • Open the Start Menu via the Taskbar, and type Device Manager.
  • Now open the application, and you should see a list of all the hardware components available on your system.
  • After this, navigate to the respective driver that you want to delete, right-click on it and select Properties from the context menu.
  • Now, click on the Driver tab on the next popup window and select Uninstall Device.

Repeat the same steps for other drivers to remove any unnecessary drivers from your Windows via the Device Manager.

Via Settings Option

Here are the steps to delete drivers on Windows via the Settings application:

  • Open the Start Menu via the Taskbar and type Settings.
  • Now click on Apps & Features.
  • After this, navigate to the respective driver you want to delete from the list of apps.
  • Right-click on it and select Uninstall.

You have successfully deleted drivers on Mac via the Settings application.

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How to Roll Back Drivers on Windows

If you have been using Windows for a while now, then you must have run into a situation where after updating a driver, your system seems to slow down or start acting buggy. This happens whenever there is a problem with the driver.

Luckily, users get two choices in this situation, they can completely uninstall the driver from their storage or roll back the update to a previous version that was fully compatible with their operating system.

In most situations, users pick the latter option and just roll back the update until the developers have released an update, and once it’s out, they can easily revert to it. If you want to do the same for your system but don’t know how to, here are the steps to execute this task:

  • Click on the Start Menu on the Taskbar and search for Device Manager.
  • Once the application pops up, left-click on it to open the application.
  • Now, click the Display Adapter from the list of options to expand it.
  • After this, click on your Intel display device.
  • Once the new popup window appears, click on the Driver tab.
  • Now click on Roll Back Driver.

Congratulations, you have successfully rolled back drivers on your Windows.

Note: If the option is grayed out and you can’t click it, you either don’t have a previous version of the driver installed on your device, or your computer has deleted all the files related to your previous driver.

Umar Farooq
Umar Farooq
Umar Farooq is a digital Evangelist having right commands on writing, also he is a web developer. He has a BS(Computer Science) and now he is Full-Time writer of TechanZone.

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