Drivers are critical software pieces that allow devices to communicate with Windows and vice-versa.
The quality of their code is of utmost importance for the performance and function of the devices themselves, but also for the security of our whole systems as they run at the Windows kernel level (more geek information at ref 1).
The easiest and (graphical) way to understand the relationship between a Windows device (either hardware or software) and its drivers is through the Windows native Device Manager configuration panel.
Windows 10 and 11 now provide (Since mid 2021) a new view in the Device Manager to do exactly that, and labeled " Devices by driver"
Disclaimer: proceed with caution at this step since stopping or removing a driver or device may crash your system or prevent it from functioning properly. Understand what you are doing first.
Steps:
Load the Device Manager configuration panel (various instructions at ref 2)
Click the "View" menu, then "Devices by driver".
The view will be refreshed with a new list, showing drivers by their " ***.inf " configuration file name. The drivers that are used can be expanded to show the specific devices depending on them.
Right-click on a driver entry (***.inf) to get options for more information or actions on the driver.
Right-click on a device entry (under the ***.inf) to get options for more information or actions on the driver or device.
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