Drivers are necessary if you want to use various components within a Mac at their full potential. And the same thing is valid for peripherals as well. They are meant to help you access the complete capabilities of a device or component, and you do want to have the latest drivers installed for the item at hand. However, even then, you also have to think of uninstalling drivers if you have multiple ones installed, as there can be conflicts.
What’s the difference between system extensions and system drivers?
Both of them might sound very similar, but there’s quite the difference between these. Drivers are very useful for peripherals to work correctly. The role of a driver is to manage the way a device communicates with your Mac. What does a system extension do? That’s a background tool designed to add extra features to your computer. So yes, they might sound similar to some people, but their use case is quite different, and something you want to keep in mind.
Where can you find installed drivers?
On a Mac, normally drivers will be installed in a variety of places. Some of them get installed in the Library folder, others will be in the System Settings as a pane, some might be in the Applications folder, along with an utility. It’s a good idea to research online to see where a driver is located. And of course, if the driver has any uninstall instructions, you want to follow those as well.
Use a Cleanup tool
If you want to remove drivers from your device, then a very good idea is to use a Mac cleanup tool. These are meant to remove temporary files, but they can also help you remove drivers. Check the list of drivers and apps installed, figure out what you want to remove, and then you are good to go. It’s a pretty seamless process, and you will appreciate the way it all comes together. In the end, you will find it to convey great value and results, and the outcome will be second to none.
Manual uninstall
Of course, not everyone might want to use a tool, and instead they want to go the manual route. It’s possible to uninstall drivers manually, but the problem is that it can take quite a bit of time, so it’s important to figure out how to manage that process adequately.
- Go to the Finder, and then choose Go to Folder
- You can go to the Library folder, in the Application Support, Caches, Launch Agents and Launch Daemons as well as Preferences.
- In those folders, you want to check for files that have the driver’s name, and uninstall that stuff.
- Drag the driver to the trash, and in Spotlight you want to write the driver name as well. After that, you press Return and you can empty the trash.
Check for any KEXT files
Most drivers on a Mac will include KEXT files. Even if a lot of drivers look like files, they can also be in the form of a text file or an extension. Entering the System/Library/Extensions and ensure you are deleting only the driver that you are dealing with right now. Deleting stuff randomly from this folder can lead to system instability, so you really want to address it the best way that you can.
It makes sense to uninstall drivers because it might help you solve various conflicts on your device that are leading to instability. Or you could prevent future conflicts, as needed. And of course, you are freeing up space on the boot drive, which is always a very good idea to take into consideration.
Things to do if you can’t uninstall drivers
If you don’t end up uninstalling drivers, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Restart your Mac, it refreshes system processes and it will clear temporary files. That might solve some of the minor problems.
- Booting into Safe Mode is another good idea, because it will only load essential components. That way, you can start removing stuff without a problem.
- Of course, you always want to be very careful when it comes to deleting stuff. KEXT files in particular might be protected by your Mac. So yes, you want to double or even triple-check things beforehand, just to be safe.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it’s never easy to try and figure out how to uninstall a driver on Mac if you never did so before. But what really matters is how you do it, and to ensure everything was deleted properly. Once you do that, it becomes much better, and you will appreciate things in a more consistent way without any issues. Use that as an advantage, take these tips and implement them, then it will be easier to uninstall drivers in no time!
