84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Driver Detective?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
45% remove it55% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Fair
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #4,475
United States Rank #2,934
Reach 0.1180%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 18.63 days
549.45 days >
Average installed length: 288.69 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
9.1.4.44 0.09%
9.1.4.35 2.54%
9.1.4.30 0.13%
9.1.4.29 0.09%
9.1.4.28 0.04%
9.1.4.26 0.04%
9.1.4.4 0.39%
8.1 42.48%
8.0.1 18.49%
8.0.0 8.43%
7.0.0 8.47%
6.3.0 6.45%
6.2.200 2.28%
6.2.100 0.04%
6.2.060 0.04%
6.2.050 0.17%
6.2.045 0.17%
6.0.0.0 9.50%
1.0.61091 0.09%
1.0.6109 0.04%
1.0.6056 0.04%

Other programs by PC Drivers HeadQuarters

Driver Detective

What is Driver Detective?  (from PC Drivers HeadQuarters)

At PC Drivers HeadQuarters we have distilled 10 years of PC hardware expertise into our driver identification software, Driver Detective. Driver Detective was created to save you time and remove any guesswork in resolving driver problems by providing you with a single, all-encompassing tool.

Overview

Driver Detective is a software program developed by PC Drivers HeadQuarters. The most common release is 8.1, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. It adds registry entry for the current user which will allow the program to automatically start each time it is rebooted. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule varies depending on the version). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. The primary executable is named DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe. The setup package generally installs about 40 files and is usually about 4.95 MB (5,190,983 bytes). The installed file DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.Updater.exe is the auto-update component of the program which is designed to check for software updates and notify and apply them when new versions are discovered. Relative to the overall usage of users who have this installed on their PCs, most are running Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows Vista (SP2). While about 72% of users of Driver Detective come from the United States, it is also popular in Germany and United Kingdom.

Program detailsProgram details

URL: www.drivershq.com
Help link: www.drivershq.com/Contact.aspx
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\PC Drivers HeadQuarters\Driver Detective\
Uninstaller: C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{621C02EA-AAFF-4026-A903-165D59529A16}\setup.exe -runfromtemp -l0x0409
Estimated size: 4.95 MB
Language: English (United States)

Program filesFiles installed by Driver Detective

Program executable:DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe
Name:Driver Detective
Path:C:\Program Files\PC Drivers HeadQuarters\Driver Detective\DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe
MD5:ea1c3ec03f1d73da82f9317b1270a570
Additional files:
  • ToolbarSetup.exe - Driver Detective Toolbar (Setup Launcher Unicode)
  • Agent.Common.dll - Driver Detective (Common)
  • Agent.Communication.dll
  • Agent.ExceptionLogging.dll - Client.ExceptionLogging
  • Common.dll - DriversHQ.Common
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.Communication.dll
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.ExceptionLogging.dll
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.Updater.exe - Driver Detective Updater
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Common.dll
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.ExceptionLogging.dll
  • ExceptionLogging.dll
  • RuleEngine.dll
  • Interop.WindowsInstaller.dll - Assembly imported from type library 'WindowsInstaller'.
  • interop.wuapilib.dll - Assembly imported from type library 'WUApiLib'.
  • cpuidsdk.dll (by CPUID) - CPUID SDK Dynamic Link Library (CPUID DLL SDK)
  • DriversHQ.ThemePack.Default.dll - DriversHQ.ThemePack.Default
  • ISUninstall.exe - ISUninstall
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.Communication.XmlSerializers.dll
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.ExceptionLogging.XmlSerializers.dll
  • XPBurnComponent.dll - XPBurn component

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Scheduled Task
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe is scheduled as a task with the class '{C27DB8C7-FC48-4969-A826-80E5A4FF65C6}' (runs on registration).
Startup File (User Run)
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'Driver Detective' and executes as C:\Program Files\PC Drivers HeadQuarters\Driver Detective\DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe /applicationModC:systemTray /showWelcomC:false.
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
  • DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\PC Drivers HeadQuarters\Driver Detective\DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe'.

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

DriversHQ.DriverDetective.Client.exe
Memory:66.12 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.0000686342%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.00003205%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.00003658%
0.015104% average

How do I remove Driver Detective?

You can uninstall Driver Detective from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
  1. On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
    • Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
  2. When you find the program Driver Detective, click it, and then do one of the following:
    • Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
    • Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
  3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Driver Detective.

WHEN IT STARTS
Auto-starting? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 45%
Keep it 55%
 
GLOBAL RANK
#4,475

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 43.88%
Windows Vista 25.72%
Windows 10 18.89%
Windows XP 11.51%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Home Premium 31.75%
Windows Vista Home Premiu... 22.20%
Microsoft Windows XP 11.34%
Windows 8.1 10.47%
Windows 7 Professional 5.73%
Windows 7 Ultimate 5.60%

Distribution by countryGeography

71.96% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 71.96%
  Germany 5.71%
  United Kingdom 4.50%
  Canada 3.67%
  France 2.10%
  Australia 1.76%
  Belgium 1.08%
  Italy 0.99%
  Netherlands 0.71%
  Spain 0.49%
  Israel 0.49%
  Sweden 0.49%
  Austria 0.46%
  New Zealand 0.37%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 35.53%
Dell 27.35%
Acer 12.51%
Toshiba 6.52%
GIGABYTE 3.93%
Intel 3.19%
ASUS 3.19%
American Megatrends 2.13%
Lenovo 2.06%
Gateway 1.13%
Sahara 0.93%
Samsung 0.80%
Common models
HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook ... 5.77%
HP 2000 Notebook PC 4.75%
HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... 4.41%
Dell Inspiron 530 4.41%
Dell Inspiron 1545 3.06%
HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... 3.06%

comments1 comment

user comment
user comment
trapped customerover a year ago
WARNING!!!! IT is NOT FREE. It will NOT let me remove it., uninstall or restore to a point prior to its installation….only a partial restore which does not remove this program.