Wrong Version Numbers?

[JTS]

Hi folks:

I have a question about version numbers. It seems to me that CCleaner is offering a LOWER version number than the ones I have installed. Is this correct, or am I reading it wrong.

Below is a screen clip showing some versions. The numbers on the left are the installed versions. The numbers on the right are the version CCleaner is saying are updates.

But my understanding is that a 10.1.16.* is a HIGHER version than a 10.1.1.* ... the 16 being higher than 1.

Or am I wrong?

[Guest johnccleaner]

This can occur if the manufacturer of the driver changed how versions were numbered.

What you'd want to check would be the release dates of the drivers in question, which you can find in the 'Learn More' section for each driver; I believe that's what the Driver Updater actually uses to determine if a driver is newer or not.

[lmacri]

On 19/07/2021 at 09:58, johnccleaner said:

This can occur if the manufacturer of the driver changed how versions were numbered.

What you'd want to check would be the release dates of the drivers in question, which you can find in the 'Learn More' section for each driver; I believe that's what the Driver Updater actually uses to determine if a driver is newer or not.

Hi johnccleaner:

Does Avast / Piriform use any criteria other than hardware ID and driver date to determine whether a "newer" driver should be offered, and where does Avast / Piriform source their drivers?  For example, does Driver Updater only offer drivers sourced directly from the manufacturer (e.g., Intel, Realtek, NVIDIA, etc.) and are the dates of these drivers an exact match to the same driver (i.e., with the same hardware ID and version) offered on the manufacturer's support site?

Given the number of users reporting that CCleaner's Driver Updater is installing drivers with a lower version number I don't understand how this problem could only occur "if the manufacturer of the driver changed how versions were numbered".

Lawrence Abrams' 28-Sep-2020 article Windows 10 is Offering a Confusing Mess of Intel Driver Updates on BleepingComputer explains why Microsoft intentionally uses an older date (e.g., "18-Jul-1968", "21-Jun-2006") to help Windows Update offer the latest driver when multiple drivers are found for the same hardware device (note: some of these backdated drivers were installed at the factory on my two-year-old Dell laptop - see image below for my current precision touchpad driver dated 21-Jun-2006).  The 08-Feb-2017 Microsoft developer's blog Why are All Windows Drivers Dated June 21, 2006? notes that "dates on all Windows drivers are set to June 21, 2006. The version number increases over time, but the timestamp stays put", and that blog article goes on to explain:

Quote

"... When the system looks for a driver to use for a particular piece of hardware, it ranks them according to various criteria. If a driver provides a perfect match to the hardware ID, then it becomes a top candidate. And if more than one driver provides a perfect match, then the one with the most recent timestamp is chosen. If there is still a tie, then the one with the highest file version number is chosen.

Suppose that the timestamp on the driver matched the build release date. And suppose you had a custom driver provided by the manufacturer. When you installed a new build, the driver provided by Windows will have a newer timestamp than the one provided by the manufacturer. Result: When you install a new build, all your manufacturer-provided drivers get replaced by the Windows drivers. Oops.

Intentionally backdating the drivers avoids this problem...".

Is Avast / Piriform  taking into account that many drivers delivered by Windows Update are backdated?  When a user downloads driver updates from the support page of their computer model (e.g., from the support site of Dell, HP, etc.) that are certified for their specific computer model and BIOS is it possible that the date for those certified drivers could also be backdated or somehow mismatch the date of the original manufacturer's driver even if the hardware ID and version match?

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64-bit Win 10 Pro v20H2 build 19042.1110 * Firefox v90.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2106.6 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.4.3.125-1.0.1387 * CCleaner Free Portable v5.83.9050
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