You thought Windows drivers from 2006 were old, wait’ll you see the Intel drivers from 1968!

Raymond Chen

Some time ago, I noted that all Windows drivers are dated June 21, 2006. This is a date hack so that the Windows-provided driver is always treated as the driver of last resort, taking a back seat to any manufacturer-provided drivers, which will have a more recent date.

The Intel drivers use the same trick, but they go even further back:

Note: Intel(R) Chipset Device Software uses an unusual date for the devices it is targeting. The date 07/18/1968 is symbolic – Intel was founded that day. The reason this date is used is to lower the rank of Intel(R) Chipset Device Software.

This is necessary because it’s a supporting utility that should not overwrite any other drivers. Updating Intel(R) Chipset Device Software is not needed – do not worry if you don’t have the latest version.

Related reading: Why do the Windows 10 Phone built-in wallpaper images have a timestamp of April 4, 1975?