Help for a Clean install

[meganfurley]

Hi
It has been suggested to me that I need to do a clean install of my windows 7 on my new hard drive on my computer.
I have some basic questions and apologize for that!
I know I need the code,etc for windows software for the installation.
I also know that I need to install some other software again which I had installed in the past(photo editing,antivirus,etc).

But do i need to install any drivers for the graphics,etc that normally come preinstalled in a computer.Does just doing a clean install of windows 7 automatically install all the other drivers for the accessories?
Do I need to to do anything like parition the drive,etc before or after the clean install?

Apologies for being unaware of the basics.
Will really appreciate your help
Megan

 

[chusteczka]

Partitioning a drive depends on the hard drive being used. You could install the operating system on a 120GB SSD with a single partition. Then have a 1TB HDD for your files, games, and such.

Or if you have a 500GB or 1TB HDD (Hard Disk Drive, spinning magnetic platter), for example, you could install Windows to the whole drive using a single partition.

Or you could create two partitions on the HDD; one about 120GB or 160GB for Windows and the second partition for the rest of the drive to be used for files and such.

While installing Windows, it helps to name the first account 'Admin', since it is given Administrator privileges automatically by default. You will then later create a user account with your name or something like 'Home' for daily use with Limited user privileges.

Once you install the operating system, you install the motherboard drivers. Start with the motherboard chipset driver, then can install LAN, USB, Audio, Video, in any order. The most recent of these drivers can be downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer's Support webpage.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The Windows 7 installation disc supplies nearly all drivers.

You need to back up any personal data on your PC before you begin--to an external drive, a USB thumb drive, or whatever you have.

As a precaution, I'd get the Ethernet driver (NIC driver) from the motherboard manufacturer's web site before you start. Windows should supply it, but this is just in case you don't have a working Internet connection when you finish the install.

After the install, go to Windows Update and get the critical and important updates.

Then, evaluate how well everything functions. If some hardware you have is problematic, consider searching for different drivers than those supplied by Windows. Look in Device Manager for errors.

Partitioning is a matter of personal preference. A typical install will give you one tiny System Reserved partition and a large C covering the remainder of the drive.

You don't have to partition anything BEFORE you start. After you boot your PC from the installation disc, you will soon come to a screen where you are asked "where do you want to install Windows". At that point you can delete all partitions, which would leave you with nothing but "unallocated space". Then you would tell Windows to install to that "unallocated space". Windows will then make and format the necessary partitions.

You can accept that, or you can make additional partitions as you see fit, after installing Windows. Many would tell you to make a data partition to store all data and leave Windows and applications on C.

 

[Ketchup]

It has been suggested to me that I need to do a clean install of my windows 7 on my new hard drive on my computer.... But do i need to install any drivers for the graphics,etc that normally come preinstalled in a computer. Does just doing a clean install of windows 7 automatically install all the other drivers for the accessories?

The best answer for that is "probably not." But, even though Windows 7 many not come with all the drivers for all your devices, usually when you factor in Windows Update, you stand a good chance of being pretty well covered.

Do I need to to do anything like parition the drive,etc before or after the clean install?

Depends on what you start with I suppose, but you shouldn't have to do this.

But, I would suggest you answer some questions, before you jump into this:
1. Why do you need to do this? Windows 7 holds up pretty well without the need for a clean install. With some help you may be able to fix your problem.
2. What kind of computer is this: Desktop or Laptop? Brand name or built? If this is a brand-name computer with a recovery partition, wiping the hard drive and doing a clean install would not be the suggested route for a clean install.
2a. What kind of hardware is in this computer?

 

[John Connor]

Need a brand and model man.

 

[HOSED]

Great advise above, once it is up an running to your satisfaction create a full system image to an external hard drive on a regular basis. Then when difficult to solve issues arise you can simply restore the image. I am on 3 & years of a Win 7 install and have had to restore only once.