Middle_Man

So I know I would probably get more answers by putting this on a computer forum, but eh... whatever. I like the informality of m_m.

I've always been annoyed with this: I like to do a clean install of Windows every so often on my computer, but every time after I install it, I always have to track down all the drivers for my hardware again. Going to one website for my video card, navigating their crappy support menus, and finding the right driver... then doing the same thing for my audio card, my mobo chipset, my weird USB peripherals, etc etc etc.... thats such a pain. And its even more of a pain if windows doesnt give me a default driver for my network adapter.

Here's what I dont understand: If I'm reinstalling the exact same version of Windows, why does there not exist some type of utility that will, in one easy process, backup all my current hardware drivers, give me some type of file(s) to save, let me reinstall windows, then just import those hardware drivers?

Does this exist, and my google-fu is just weak? I know there are "driver backup" utilities, but most of them are just dumb, and just give me a giant copy of the INI's and DLL's and whatnot.... they dont make it an easy process to get them back INTO the system

Your thoughts?

The solution I've used for the past few years is Linux. Everything always works out of the box. The last time I had to install a driver was back in 2006 to get a PCMCIA wireless adapter working.

So, besides me expressing how much better I am than you... my post is useless.

/me waits for someone with a legit answer.

[quote=Plasma]I have a windows problem[/quote]
[quote=Quirk]Use linux[/quote]

I had to switch to Win8 for this very reason. I had working drivers on Win7, then I decided to try out Windows 8, only to want to go back to Windows 7. Windows 7 then acted like I tried to install in on my Gameboy - nothing worked - just a sea of yellow exclamation points in my Device Manager.

So, rather than do the usual hassle of hunting down drivers or paying Toshiba $25 for the CD, I just went back to Windows 8.

[quote=cokalsM post_id=27280]I had to switch to Win8 for this very reason. I had working drivers on Win7, then I decided to try out Windows 8, only to want to go back to Windows 7. Windows 7 then acted like I tried to install in on my Gameboy - nothing worked - just a sea of yellow exclamation points in my Device Manager.

So, rather than do the usual hassle of hunting down drivers or paying Toshiba $25 for the CD, I just went back to Windows 8.[/quote]
[youtube]uldc1oXpMCE[/youtube]

I've been wondering, can you rename a file while it is open in Windows8?

[quote=bigcfk post_id=27282][quote=cokalsM post_id=27280]I had to switch to Win8 for this very reason. I had working drivers on Win7, then I decided to try out Windows 8, only to want to go back to Windows 7. Windows 7 then acted like I tried to install in on my Gameboy - nothing worked - just a sea of yellow exclamation points in my Device Manager.

So, rather than do the usual hassle of hunting down drivers or paying Toshiba $25 for the CD, I just went back to Windows 8.[/quote]
[youtube]uldc1oXpMCE[/youtube][/quote]



[quote=Quirk post_id=27283]I've been wondering, can you rename a file while it is open in Windows8?[/quote]
I was actually about to address this issue in my first post. Yes, you can rename a file while it is open in Windows 8.

[quote=cokalsM post_id=27287][quote=Quirk post_id=27283]I've been wondering, can you rename a file while it is open in Windows8?[/quote]
I was actually about to address this issue in my first post. Yes, you can rename a file while it is open in Windows 8.[/quote]
But what if the file is open in Microsoft Word?

plasma -- at work we accomplish this with "imaging".

you might already be familiar but imaging a computer is when you use software (e.g. Windows Deployment Server for Windows, e.g. Casper for Mac) to cook a setup that configures itself.

we use WDS for Windows:
- Get a server, set it up on WDS and configure netboot
- Acquire recent Windows package/ISO w/ updates pre-cooked
- Create a configuration on the server: at work we add Office, Gtalk, Chrome/FF, Juniper, Flash, Java... and of course DRIVERS and driver update software from Lenovo!
- Netboot to the WDS server with the computer in question (must be ethernet)
- From here WDS guides you through -- naming the computer, selecting software, enabling encryption, applying policies, binding to an AD domain, etc.

This would be an incredibly heavy-handed solution to your problem, but it may add additional value for you other than just the driver aspect.

Now that i've typed out that process, i'm shocked there isn't a simpler tool to create a disk that'll install drivers and software after Windows.

There is for software. http://ninite.com/