Clean install and updated drivers

I'm doing a clean install on my Dell XPS. I don't know what sequence to use so I can download as many of the drivers as possible from the Dell website.

Can someone please advise? Thanks.

 

"sequence"?

In theory the order in which drivers are installed shouldn't matter,

Sadly with some companies it does - Sony for example...

If you have no "funny buttons" and no shared libraries or anything in that direction the order of installation shouldn't matter - anyway, if its only regarding Dell drivers, it may be an idea if you ask a mod to move it to the Dell forum.

 

You should always do your chipset driver first. Other than that, it's really in order of preference.. I would do video next, followed by wLan, then Audio, etc..

 

Thanks. What I was hoping to do was install whatever drivers necessary to go to the Dell website; so I could then install the rest as updated ones. OR... do I just use the CD and then go update each driver?

Hope I'm making sense.

 

You could download the new ones from the website first and then have them available once you did your clean install...

 

If I d'load them to an external hd, how do I begin the process of downloading them into my computer? Do I insert the CD and then go to the HD and begin the download? I know this is a basic question, but I've never had to do the whole install/driver thing before.

 

What CD?... me = confused
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Let's assume you have downloaded the drivers and placed them on an external HDD.

You now do a clean install - Windows will automatically use some generic drivers - and you finish your installation.

You can now connect the external HDD and install the drivers from the HDD.

 

Well, a DVD/CD can't be installed on the computer - I assume you mean a folder that is a copy of a CD? Containing Drivers and Installers - if that's the case, back that up on the external HDD - just in case.

 

Download the drivers from Dell, save them to an external harddrive or thumb drive. Then do your clean install, then plug your harddrive or thumb drive into the correct port, move the drivers to the new desktop, and begin installing.

I always do the Dell System Software first, chipset second, then storage drivers third. After that it doesn't matter.

 

I always do the Dell System Software first, chipset second, then storage drivers third. After that it doesn't matter.

Thanks that makes it clear.

One more newbie question. Is the Dell System Software just what's listed under System Utilities or any drivers that have Dell's name attached to them?

 

Correct, the System Software is listed under the Utilities section and labeled appropriately.

 

I've attached an external HD; but when I go to download the drivers, I don't get a choice of where they go. They simply go into a download manager and start to install. What am I doing wrong?

 

Dell has a download manager which you can use, but I prefer not to. Just use your browser of choice and the downloads will be saved to the default location, which for most browsers is User->Downloads. For others it's User->Documents->Downloads.

That is unless you've changed the default location of downloaded files. Be sure to check the settings of your browser to check where downloaded files are saved.

 

Yes, I stupidly chose the Dell download manager. I changed the defaults on Firefox, but the downloads still go to the Dell app. which does not appear in my add/delete programs.

IE has some issues and won't open websites. So I'm not sure what to do next.

 

Download Iron portable if you can and try that?

 

Thanks. I think I finally have all the drivers. One more stupid thing I did was get on queue for a dell support chat. I waited a couple of hours and then got a tech who absolutely had no idea of what I was talking about and kept steering me to the support page with the drivers.

What I realize after another bad, bad experience with Dell software support (which in fact was why I had to do a clean install), is this forum is way better than any support Dell gives.

I don't know whether that's a slam on Dell or a compliment to you guys.

But thanks.

 

No problem. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask!