Guide: How to Install Window's the Right Way!

[Alir]

And if you keep both there side by side, won't the two conflict with each other?

[JefferyD90]

I mean installing integrated and dedicated side by side.

 

What is the point in having the integrated driver if you already have the dedicated driver?

The reason you would want to install both is because both chips are present in your system.  You don't want ANY component without a driver, if you use it or not.

 

As far as conflicts go, there should be no conflicts as long as you have followed the steps correctly.  The key is to make sure that you restart your computer upon request.

[JefferyD90]

Included a update so people could easily find the Windows 10 Media Creation tool.

 

I will be doing a video on how to Install Windows 10, TOMORROW.  Will have it edited WITHIN the weekend.

[JefferyD90]

Updated guide to include first video regarding difference between Upgrade installs and Clean installs.

[Alir]

Thanks man!

[Alir]

If you could, would you have time to show a guide on how to disable all privacy related features to avoid sending data and files to Microsoft?

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/418499-privacy-danger-of-installing-windows-10/page-1

[JefferyD90]

If you could, would you have time to show a guide on how to disable all privacy related features to avoid sending data and files to Microsoft?

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/418499-privacy-danger-of-installing-windows-10/page-1

Actually, no I will not.  I don't recommend this.  It degrades your experience.

[JefferyD90]

Updated OP to include second video on creating the install media.

[Alir]

Actually, no I will not.  I don't recommend this.  It degrades your experience.

 

How would it degrade your experience? Don't you find these features privacy intrusive?

 

I personally regard these features as bad as malicious tracking software.

[JefferyD90]

How would it degrade your experience? Don't you find these features privacy intrusive?

 

I personally regard these features as bad as malicious tracking software.

Check the ToS and see what kind of information they are keeping, then you'll see.  Not only that, Microsoft allows you to go online and see all the information they have kept on your account.

[Alir]

Check the ToS and see what kind of information they are keeping, then you'll see.  Not only that, Microsoft allows you to go online and see all the information they have kept on your account.

 

 

I might be wrong, but I don't think Microsoft allow you to see everything they keep on you.

 

Also, T&C:

 

{For Cortana}

"...Microsoft collects and uses various types of data, such as your device location, data from your calendar, the apps you use, data from your emails and text messages, who you call, your contacts and how often you interact with them on your device"

 

{Also for Cortana}

 

"...collecting data about how you use your device and other Microsoft services, such as your music, alarm settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase, your browse and Bing search history, and more."

 

The "more" is a bit vague. Doesn't this sound intrusive and excessive to you?

 

Also..

 

"We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services."

 

^While that may seem reasonable, it's essentially the same as or similar to the government surveillance agencies saying they will access, disclose or preserve data to protect "national security".

 

Encryption becomes pointless with these kind of rules.

 

Who decides what that "good faith" is? Who decides whether they are indeed doing it to protect their customers or whether they are doing it to "enforce the terms governing the use of the services".

Sounds Orwellian to me.

[Alir]

"enforce the terms governing the use of the services"

 

That could include targeting political activists, especially if those activists are critical of Microsoft and theirs or others' unethical practices.

[JefferyD90]

I might be wrong, but I don't think Microsoft allow you to see everything they keep on you.

 

Also, T&C:

 

{For Cortana}

"...Microsoft collects and uses various types of data, such as your device location, data from your calendar, the apps you use, data from your emails and text messages, who you call, your contacts and how often you interact with them on your device"

 

{Also for Cortana}

 

"...collecting data about how you use your device and other Microsoft services, such as your music, alarm settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase, your browse and Bing search history, and more."

 

The "more" is a bit vague. Doesn't this sound intrusive and excessive to you?

 

Also..

 

"We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services."

 

^While that may seem reasonable, it's essentially the same as or similar to the government surveillance agencies saying they will access, disclose or preserve data to protect "national security".

 

Encryption becomes pointless with these kind of rules.

 

Who decides what that "good faith" is? Who decides whether they are indeed doing it to protect their customers or whether they are doing it to "enforce the terms governing the use of the services".

Sounds Orwellian 

Do what you feel like.  But I will not be doing any kind of guide on how to alter default settings.

[Vozella]

I bought a refurbished Gateway laptop from Comast a long time ago. It doesn't have the same CPU as the one listed in Gateways website. Neither are there any Windows 10 drivers avaliable. Does this mean I can't do an upgrade on this laptop?

[JefferyD90]

can't and shouldn't are two different words. This is one of those 0.1% of times that you're just not going to be able to easily install windows. If you want to message me with your info we can make a party of the install.

I bought a refurbished Gateway laptop from Comast a long time ago. It doesn't have the same CPU as the one listed in Gateways website. Neither are there any Windows 10 drivers avaliable. Does this mean I can't do an upgrade on this laptop?

[Vozella]

can't and shouldn't are two different words. This is one of those 0.1% of times that you're just not going to be able to easily install windows. If you want to message me with your info we can make a party of the install.

What do you mean by a party of the install? 

Sorry that I don't know a lot about this.

[JefferyD90]

What do you mean by a party of the install? 

Sorry that I don't know a lot about this.

Party, as in beer and chips.

[Alir]

I bought a refurbished Gateway laptop from Comast a long time ago. It doesn't have the same CPU as the one listed in Gateways website. Neither are there any Windows 10 drivers avaliable. Does this mean I can't do an upgrade on this laptop?

 

 

What do you mean by a party of the install? 

Sorry that I don't know a lot about this.

 

A lot of companies release laptops and don't list all versions on their website. Don't ask me why. Point being, you cannot change a laptop CPU. We tecnically you 'can' but I'm not talking about getting a soldering iron out and messing around with the motherboard. That laptop was definately made by the company written on the laptop, it doesn't matter if they haven't listed the CPU on their website. It's possible the one you have isn't sold anymore and that's why they don't list it.

 

Message their customer support and ask them if they have any drivers available for you.

 

Alternatively, just do what Jeffery suggested in an earlier post and choose the "upgrade" option when installing Windows 10.

[AvgJohnDoe]

Just really getting into this stuff and for the moment just wanted to pop in and say this guide seems like it will be really helpful when I do my first install soon. I am sure that I will have some questions and suppose that I will make a topic for them then as I have placed myself in quite a position. In any case there are a few more things I will be researching first. 

 

Anyway like I was saying the guide seems clean and straight forward. Easy to follow though I have not yet read every single letter. I will do so, probably tomorrow. 

[JefferyD90]

AvgJohnDoe, on 11 Oct 2015 - 06:40 AM, said:

Just really getting into this stuff and for the moment just wanted to pop in and say this guide seems like it will be really helpful when I do my first install soon. I am sure that I will have some questions and suppose that I will make a topic for them then as I have placed myself in quite a position. In any case there are a few more things I will be researching first. 

 

Anyway like I was saying the guide seems clean and straight forward. Easy to follow though I have not yet read every single letter. I will do so, probably tomorrow. 

My goal for the guide is to be a 100% step by step for anyone and everyone.  If you find a place that you got stuck, let me know so I can make the guide better.

[AvgJohnDoe]

Im sorry sir, but you are wrong.

 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media This is the place to go for a Windows 8.1 install media.

 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/download-windows-7-sp1-link-have-product-key/cde8f6e3-6034-4d4c-a97d-53cece849f2c  This is the official places to go for the Windows 7 ISO's, which if you were aware, was hosted by digitalmedia NOT Microsoft.

 

*Some text have been embolden and enlarged to increase easy of scan for post concept.

 

Since the discontinuation of Digitalmedia hosting Windows 7 Microsoft now has the following web page.

 

Download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO Files) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

 

 

My key seems to be OEM. Due to that I receive the following message.

 

"The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options."

 

I found some helpful options at this vary appropriately named Microsoft Community Wiki Article; "How to: What are my options for obtaining Windows 7 reinstall media?"

 

Following that I was routed to Dell.

 

"If you have not created your restore media and are unable to access your operating system to create discs, customers in the United States or Canada may request a set of recovery media for their specific computer model.

Media Dispatch Form (US & Canada Only)"

 

Backup discs request 

To submit your request for backup and recovery discs, enter your Service Tag below and click Continue. The Service Tag is the 7-character code usually found on the bottom or back of your device.

 

"The diagnostics results indicate that a part replacement is required for your system. Dell’s record indicate Your limited hardware warranty and/or service contract(s) associated with this system are expired. Please note that Dell PC Diagnostics tool solely verifies any parts replacement entitlement which you may have under Dell’s limited hardware warranty, where applicable, and/or any extended hardware services contracts which you may have purchased from Dell. You may still be entitled to (parts) replacement or to other remedies available under applicable statutory warranties – in order to verify any statutory entitlement please contact Dell Technical Support. Scroll down to review all results and additional suggestions for improving the operation of your system."

 

 

 

I will be contacting Dell support and the guy I purchased this desktop from tomorrow as well as creating the new Topic in Troubleshooting for my adventure. 

 

By the way, found here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool,

 

"When you download Windows from Microsoft Store, you have two options: You can download a collection of compressed files, or you can download an ISO file. An ISO file combines all the Windows installation files into a single uncompressed file."

 

I am still not sure where the collection of compressed files may be located.

[JefferyD90]

AvgJohnDoe, on 12 Oct 2015 - 06:37 AM, said:

*Some text have been embolden and enlarged to increase easy of scan for post concept.

 

Since the discontinuation of Digitalmedia hosting Windows 7 Microsoft now has the following web page.

 

Download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO Files) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7

 

 

My key seems to be OEM. Due to that I receive the following message.

 

"The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options."

 

I found some helpful options at this vary appropriately named Microsoft Community Wiki Article; "How to: What are my options for obtaining Windows 7 reinstall media?"

 

Following that I was routed to Dell.

 

"If you have not created your restore media and are unable to access your operating system to create discs, customers in the United States or Canada may request a set of recovery media for their specific computer model.

Media Dispatch Form (US & Canada Only)"

 

Backup discs request 

To submit your request for backup and recovery discs, enter your Service Tag below and click Continue. The Service Tag is the 7-character code usually found on the bottom or back of your device.

 

"The diagnostics results indicate that a part replacement is required for your system. Dell’s record indicate Your limited hardware warranty and/or service contract(s) associated with this system are expired. Please note that Dell PC Diagnostics tool solely verifies any parts replacement entitlement which you may have under Dell’s limited hardware warranty, where applicable, and/or any extended hardware services contracts which you may have purchased from Dell. You may still be entitled to (parts) replacement or to other remedies available under applicable statutory warranties – in order to verify any statutory entitlement please contact Dell Technical Support. Scroll down to review all results and additional suggestions for improving the operation of your system."

 

 

 

I will be contacting Dell support and the guy I purchased this desktop from tomorrow as well as creating the new Topic in Troubleshooting for my adventure. 

 

By the way, found here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool,

 

"When you download Windows from Microsoft Store, you have two options: You can download a collection of compressed files, or you can download an ISO file. An ISO file combines all the Windows installation files into a single uncompressed file."

 

I am still not sure where the collection of compressed files may be located.

Okay, and what is the point of this post?  It has no question and or tangible statement to make a reply to.

[waggythegeek]

MOTION TO PIN

[overloss123]

I have followed you guide, and when i get to the install windows button i press it and it asks for a products key HELP

[SubTract]

So I have a few issues with this. I will comment my thoughts/opinions into this quote in Orange for your convenience. 

 

So I have been around for a while on LTT and various forums, and everyone always ask questions about "how to install Windows" or they have troubleshooting questions which always leads to the individual not installing Windows correctly to begin with.  Yet I never find a thread that just guides people through installing Windows!  So I have sat down for a few hours and built what I consider a fairly comprehensive guide to installing Windows the right way.
 
***I will be updating it here in a few days with some revisions (grammar is going to suck ass right now, after spending the better part of 3 hours writing this I didn't revise it too much)***
 

Maybe some of you are wondering what makes doing this "Clean Install" of Windows so special, well I could type it out, or...  you can just go ahead and watch learn!  This is geared towards the recent release of Windows 10 and everyone doing the upgrade, but it applies to all versions and all (99%) situations.

 

 

How To Install Windows…  Right!

 
 
This article is specifically designed to teach everyone how to install Windows without any further issues.  Keep in mind you can cut corners, at your own risk.  If you ever do decide to cut these corners NO ONE can guarantee the install will go without hitch and that you will/wont have issues down the road.  Every step here has a purpose, which will be explained in some detail, nothing here done is done without reason.  Please read the WHOLE post before doing ANYTHING!
 
 
Things you’ll need:
 
1. A USB Flash drive (I’d suggest at least 8GB, but not more than 32GB {some older motherboards wont boot with USB drives larger than 32GB})
2. Time, 3-5 hours is about typical.
3. A copy of Windows.  This WILL work with any version of Windows, but the instructions are based around Windows 8.

 

Might be worth updating to will work on anything windows 7 or newer. Steps are slightly different for Vista, And more different again before that.
 
 
NOTE:  This is also destructive, so you will want to back up EVERYTHING you want beforehand.  I highly advise against using any automated software for backups, please instead just copy and paste the data you want to save over to external storage of some sort (USB HDD, NAS, another computer, Cloud Storage are all options here) but that WILL NOT be included in this process guide.

 
     Step 1: Preparation of Install Media

 

This process is the more lengthy of all the processes, but when done correctly everything else is SO much easier.  Also, this process can be done while your current install is still up and going.  So you can still play a game while stuff downloads and so on.
 
          Step A: Getting Windows Install Media
 Part A:

Many people will already have Windows Install media.  This can be acquired from Microsoft (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Windows-8.1/categoryID.62684800?icid=L2_Nav_Promo_Store_Windows_011415) for $119.99 at a normal price.  You can also find this other places, like Amazon, for (usually) a little less although you will have to wait for them to send you a disk (yuck physical media).
 
If you already have purchased a copy of Windows before (either physical or digital) you can also use Microsoft’s service to take your product key and download a copy of that install media on the fly (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only) or you can use this http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media.

 

UPDATE FOR WINDOWS 10 USERS:  I will not be updating this guide IMMEDIATLY for a comprehensive guide for Windows 10 installations.  But, I will go ahead and include the place you need to go to in order to get a copy of the ISO.  Please, take caution and PLEASE read all the instructions and make informed decisions.

 

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/media-creation-tool-install
 
The PREFERED METHOD of doing this (for this guide anyways) is downloading the files and saving them as a ISO.  We’re not currently ready to put the ISO anywhere yet.
 
NOTE: Do not, I repeat DO NOT, download a copy of Windows from a public torrent or other NON-MICROSOFT source.  Reason for this is because you don’t know WHAT people have done to the ISO, what software they might have slipstreamed in the install, if it is a OEM copy or Retail, and if the ISO isn’t corrupt in some way.  You might be able to get the ISO on the drive, and get drive formatted then realize that the download had a sector or two that was janky because Bob’s HDD from China had a few dead sectors on it.

 

Might be worth mentioning that if it was a pre-built PC that came with windows 8/8.1/10 the key will be injected in the BIOS and you won't be asked for it during the install
 
          Step B: Putting the Windows Install Media on a Boot Drive

Part B:
 Bootable***

This step is generally the easiest step of the whole process.  I personally like to use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool.  You can get that from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool
 
Once you download and install this tool (should take no longer than 2 minutes total) all you have to do is run the tool, then select the ISO that we downloaded in “Step A” and then select where you want this ISO to be mounted.  I usually select a USB Drive of some sort.  It will destroy anything on the drive.  This process will take a while, about 15 minutes.  This is when you can start to gather your drivers together.
 
NOTE: I always save my ISO to my NAS so I don’t have to download it again in the future.  This is also useful if Microsoft ever does to decide to quit giving us the option to get the ISO with just a product key, or when they quit producing this software.
 
     Step 2: Gathering Drivers
 
This step is the longest step, and is the part that most people fail on in some way.  I will personally be providing the steps for my personal computer, which you can see in my profile.
 
          Step A: Gathering your parts

Part A:

 
The key in this step is don’t leave any part untouched.  These are the following components that I have, and are the most common for users:

So you've written here that these parts are most common for users rather than saying that these (Probably) won't be the components most people have. Perhaps specify that they will likely be different for everyone. (I know you mention they're your parts, but you said this was written for the average Joe)
 
Motherboard   ASUS Crossblade Ranger
CPU    AMD A10-7850k
Video Card   ASUS R9290-4GD5
Keyboard   Logitech G105
Mouse    Logitech G600
Headset   Logitech G930
Wireless Adapter  ASUS PCE-AC68
Cooling Solution  NZXT Kraken X41 and X61 Water Cooling  (This isn’t quite as common)
 Rather than listing your parts specifically you should perhaps list them as

 

Components you may need drivers for:

Motherboard/chipset

Network Card

Graphics card

Card Readers/USB Controllers

Printers/Scanners

Sound Card/Controller

Keyboard/Mouse

Headset

 

Then instead of saying you need to know what the parts are, Perhaps an easy method of finding them.

Could be either by looking through device manager before you do a re-install. Perhaps through software such as HWinfo32/64 after the install (Especially useful if the user doesn't know exactly what hardware is in there computer before the install.

 

NOTE: The big part here is making sure you know what kind of parts you’re using.  For example, when I say I have a ASUS R9-290 that is fine, because ASUS only came out with one version of this card the R9290-4GD5.  But if you said you had a ASUS GTX780Ti, you would then have yourself a bad situation.  See the links below.
 
http://www.asus.com/us/Graphics_Cards/ROG_MATRIXGTX780TIP3GD5/HelpDesk_Download/
http://www.asus.com/us/Graphics_Cards/GTX780TIDC2OC3GD5/HelpDesk_Download/
 
Notice both of these are ASUS GTX780Ti cards.  But they have different model numbers.  One is the MATRIX-GTX780TiP-3GD5 and the other is the GTX780Ti-DC2OC-3GD5.  And if you will look under “Windows 8.1 64bit” you will see that they both have drivers there, but they are not the same version number.  ASUS has updated one of them a little further, for whatever reason they have.  Realistically both drivers will probably work with both cards, but to the point, we don’t know that and they could very easily not work on some level.  And before someone says “It’s the same GPU from NVidia so the driver will work” keep in mind that the two drivers ARE DIFFERENT, its clearly obvious with the driver version and even more obvious when you look at the download size of the files and see that they are different sizes.  One has more than the other, so SOMETHING in those drivers is different, we don’t know which is which.  END POINT don’t take the easy route out and just grab “any ol’ GTX780Ti” driver, get the one designed to work WITH your specific card.

 

So I understand why you're trying to drive people to the manufacturers website as good practice. However especially with Desktop graphics cards I would mention to get the drivers from AMD or NVIDIA. Given that these will be the best performing drivers. Perhaps put a note specifically to notebook users that they may be required to get the drivers from the manufacturers website as they tend to customise the hardware and the AMD/NVID drivers may not work. 
 
          Step B: Downloading Drivers

Part B:
 
So once you know what hardware you have finding the drivers is fairly simple.  I will use my Crossblade Ranger as the example for this step.
 
1. Go to ASUS’s (my manufacture) website, asus.com.
2. Navigate to the “Support” section of their website (this can be called something different based on the manufacture).  Usually you can just use “support.asus.com” or “asus.com/support” to directly go to this section of their website.
3. Once you get to this section, you can simply search for your product, be sure to use the correct model number, or you can use their navigation drop down boxes.
4. At this point you should find yourself at the motherboard’s support page, you then navigate to the “Driver & Tools” section, sometimes called “Downloads” or any other variation.
5. Usually you’ll have to select your OS (if you don’t, I would be extra careful to what you download)
6. Download stuff!  So here is how you’re going to approach this, download everything.  If you’re in doubt, download it.  If you decide to not install it later, that’s cool, but at least you’ll have it.  But here is some rules you can follow to determine what exactly is necessary.
     a. BIOS files aren’t required.  These are tricky and risky, and have no bearings on installing a OS (generally)
     b. Manuals or any kind of Vendor List aren’t useful.  These are only good once you have a OS installed and can view (usually) PDF’s.
     c. Older Drivers don’t do you any good.  Base this off of the DATE not the version number.
7. As a general rule, save these as a more common file name.  For example I save my chipset driver as “Chipset” instead of “AMD_Chipset_Win7-8-8-1_V809160_809150.zip” like ASUS defaults to.  But this is just so things are clean and easy and has NO bearings on the end result.
 
You also need to differentiate between “Utilities” and “Drivers”.  Drivers are 100% necessary, and Utilities are 99% recommended.  For this motherboard, the Drivers are the following: Chipset, Audio, VGA, LAN, USB, SATA.  Utilities are following:  CPU-Z, ROG Game First, RAMDisk, KeyBot, AI Suite, HomeCloud, PC Diagnostics, AO Help, Boot Settings, and WebStorage.

Saying that drivers are 100% necessary is a little risky as it will incline people to download everything (as you said above) which is most certainly not the best idea. Some sites (Toshiba for example) list every driver for that chassis number on the same page. Often giving you multiple sets of drivers for different GPU/s, WLAN/Bluetooth stacks, Audio drivers even sometimes chipsets. this comes back to checking what you have before you download. (Sometimes also a reason why you can't download drivers before you install)

Especially when you live in Australia and HP/Toshiba/Dell servers all seem to max out at 20KB/s so a 120MB wifi driver can take forever to download. Especially frustrating when it turns out to be the wrong one. 
 
Each of the Utilities have a purpose and most are extremely useful, and if nothing else are good to have installed even if you never end up using them.  For example, my LAN driver allows me to actually use my LAN port; without the LAN driver the LAN port may not work, or will work like poo.  Although the Utility (ROG Game First) on the other hand wont fundamentally change anything, but it will allow packet prioritization, monitoring of network, and so on which the driver itself doesn’t do.
 
          Step C: Organizing Drivers (optional)

Part C:
 
This step can be done “on the fly” as you’re downloading the drivers.  I personally make a folder and name it the name of my PC “Phantom Ranger” and then create another folder inside of that folder for each component, in this case “Crossblade Ranger” then put the drivers for that component inside that folder.  I have, in the past, created another folder inside the component folder for the Utilities, but sometimes that is more trouble than needed.  So my folder tree will look something like this:
 
Phantom Ranger
-Crossblade Ranger
  Chipset
  Audio
  LAN
  VGA
  ETC…
- ASUS R9290-4GD5
  AMD CCC
-Logitech
ETC…
 
The end result of this step of gathering drivers is make sure you get all the drivers for all your products in a folder that you can navigate easily.  I then take the Driver folder and just copy and paste it onto the boot drive that should be done by now.


 I would at some point here put something along the lines of "If you can't get anything else at least get your primary network (wired or wireless) driver before you install"

Given that as long as you've got network connectivity after you'll be able to get them then. (Especially considering the thing windows struggles with most is it's built in support for NICs.

 


Occasionally I will go ahead and make a generalized “Software” folder.  This makes installing my favorite programs like Steam, Audacity, uTorrent, 7-Zip, and so on a lot quicker.  Instead of having to download these at the end, I can do it now when I still have my computer up and running and still have access to these programs as they are.
 
     Step 3: Installing Windows
 
KEY POINT: At this point DISCONNECT ALL SOURCES TO INTERNET TO THIS DEVICE.  Do not reconnect internet sources UNTIL told.

 

OK now I have a big problem with this. From here through to the end you keep mentioning to not connect your computer to the internet. You miss the entire MS account setup/login (Which the average Joe will probably want)

I would suggest to connect your computer from the earliest point. It gives your computer a chance to install any drivers it can via windows update well before you even get to the desktop. Hence the "Setting up your computer" and "we're getting things ready for you screens"
 
          Step A: Booting to Media

Part A:
 
After you get your boot media made (Steps 1 and 2) plug it into the machine you want to Install Windows on and then turn it on, and press the motherboards “Boot Selection” key on your keyboard until you get the option (F8 for my motherboard, you can find this in your manual).  With Windows 8 and my motherboard, I select the UEFI version of my USB Drive and it will start the process.
 

 
          Step B: Deleting Old Data and Partitioning Drive
Part B: 

Once the boot media loads everything necessary, it will bring you to an install window.  You will need to select your language, choose the install method, accept the terms, choose custom install.  Obviously you select the language you want, and you will choose Install instead of the “repair” option.  As the repair option only brings up things like a memory test, basic file restoration, and boot repair.  You don’t want to choose the “Upgrade path” for a clean install of Windows, choosing a “Upgrade” will leave MANY files behind and can often lead to having the same problems you had been having from before.
 





 
After all of that, you will want to load your SATA drivers if you have them available.  Sometimes you will have to unzip them before you finish making your install media.  We do this now so there are no issues writing your data to your hard drive.  Last thing we want is corrupted data.  All you have to do is click on the load driver button, then navigate to your driver folder for the SATA device.  If you’re using a RAID controller look for that, otherwise you’re probably looking for a AHCI folder of some sort.
 
It is probably easier for anyone building a PC to only plug in the OS drive until after the install, Then plug in the others. Stops people installing things on the wrong drive, Also stops them wiping there backup drive if its still plugged in.
 
Everything up until this point has been nondestructive, once you cross THIS LINE you will destroy all your old data AND IT WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE.
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After you choose the “Custom” path you want to select each partition, and delete ALL of them on the drive.  When you’re done you should have one single “unpartitioned” selection.  Just click it, then click the “New” button.  This will create the Recovery, System, and MSR partitions automatically, and assign them accordingly.  Once this is done (should take all of a few seconds) click next.  Windows will start doing all it needs to do and then restart, occasionally it will restart 2-3 times not just once this depends on the hardware.
 
          Step C: “Personalizing” Windows

Part C:
 
This is fairly straight forward.  Set a user name, choose the options you want (I leave everything default personally), just whatever you choose DO NOT connect the computer to the internet.  Once you get to the start screen you’re off to the final steps!

Once again. completely missing the MS account login process. MS actually carry a bunch of settings around for you so you don't have to personalise everything.

I get that some people don't like MS accounts and won't use them, But they actually make things easier for the average Joe.
 
     Step 4: Setting Up Windows

 
This is the final part, and doesn’t take too long just quite a bit of patience.  A general rule of thumb is restart EVERY time it ask you to, which will be often (after almost every driver install).  Another point is do not install drivers from inside of zip files, unzip them first then install from the normal file folder.  Do not install any programs before you install drivers.  I always copy my driver folder from my USB drive to my desktop and then operate inside the folder on my desktop (a lot faster and you don’t have to worry about the USB Bus being disconnected while a driver is installing causing the installer to not see the drive anymore and corrupting data)
 
          Step A: Installing Drivers
Part A: 

There are 3 basic types of driver installs.  I will guide you through each, starting with the easiest and ending with the more complex.
 
1. Exe installers – these installers are fairly simple, all you do is double click them and follow the instructions.  They will extract, configure, and install themselves.  These are fairly automated and require basic reading skills, that’s it.
 
2. Zip/folder installers – These installers are mostly simple.  You unzip the zip file then go into the unzipped folder and run the “setup.exe” file.  With my motherboard, you actually want to select the “AsusSetup.exe” file.  This is a semi common practice, they build the separate drivers together in the same zip folder for several builds of Windows (one for Windows 7 one for Windows 8, and also one each for x64 and x86 are some examples) so you could have half a dozen actual drivers somewhere in this folder that you have unzipped.  The manufacture in this case, will create their own setup file to determine which installer to run.  SIMPLE INSTRUCTION run the exe file located in the unzipped directory.  If you have questions consult the manufacture.
 
3. Propriety zip/folder installers – these are most common on OEM machines.  My best example is (let’s say) a Toshiba notebook computer.  You will download the driver from support.toshiba.com and it will look like a exe file, but when you double click it (if you’ll notice) it actually starts to unzip a bunch of compressed files (usually to c:/user/%user%/AppData/Temp or something like that) and then when it is done unzipping it will ask you if you want to run the newly unzipped files.  Just click yes and it will work.  What makes this different than the Zip/folder installers is that with older machines when you’re installing a different version of Windows than intended with the installer originally, it just won’t work.  I tell you this so you can keep note and find the files you need in the unzipped directory.  This should be done carefully and with some thought beforehand.
 
Once you know how to install a specific driver, you need to make sure you actually install them in a logical fashion.  The best way I know how to explain it is as follows:  When a manufacture makes a motherboard they often times like to add more stuff to the board than what comes with the native chipset.  For example, Intel’s x97 chipset can only support 6 USB 3.0 ports (http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/performance-chipsets/z97-chipset.html), but it doesn’t support Bluetooth natively.  So ASUS might decide to take 1 of those USB 3.0 ports and break it off and put a Bluetooth module on it.  You’ll never have that physical 6th port, but it will have Bluetooth solution on the PCB of the motherboard.  You can’t install the Bluetooth driver before you install the chipset driver, because without the chipset driver your USB ports may not function correctly thus the Bluetooth device is never detected at all.

 

Some people package things in .msi packages.
 
With all that said, this is the normal way I install drivers:
 
1. Chipset (Northbridge then Southbridge)
2. Chipset additions (this includes Intel Engine Management or things of that nature)
3. SATA (if you need additional drivers)
4. Audio
5. LAN
6. Video (I always install integrated drivers first then install dedicated video, sometimes you can completely pass on the integrated driver {like with my build} because the way CCC installs)
7. USB
8. All other drivers.  At this point it “shouldn’t” matter.  If you run into problems consult your manufacture.

 

At this point I would always suggest to install LAN/WLAN first if it hasn't already first. Then you can get your updates started and download other drivers (especially if you didn't know what they were before now) and HWinfo32/64 if need be.
 
At this point (for all of you meticulous people) you can check your device manager and all your devices SHOULD be accounted for.  If you have any devices that are unknown then you didn’t download all the drivers for all your devices.  You should use another computer to find the driver you need.  If you cant figure out which driver you need, grab the “Hardware Ids” from the “Details” tab once you right click on the troubled device and click on “Properties”.  Once you have the Hardware Ids just type it in a search engine and it should point you in the direction of the device you forgot to get a driver for.  But whatever you do, don’t connect your computer to the internet just yet!

 

It should be worth mentioning that you won't always be able to get drivers for everything, Especially for a new OS or if your hardware is to old.
 
          Step B: Install Utilities
 Part B:

At this point you’ll understand how to operate installers.  So just find your way back to your folder on your desktop then install all the utilities you got.  Restart upon request but always restart no matter what when you have finished installing your last utility. 
 
          Step C: Install Windows Updates
 Part C:
This is the point where you can finally connect your computer to the internet.  Once your computer has restarted after you have finished installing DRIVERS AND UTILITIES go ahead and connect your computer to the internet and open Windows Update and check for updates.  This might take a few minutes but give it time.  Once it’s done look at the list of updates, I would select ALL of the updates BESIDES the Hardware updates.  For example, I would go ahead and check all of them but the “AMD Graphics Driver”.  Let it download and install all the updates, then restart your machine.  Because of the vast number of updates you could have (most people have close to 100 or more) I wouldn’t perform any other actions because it could interfere with a critical update that is altering a file.  Best bet is to just simply click the install button and let the computer sit for about a hour, checking on it every 10-15 minutes or so.  (Don’t let it sit for too long because it WILL go to sleep as Window’s default sleep cycle is 20 minutes I believe).
 
Once done restart the computer and check again.  Usually you’ll have to check for updates 2-3 times before it doesn’t find any more new updates.  But once it’s done then you can research if you want to allow Windows Update to install the hardware updates.  I personally, will usually just hide all hardware updates because the Windows Update version of the driver is often more out of date than the one you’ll get from the manufacture.  But occasionally you will receive benefit from installing the Windows Update version of the driver.
 
NOTE: This is why you shouldn’t connect your computer to the internet until all the drivers are set.  When you’re installing your drivers you don’t want Windows installing updates and potentially be installing the same device driver at the same time!  Also when installing a driver, you don’t want to be messing with critical Windows files as they are OFTEN interwoven somehow.

 

So firstly if the windows update version is an older version than the version you have installed it will not overwrite it. If it does install an older one (before you get a chance to install the downloaded one) and its not something that's performance critical e.g. graphics card. Then there's probably no benefit to going to the extent of updating it. However if you already have the newer driver you may as well install it.

Also comes back to my point where in certain places in the world it simply takes to long to download larger driver files through manufacturers websites, Sometimes its much, much quicker to let microsoft handle it.

This whole not connecting to the internet thing is way more inconvenient to the end user than it is detrimental to the driver install process.
 
          Step D: Install Software
 Part D:
This is it, now you can install all your personal software on your machine.  It should be up to date and running like a champ.

 

Pretty well written. Needs a few tweaks here and there but a good idea in all.

Much better than the "put in installation media and follow the prompts" that you normally see.