I've been wanting to do a clean install of windows 10 for a long time. I have windows 10, but I want to reinstall it.
I want to start fresh, so I've backed up my files.
I just have one question, will I need to reinstall my drivers? Because I have no idea where to find drivers for my sound card.
You really don't need to do a clean instillation. So far I've been just using updates and things have gone fine., The only clean instillation I did was with with build 10240 and then I updated 1511 over it with zero issues. And if you did do a clean instillation I bet the drivers that MS finds will work. Well, it seems it did.
Jeff
Do a image backup 1st, using a program like Acronis, not free, or Macrium Reflect free. Then if your clean install has problems you can go back to your working copy of Windows. Windows should find your drivers, but always good idea to make a image backup 1st.
Keep it on a 2nd drive, not on main drive.
You could open Device Manager (search for device to see link) to see which audio card you have, but this is not always helpful if you get something like "HD Audio". Fortunately there are some utilities that can tell you exactly what hardware you have even before installing any drivers. One of them (I think the best) is Aida64, You don't have to register, the trial version should do the job fine. Use it to see all the hardware details (chipset, graphics, audio, network etc) so you know which drivers you have to download. Do not rely only at motherboard's or notebook's site because they usually have outdated drivers or not provide Windows 10 drivers at all. To get the latest versions visit hardware manufacturer's site (Intel, Realtek etc). If for some device you cannot find Windows 10 drivers, try Windows 8 or 7 or even Vista. They should work, of course the newer the better. It is adviced to download all the drivers before you do the clean-install since you might not be able to connect to the internet before you install drivers for the network adapter. Since all other devices depend on the motherboard components, you should start installing the chipset drivers first and then all the rest.
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