Well, I always have any personal stuff om a second partition, a second HDD would be prefered for speed if nothing else. I have a 250gb SSD for Windows and apps, and a 6tb HDD for my stuff, so when crashes occur I don't have to worry about losing anything important.
Besides that, I always make sure that any PC I fix have the latest mobo BIOS, GPU etc has the latest firmware and so on, for stability, speed and security advantages.
thank you. all of my stuff is on other hdds which is nice for right now. i just have a lot of programs installed to the c drive. its gonna be a pain installing them all again! lulz! thanks again for your help
But you have the benefit of downloading and installing updated versions, including drivers, and that is usually a great thing. No software is without it's drawbacks but old is seldom gold in any system.
Please update the specs > post #3
Open the website for the computer or motherboard manufacturer > enter the product or serial number or model > select the operating system > view drivers > post a URL or hyperlink into the thread.
1) Find a flash drive that you can format ( > or = 8 GB )
2) Create a bootable Windows 10 iso:
Download Windows 10
i reformatted. its not taking too long to get back to normal! ive updated my profile. i have the MSI Z97 PC Mate motherboard.
heres a link to the drivers: Support For Z97 PC Mate | Motherboard - The world leader in motherboard design | MSI USA
heres a link to the bios update: Support For Z97 PC Mate | Motherboard - The world leader in motherboard design | MSI USA
msi has an all in one updater. you guys think i should update all the drivers? some of these drivers i wont use like the on board sound card and video card. do you guys recommend i update/flash my bios? let me know thanks.
Well, nobody makes BIOS updates if they did not think they were needed, sort of self explanatory. It is a nobrainer for me personally but there are those who are feeling differently based on their experiences. I have been updating BIOS on mobos since 1995 and I have never regretted that.
But actually, regarding the second part about drivers, most drivers have critical updates through Windows Update nowadays so perhaps those on MSI are older than the ones installed? I myself usually get Intels latest from Intel, Nvidias from Nvidia and so on, anyway, but in somes cases they do not match the hardware present in the computer depending on if the manufacturer has made changes to it. You can always try them all out ofcourse, see which are best for you.
If you made a clean install instead of troubleshooting then you will need to install drivers.
The best drivers are always from the computer or motherboard manufacturer.
If drivers are not available from the computer or motherboard manufacturer then use the websites for the component manufacturers ( Intel, Nvidia, AMD, Killer Networks, Realtek, etc.)
Using third party websites that updates drivers may lead to BSOD. Unfortunately on these sites you don't know what you are getting.
When installing drivers you want best performance and stability. The drivers that are tested the most for the computer's configuration come directly from the computer or motherboard manufacturer. The component manufacturer drivers are made for multiple computer companies with many different configurations so when there is a choice the best again is the computer or motherboard manufacturer.
For BIOS updates many times it will display the reason for the update. Whenever it displays increased performance the decision is easy.
Dell, HP, and other computer manufacturers may have software to download that scans the computer to determine the best drivers. And it organizes the drivers to make an efficient download. So if you can install drivers when there is little risk of lightening storm or potential outage the computer manufacturer has the best option.
Windows will install default drivers. The drivers from the computer or motherboard manufacturer will provide better performance. Then Windows will automatically update many of the drivers. It will not update all of the drivers. So you will need to use the computer manufacturer software to find the drivers or periodically check their website to make sure the drivers are up to date.
Always? Even through they have not been updated for three years and there have been 4 releases of Windows 10 in that time? My experience is that if a newer driver is available from, say, Intels or Nvidias website, those adresses security, stability and performance issues, while three year old drivers do not, or I should say, not anymore...
Again, what you say can be true but does not have to be, the only way of knowing is to download different sets, install them, try them all out and compare results.
Microsoft Update has some drivers that are updated and better than those from hardware manufacturers, same goes for chipset makers.
The question becomes, how much time is one prepared to use to try them all out? For me, it is important to test rigs for performance, old is seldom gold in software environments...
Last edited by Jens19790304; 07 May 2018 at 01:18. Reason: Messed up the quote
In the BSOD forum we fix many misbehaving drivers. Over time we have found that it is best to use the drivers that were tested by the computer or motherboard manufacturer. Once these are installed Windows can perform updates and the computer will then have the most up to date drivers.
There are unusual cases where a new driver misbehaves. For these drivers Windows updates of non-Microsoft drivers needs to be turned off and drivers are rolled back. This then provides a stable computer environment. At the same time it gives time for the computer and component manufacturers to work together to find a better driver or a driver that does not cause BSOD.
Quote