Windows 7: Fundamental driver explanation please

I have always thought drivers were .inf files. From what I can tell, there are all sorts of file types. (.sys, ect) They appear to be stored in Windows > system32 > drivers.
There seem to be some drivers stored in other places.

Could one copy this folder to DVD and replace it with a newly installed version of Windows? If it was all the same hardware, would this work?

Are there apps that help do this. (Drivermax) Is that the best way?



I hear about people keeping drivers on DVDs and just wonder how you would do this. Is there an easy explanation? Thanks.

An inf file is just an install guide for the OS as to what to put where. Copying the folder isn't enough afaik, as there are registry settings to consider.

That's what I thought. I can't quite figure out how people do it. People must just save the downloaded drivers from the net. I do that too...just wondering if there's an easier way.