Solved HP Pavilion Laptop CLEAN INSTALL driver questions

[zoomont]

Hello!

I intend to do a clean install of Win 7 Home premium on my HP pavilion dv4-2045dx. I will do this by running ISO image off the desktop which I have already downloaded and extracted.

I will have everything copied to my external before I do this. I have a recovery partition on my hard drive, and I plan on copying the folder "SwSetup" and all of its components onto the external before proceeding.

1.) Do I need all the "SwSetup" components or just the "Drivers" folder?

2.) When I proceed with the clean install, will my laptop's keyboard and touchpad function so that I may be able to complete the process, or will the drivers for them be deleted / will the drivers be unusable? I have not found much info on this.

I am doing this because my computer is getting WAY slow, and I want to start fresh and WITHOUT the HP bloatware. Mainly what I need to know is, does windows 7 have drivers for the keyboard and mouse ready to go when doing a clean install from the ISO image?

Thank you!

 

[zigzag3143]

Hello!

I intend to do a clean install of Win 7 Home premium on my HP pavilion dv4-2045dx. I will do this by running ISO image off the desktop which I have already downloaded and extracted. If this desktop is on the partition you wish to remove to do a clean install you cant do it. If there is a recovery partition you can park it there unless you intend to delete that partition as well.. The easiest (and fastest) way is to put the image un a USB thumb drive. I clean install every three months in under 20 mins.



I will have everything copied to my external before I do this. I have a recovery partition on my hard drive, and I plan on copying the folder "SwSetup" and all of its components onto the external before proceeding. See above. lauch from rxternal media (DVD or USB) by running setup from the ISO not a folder. you should not extract the ISO

1.) Do I need all the "SwSetup" components or just the "Drivers" folder?

2.) When I proceed with the clean install, will my laptop's keyboard and touchpad function so that I may be able to complete the process, or will the drivers for them be deleted / will the drivers be unusable? I have not found much info on this. no worries on the drivers for most HP computers.

I am doing this because my computer is getting WAY slow, and I want to start fresh and WITHOUT the HP bloatware. Mainly what I need to know is, does windows 7 have drivers for the keyboard and mouse ready to go when doing a clean install from the ISO image?

Thank you!

Smart move, every HP (and others) I find gets a scrub to remove the bloatware

 

[zoomont]

Hey thanks for the reply!

So you are saying that the keyboard and mouse will function during a clean install?

Since it will not be a factory recovery, will I need to move the "SwSetup" folder to me external HD to install drivers once I get it up and running?

The windows 7 ISO file I downloaded ... I should not extract it? It is a 3 GB file>> should I burn it to a DVD as is and boot with it when I am ready for the clean install? Nothing else?

Thanks

 

[seavixen32]

The mouse and keyboard will function during the install without using the HP drivers.

The HP keyboard drivers give you extra functionality such as an on-screen pop-up that tells you when the Caps lock, Num lock or Scroll lock are activated.

Just copy the swsetup folder in its entirety to your external hard drive, clean install Windows, and then install any HP drivers that you need. If my memory serves me right, the keyboard drivers are in the Chicony folder.

By copying swsetup, you'll have access to some useful software such as Cyberlink's Power2Go should you need it.

When you've downloaded your Windows ISO, burn it to create a bootable Windows DVD or create a bootable USB thumb drive as suggested by zigzag - a 4GB drive should be fine.

ImgBurn is ideal: http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

 

[zoomont]

That explains a lot! Much obliged...

So this is a HP Pavilion dv4-2045dx... Any driver-related functionality issues that you know about with this model?

All the needed drivers as I understand it are in the SwSetup folder. How do I know when to install them?

Also, there is no "Chicony" folder.

Thanks for your help.

 

[seavixen32]

Just carry out the clean install, and then check in Device Manager for any missing drivers.

Windows 7 does have an excellent driver database so you shouldn't have too many problems.

If there is anything you're short of, you can always go to HP support and get it from there.

The Chicony folder I mentioned should be in the Applications folder and you'll need to click through to the setup file, and then install it.

I can confirm that Windows 7 will have a driver for your network adapter so you'll have no problen downloading anything you need.

 

[OldMX]

I just backup the drivers folder.

 

[gregrocker]

Use the drivers given by the installer and quickly updated via optional Windows Updates. Put your wireless driver on a stick so you can get online quickly to get the driver updates if the installer doesn't provide it.

Only import the drivers missing in Device Manager after install, or which give performance problems. It's best to check for these drivers first on the HP Support Downloads webpage for your model as they may have newer updates than in SWSetup.

Follow these steps to get a perfect clean reinstall of factory OEM: Reinstalling Windows 7.

See the special note at end for HP users on how to extract any apps from HP bloatware disks that you may find missing, like Works. Others like webcam, hotkeys, etc software are often on the Support Downloads webpage for your model.

 

[CreepinJesus]

A little tip that I've used from experience:

If HP allows it, download a pack of all the drivers needed for your system. Once you've installed Windows, let it finish all the updating, then check in Device Manager for any Unknown Devices. For each of these, update the driver and tell it to search the folder (and subfolders) where you downloaded all the drivers. It should find the one(s) it needs and you're good to go!

Note, you may need to extract some of the driver installers first using 7zip or WinRAR, etc.., or by running the installer and quitting after the extraction step.

 

[zoomont]

Should the SwSetup folder have ALL the drivers I need for the computer itself? If device manager shows Unknown Devices, should I update the drivers by searching in the entire SwSetup folder?

When installing windows, should I select clean install? What about automatically getting online for windows updates during the installation process? I have heard that I should update windows after the install...

Thanks!

 

[gregrocker]

I answered these questions just above in my last post, where I also gave you a link to steps to get a perfect reinstall based on thousands done here.

Please read thoroughly the advice given and ask back if you have questions after doing so.

 

[seavixen32]

Should the SwSetup folder have ALL the drivers I need for the computer itself? If device manager shows Unknown Devices, should I update the drivers by searching in the entire SwSetup folder?

When installing windows, should I select clean install? What about automatically getting online for windows updates during the installation process? I have heard that I should update windows after the install...

Thanks!

Do you read what we post?

Like greg, I also answered these questions in post 6, but if you're not going to take a blind bit of notice what we tell you, it sort of makes us feel we're wasting our time.

 

[zoomont]

sounds good, thanks for the info