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#11
My preferred installation order is as follows:
1. The OS itself (and any storage drivers, if required).
2. Service Pack(s), if not pre-integrated into the OS.
3. Chipset drivers (if suitable drivers aren't included in the OS).
4. Network drivers (LAN and wireless).
5. Audio/Graphics drivers.
6. Mouse/Keyboard drivers.
7. Drivers for other hardware, such as scanners and printers.
8. Security software (3rd-party firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware, etc). See note.
Note. If you haven't already downloaded the drivers, your security software should be the first thing to install after Step 1 above.
Good Dwarf, you mentioned the service pack. . I wish the Op has got the OS with SP1. That will be cooler still. :)
You will often get an error thrown up if you try to install an update before a previous one has completed, and by completed I mean a restart after you have installed an update(s).
Some updates require a restart to be configured correctly, some don't, but I still think a restart is a good idea after any fresh install.
If the machine is behind a NAT router, then there will be no open "listening" ports exposed to the Internet, so the risk of immediate direct infection is tiny. (Worms like Blaster and Sasser depended on services listening on open ports.)
IIRC Windows 7 will want to get updates fairly early in the install process and I would let it do that. Windows will be able to come up withe drivers that are sufficient to boot the motherboard, and you can install antivirus at that point, then continue with the driver installation.
If OTOH the machine has an IP address that is bridged right onto the Internet, i.e., does NOT have a private IP address like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x, etc., I guess I would unplug the network cable, do everything else, and then go back for the updates.
Why are we giving XP-era advice here?
Win7 is driver-complete. After install and optional Updates during which newer drivers will be delivered, you only need to import missing drivers or those which are causing performance problems.
MS spent a fortune getting the drivers into the installer and available via optional Updates to avoid the problems with early Vista where manufacturers held out to force us to buy newer hardware. They built many drivers themselves, subsidized millions of dollars to manufacturers to build drivers, and they hold back drivers that are not optimal for Win7.
Win7 is the authority on its drivers.