windows 7 installation drivers missing???

i have found many sites out there that approach my problem here about windows 7 installation not able to find any drivers.

but my problem is just a little bit different:
- the computer i am trying to install windows 7 enterprise on has its HDD out and into a 2.5" HDD enclosure
- windows 7 has been installed on this HDD before (its messed up pretty good for unknown reasons, so i formatted it while its in the enclosure)
- i am going to install windows 7 through another computer running vista, windows 7 will be installed on the HDD that is in the enclosure (by selecting the HDD for a destination during win7 installation)
- the computer that should have the HDD in it, for some, ultra weird reason, does not want to read any disc in its tray. so forget about installing it straight onto the compuer im doing all this for


but all those sites out there that address this same issue fail to solve it by suppling the drivers needed to install windows 7, they always direct you to a link that (in my opinion) is off topic, badly.

i remember coming across this problem before (when i last installed it), and i got around it, somehow. but now it seems that its impossible to fix this


please answer these questions:
what are the drivers for?
how do i get them?
why is it so hard to find these mysterious drivers?

like usual, any help is appreciated, but...
if anyone can supply a direct link to the drivers (if its possible to do so), then that would be B****IN

p.s. i really do not understand why windows needs drivers to install...
p.s.s. im at the epidemy of frustration with this computer, i wont bore you, but its been a week and a half and the ASUS still does not want to give up making me more frustrated, so please, try to be as helpful as possible

thankyou

If the enclosure you refer to is a USB external drive then you cannot install Win7 onto it.

The Win7 installer is driver-complete. You shouldn't need to find any drivers unless some are missing in Device Manager after install. What drivers are you referring to exactly? You refer to drivers without telling us what is requesting drivers and how.

notsograymatter, those were the exact links im talking about where they do not refer to my problem at all, so what, you can put it on a USB, great...

gregrocker, how come i cant install win7 on an external drive by USB?? doesn't it give you the option during install to locate the destination to install?? what if i can't install it onto an external HDD, theres no other option for me to get it onto there because i have a DVD drive that doesn't seem to want to read...


device manager... is that for this computer running vista, or for the external HDD?? coz i formatted the HDD so i have a fresh drive...

as for what type of drivers, i truly do not know, right after i click "install now" it comes up with 'missing drivers' it comes up with 3 prompt windows, one of them saying something like "it is ok to remove your windows installation disc to load the drivers" <--- maybe that will help with what those prompts are saying...
but i have done a few bits of research, on win7 forums mainly, there was one post that knocked my problem on the head, it wasnt solved, but i still cant find it again [it had pictures and an awesome description too :[ )

the computer i am trying to install windows 7 on is an ASUS (mentioned above, somewhere), i have two driver discs for my computer but they are meant to be for vista and XP (its an oldish computer), if i was to load them when it prompts me to, will that solve it. the driver discs, as you can imagine, have the optical drive n the keyboard and all that jazz

like i said b4, i have done this install on the same computer a while ago, just, not throguh USB and onto a HDD in an enclosure... and i remember it wasn't too hard to fix, could it be that i just have to load the drivers that came with my ASUS computer for vista n XP???

You are planning to install 7 onto an external HD.

Afterwards, use the HD as an internal drive.

The issue you will have is with the hardware on the new machine you are planning to put the HD being very different from the Vista machine you are using to install it.

You should be able to get around that using sysprep, or a tool like Paragon Adaptive Restore.

What drivers does it ask for exactly? SATA or HD controller drivers likely. If it doesn't specify what drivers, then what is the exact error message?

If you know which drivers it wants, you can browse to them on the Vista drivers disk you have which should work for Win7 installer.

thankyou SIW2 for clearing that up...

im going to approach the install one more time to get the error message(s), so give me a bit after you read this message for it...
but, how would i go about searching for drivers on the vista computer, it gives me the option to browse for drivers, but to individually serarch for them would take way to long, is there a default destination for the vista drivers so i can easily find them??

i think i have already...

oh, ok, well how do you activate it then???

so, here it is, the entirety of my win7 installation...

1) it get to the "windows is loading files..." black screen (starting from CD/DVD drive)
2) get to the starting windows, with the win7 loading screen thing where the balls of light come together
3) get to the first window to install win7, titled "install windows"
options:
- language to install (i chose english)
- Time and currency (i chose US)
- keyboard (i chose US)
there is a next button, i click it to get to next step
4) bigger button saying "install windows" with the win7 logo just above it, i click the button
5) win7 background with the words "setup is starting..."
...i wait...
6) next window it is titled "load driver"
"a required CD/DVD drive device is missing. If you have a driver Floppy Disc, CD, DVD, or USb Flash Drive, please insert it now."
"NOTE: if the windows installation media is in the CD/DVD drive, you can safely remove it for this step."
there are a few buttons available to choose from:
- browse
- OK
- Cancel
i click 'OK'
7) theres a little loading bar that says it is "looking for the drivers..."
8) another window pops up titled "load driver"
[exclamation mark icon (coloured yellow)]
"No device drivers were found. Make sure that the insrtallation media contains the correct drivers, then click OK."
(i click 'OK')
9) the same window appears that is in step 7, ill try my best to explain what it looks like (you may already know...

titled "install windows"
"select the driver to be installed."
[there is a big empty box that should have the drivers listed in it, but there is none available]
[just underneath the big box there is a checkbox that is checked and says beside it...]
"Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer"

there are also three buttons just below that
- "browse" able to be clicked, which qwhen clicked im sure you know what happens...
- "rescan" able to be clicked, which, undoubtably, rescans for drivers
- "next" shadowed out, unable to be clicked

also below the buttons there is a progress bar that has two total steps, 1 and 2
i am about 1/3 through step 1 at this point...




hope that was helpful to solve my problem
thankyou

i just realised that i need the CD/DVD drivers for it to continue, and in my research to find a solution to this, poeple have also been having troubles at where i am at the moment. but no one seems to have a solution, it seems a big problem that ppl have, maybe make a sticky on the solution?? if there isnt one already??