Fundamental driver explanation please

[nate42nd]

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.

 

[12eason]

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.

 

[nate42nd]

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.