How to use drivers, pls

[hinhthoi]

Hi,
I almost dont know anything about drivers. Can anyone please help me clarify something for me?
I am currently use window vista business in T61 thinkpad, 32 bit. But i want to clean install window 7. I would like to ask if i can use window 7 64 bit (or any other numer of bit) to install on my computer?
2) Regardless of i can install or not, let say i installed window 7 32 bit into my computer, can i use it immediately, or i have to download all of the drivers for T61.
3) will the system explicitly tell me if i still need to install any more drivers? Because i notice that the number of drivers is quite large so it is very possible that i miss out somethings
4) is driver like a normal software, meaning that after i download it, i double click on it and install to the default location?

Thanks in advanced
Regards

 

[Frostmourne]

64-bit depends on wheter your cpu supports x64 extensions and its probably true that your cpu does. Whatever you install, drivers will be installed. However, you always need the newest drivers for better performance - sound, chipset BIOS etc. You can find out your hardware with the stunning HWInfo. Then update everything. The guide in my signature can clarify this. Use driver sweeper for some drivers later on. When you install the driver takes care of the rest if its been programmed properly. If it doesn't you'll find out. Remember to get the right drivers - x86 or x64.

www.hwinfo.com/

 

[hinhthoi]

Hi Pro
Thank you very much for your help. Probably i will come back here to bother you again if i have any problem after the installation of window 7 ^_^

 

[TaraSWinTeam]

To see if you can run Windows 7 64-bit check out more information here: 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions.

As far as upgrading your drivers, you will need to install the upgrades for all of your hardware to work properly, you can learn more about drivers and how to set automatic updates for the future here: Hardware and drivers - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows.

Cheers,
Tara
Windows Outreach Team