System Full Re-install

I had a problem with Windows Update.

A Microsoft technician told me that I had to do an upgrade-type reinstall to eliminate the problem.

A previous call to Microsoft Support resulted in a successful repair of Windows Update without a re-install, but the fix was short-lived.

The problem with Windows Update was resolved but for some reason my 1 Terabyte C:/ drive was repartitioned giving me a 232 Gb system-reserved-plus partition with the remainder of the drive outside of the partition as unallocated space.

I used a simple partitioning program that I got here which gave me the option of reclaiming the unallocated space. I clicked on that option and afterward my drive was listed as having a system-reserved-plus partition with a 1Tb capacity in Disk Management and in the properties tab of the drive in Device Manager but Windows explorer showed the drive as unchanged, 232 Gb capacity. I was told that only a clean re-installation of the operating system would remedy the problem.

I was told by another annoying Microsoft tech that I had to do a clean re-install to remedy the situation which would leave me with the task of downloading/installing 200+ updates and reloading/reactivating all of my software.

I've been putting off doing the re-install for almost 2 months because I am worried about re-installing all of the drivers.

These are the driver-installer files and folders I have & the order in which I thought that I would install them
(there is some redundancy). Should I disconnect my USB2 external drive before I do the system re-install?

Visual C++ Redist Installer V49.exe
ID1CHP03WW1(Intel Chipset driver).exe
Intel AHCI Driver [folder]
Dev_Agent_Setup.exe [Intel(R) H57 Express Chipset LPC Interface Controller - 3B08 Drivers Installer]
PROWinx64 (8258DC Gigabit network connection).exe
ID1ETN03WW6 (Intel lan driver).exe
ID1SRM03WW1(Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver).exe [is this necessary?]
ID1VDO05WW6 (ATI Radeon Display Driver).exe
ID2VDO08WW6 (Intel Onboard Graphics Driver).exe
ID7AUD06WW1(Realtek High Definition Audio Driver).exe
Monitor_Acer_1.0_Vistax86_A.zip (monitor setup)
OKB4x1W64PCL_ENUS100.exe (PRN setup)
Intel Rapid Storage Technology [folder]
Renesas Electronics [folder]/USB3-Driver-setup [folder] (USB3 card setup)
WD SES Device Driver (USB3 external drive setup) [folder]
364.51-desktop-win8-win7-winvista-64bit-international-whql.exe
(nVidia graphics card/high-definition audio driver control center)
jre-8u121-windows-i586.exe
mcupdatetrigger(McAfee Patch).exe ???
SetPoint6.67.83_64.exe/SetPoint6.67.83_smart.exe (Logitech mouse controller)
Shockwave_Installer_Slim.exe

My system is WIN7HomePremiumx64 and I have a disk for the re-installation that I made by burning-to-DVD the .iso file that was sent to me of WIN7HomePremiumx64 + Service pack.

All of my music/video files and all of my downloads are on the external drives.

Any advice regarding the drivers would be appreciated.

 

First off, yes, you definitely want to unplug all external drives before you do the install. Reconnect them after all updates are done.

Second, your drivers come from your computer manufacturer. If you bought it pre-built, the support section of the manufacturer's website should have a dedicated page for your computer model, and on that page you'll find the drivers. However, windows has become a lot smarter about drivers than it was just a few years ago. Make sure you have an internet connection when reinstalling, and Windows 7 is going to go online and download your drivers for you through Windows Update, as much as possible.

If you need to update or replace drivers after that - the latest or most relevant may not be in Windows Update after all - your computer manufacturer's website is the way to go. If you're wondering about which specific drivers to download and install, or how to find them just come back here and post your computer brand and exact model, and we can probably help you find what you need.

 

P.S. my Internet connection is via a cable modem which connects me to a LAN.

 

It's a Lenovo IdeaCentre K320

 

And here are your drivers

Let the Windows reinstall finish all the way, including any and all updates, before you start installing drivers. The principle of not trying to fix something that's not broken applies to drivers as well as anything else...

 

the Lenovo support page for my computer only lists driver updates

 

It doesn't matter. Simply follow Mimsy's advice in post #5 above. Don't go to the Lenovo site until after you have successfully reinstalled Windows and updated it via WU.

 

What Max said. The updates come after the Windows reinstall. Way, way after.