Quick question: If after Windows 7 re-install, I DON'T have any yellow question mark into 'Device Manager' and everything works fine (wi-fi, touchpad, sound...etc), should I install the drivers from the laptop developer website or not?
I only install video, audio and wifi drivers after a fresh installation. Window drivers work fine for everything else in my case.
What Hardware do you use ?. Enhanced functions of the touchpad is important and i don't think generic windows driver had this on board. AHCI driver should interesting too, also management engine interface. And more stuff...... it depends of hardware, tell me i tell you Rules.
Does the laptop manufacturer have its own updater? I use Lenovo laptops and use the Lenovo updater for a fresh install. It usually makes some improvements.
ALWAYS install your manufacturer drivers bro. They include optimizations for your hardware / computer. The Windows drivers are generic drivers that are used for millions of computers just to get you started. If you don't see an exclamation mark, doesn't mean you shouldn't install a driver. Please follow this order when installing drivers:- LAN 1- Intel Chipset Software 2- Intel Management Engine Interface Driver 3- Intel Rapid Storage Technology 4- Card Reader Drivers 5- VGA 6- Audio 7- LAN 8- WLAN 9- Touchpad 10- ETC and please do not update any drivers if not attained directly from the manufacturer with the exception of the video card drivers those are actually better to grab off nVIDIA or ATI depending on your graphics chipset. Otherwise, in my long experience, updating drivers only caused me headaches, random BSODs, or even decreased performance. Example, the latest IRST Drivers actually give me worse performance than the old IRST drivers that came with my Alienware 18 laptop. Good luck and feel free to ask if you have more questions
It is interesting to see, how people approach this differently, it comes down to a personal preference. If everything works just fine, Windows drivers are just fine. But as pointed out, if you install manufacturer drivers, you can get lower battery usage, better graphic performance and more features, but unless you do not miss it, like I do not use a touchpad or an onboard sound card, you do not really need it. Installing the newest driver can cause more problems, like a malfuctioning wifi.
