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How to download device drivers to a USB flash drive
Hi, I was advised by a Dell technician a while ago that it is recommended to download the latest device drivers from the Dell Support site to a USB stick before doing a clean installation of Windows 8.1.
1. Should I download the drivers to my hard drive (c: drive) and then copy and paste them over to the USB flash drive. Or is it OK to download them directly onto the USB flash drive?
2. When I install the drivers is it OK to select the drivers on the USB drive and install them directly from the USB stick? I don't know if you have to copy them over to a folder on the Computers hard disc (C: drive ) first and then install them from there?
Ive never done this before and Im unfamiliar with USB flash drives. If I select the device drivers on the USB stick will it correctly install to the C:drive (hard drive) or will it attempt to install to the USB flash drive?
Im sorry if this seems like a dumb question
sportsfan61
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December 24th, 2016 12:00
One of the reasons I asked the question is that I read a posting on the internet where someone said its always safer to copy the drivers from the USB flash drive to the hard drive first and install them from there. They said that the drivers have to be unzipped and a Dell folder is created on the C: drive for these files. He said this can cause problems and possibly corrupt Windows system files. I didn't know if that was correct or just scaremongering
Saltgrass
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December 24th, 2016 12:00
The fastest way to download drivers is to your computer. You can copy them to a flash drive or other accessible storage device. Flash drives are normally much slower than HDDs or SSDs.
You can run them from the external storage or copy them back to the new install and run from there.
Or you could just wait until the new install has finished and then download and install. The exception might be network drivers if your Ethernet/Wi-Fi might not be able to pick up a usable driver from Windows.