I recently encountered a virus on my PC, and I've decided to do a clean reinstall of Windows. However, during the installation process, I got a message saying, 'Install driver to show hardware,' and I'm not sure what to do next. What drivers do I need to have on hand before I start the reinstall?
3 Answers
It looks like you might need the storage drivers to access your drives. You can find these drivers on the motherboard manufacturer's website, usually on the support page for your specific model. Just download the necessary ones and put them on your USB before you start the reinstall.
It sounds like the installer is asking for drivers for your disk. To fix this, you should restart your PC, go into BIOS (usually by pressing F2), and check that your boot configuration is set to AHCI instead of RAID. This should help Windows recognize your drives during installation.
What will changing to AHCI do?
Switching to AHCI allows Windows to access your SATA drives correctly. If it was set to RAID, it might not recognize your storage drives during the installation.
You actually don’t typically need many drivers right at the start, especially if Windows can see your disks. You might need to get your network drivers later on after installation, so consider downloading those and putting them on your USB stick along with the Windows installer.
How do I find the right storage driver?