The newer version you install, the more drivers comes with it.

>Mel and Rick,
>
>I guess so but what surprised me is that when I initially installed Win8 it just worked, picked everything up. Then back to Win7 nothing worked. And then back to Win8 it once again picked it all up. I must assume then that Win8 has the drivers (or native compatibable) drivers built in?
>
>
>>Doesn't your computer require perhaps some special drivers when you do a clean install to connect to its ethernet, soundcard, etc., etc.? It seems like my Lenovo does.
>>
>>>So here is a (only mildly) interesting experience:
>>>
>>>Over the weekend I decided I would uninstall Windows 8. I was tired of not being able to effectively run any 3rd party personal firewall software (having tried 3 and all resulting in connectivity loss after operating for a while) and having collected at least 20 IP addresses that Windows 8 wants to connect to at various times and for reasons unknown.
>>>
>>>I used to have Windows 7 on my laptop before I installed Windows 8 as a clean install, wiping out the installed Windows 7. So I inserted my Windows 7 CD, ran the install, formated the C drive, and did a totally clean Windows 7 install. After completion all my networking devices like the wireless connection and the ethernet connection were dead. They dont even light up on the laptops display panel. Not even on pre-Windows boot. The lights are dead, the wireless is dead, the ethernet is dead. Windows 7 cannot find any networking devices at all. Couldnt find anything in the bios or in Windows networking control panel. Device manager shows no wireless device at all and shows the ethernet card as faulty and unrepairable. hmmm .... what to do?
>>>
>>>So I decided to go back to Windows 8 - I need to be connected to the world after all. I do a totally clean install of Windows 8, format the C drive, wipe out Windows 7, clean install and lo and behold all the network devices are working again - wireless and ethernet all OK.
>>>
>>>What is going on here?