Laptop OEM drivers

What is the best way to install Laptop drivers after clean windows installation?
Nowadays windows install all drivers automatically during or right after the windows installation or first boot up (when laptop/pc is connected to internet).
So there is two ways to install OEM drivers and I want to make sure which one is the best.

1. Disconnect internet connection before windows setup to prevent automatic driver installation by windows.
So after the first boot up there will be no drivers and I can manually install OEM drivers from USB. After that connect to the internet and update rest of the drivers through windows update.

2. Install windows with internet connection, after the first boot up let windows do the work (let windows install all drivers and updates) and after that download all OEM drivers and install them on top of already installed drivers.

Option 2 for me. I just let WU take care of the updates initially then turn off driver updates and get which ones I want. OEM drivers are sometimes way behind, graphics drivers come to mind for a start where Dell are concerned. If I want any Dell stuff I'll go there and get them

Option 2 but only partially. I just let Windows install what drivers it wants and they practically always work and are more recent. I don't understand why people would install Windows with no internet connection. Then I look in Device Manager and see if there is anything that didn't get a driver. I look on the OEM site and also do a search for the device ID. Sometimes the OEM drivers are outdated or for an older OS version. Other than the graphics drivers, which I keep updated, if something works, I leave it alone. I do not install OEM drivers unless there is a need for things the Windows drivers don't provide. I only find this with sound or video drivers and only sometimes. I do turn off automatic installation of drivers from Windows Update after the initial set up. Laptop makers are notorious for not keeping updated drivers available. OEM drivers are not always the best ones.

Here's what I like to do:

BEFORE reinstalling Windows, make a backup of all drivers on the laptop by exporting them like this...

Open an elevated command prompt and run this command:


Note that you can specify any location in place of C:\Drivers and this process may take a few minutes.

Copy C:\Drivers along with all subdirectories to another HDD or flash drive so that you will have access to it after reinstalling Windows.

Reinstall Windows - I prefer to make sure that network connectivity is disabled, but this is usually not necessary.

After Windows is reinstalled, open an elevated command prompt. Change directories to the location where you now have those exported drivers. For example, if you now have the exported in D:\Drivers, you will run these commands:


Finally, run this command:


Just as with the export, this may take several minutes. Please note that the screen may go blank for a short time when the display driver is being installed. This is normal. You should reboot the system when the process has been completed.

Note: The first time that I do this on a system, I like to make sure that I have an image backup of the system just in case something doesn't work as expected, although this has worked every single time for me.