Operating System Installation, Drivers and BIOS/UEFI
What has to happen between switching on bare hardware and reaching a working desktop?
- Create a bootable USB drive from an ISO image.
- Perform a clean installation of an operating system, including partitioning and account setup.
- Identify missing drivers in Device Manager and install chipset, graphics and network drivers.
- Navigate BIOS/UEFI, change boot priority and check system health readings.
Overview
New hardware has no operating system. The firmware (BIOS or UEFI) on the motherboard starts first, tests the hardware, and hands control to a boot device. Your job as a technician is to point the firmware at installation media, install the OS onto a prepared partition, then supply the drivers the OS needs to talk to this particular hardware.
BIOS and UEFI
BIOS (legacy) and UEFI (modern) are firmware stored on the motherboard. They run POST, expose settings, and choose the boot device. Enter setup with Del, F2, F10 or F12 during start-up (the key is shown on the splash screen). In setup you can change boot order, enable or disable devices, set a supervisor password, enable virtualisation, and read fan speeds, temperatures and voltages. Secure Boot may need to be turned off to boot some installation media, and turned back on afterwards.
Preparing installation media
Download the official ISO, verify its checksum, then write it to an 8 GB or larger USB drive with a tool such as Rufus, Ventoy or the Media Creation Tool. Writing the ISO erases the USB drive. In UEFI mode use a GPT partition scheme; in legacy mode use MBR.
Clean installation steps
Follow the order; skipping the partition planning causes most reinstall jobs.
Installation sequence:
- 1. Back up: A clean install erases the target partition. Confirm the user's data is copied off first.
- 2. Boot from USB: Set boot priority in UEFI, or use the one-time boot menu.
- 3. Partition: Create a system partition and a data partition; format with NTFS (Windows) or ext4 (Linux).
- 4. Install and restart: Files copy, the machine reboots — remove the USB so it does not restart the installer.
- 5. First-run setup: Region, keyboard, network, user account, strong password, updates.
- 6. Drivers: Chipset first, then graphics, network, audio and printer.
- 7. Verify and document: Device Manager clear of warnings; record the serial, OS version and date of install.
Drivers and Device Manager
A driver is software that lets the OS control a specific device. In Windows, Device Manager shows a yellow triangle beside any device without a working driver. Get drivers from the manufacturer's site, matching the exact model and OS version — never from unknown download sites. Install chipset drivers first, because they enable the buses that other devices depend on. In Linux most drivers are in the kernel; check with commands such as lspci and dmesg.
Practical — Install an operating system
- Create a bootable USB from a provided ISO and record the tool and settings you used.
- Enter UEFI setup, screenshot or note the current boot order, then set the USB first.
- Perform a clean installation onto a lab machine or a virtual machine, creating a system and a data partition.
- Install chipset, graphics and network drivers, then show Device Manager with no warnings.
- Complete the installation log: machine ID, OS version, partitions created, drivers installed, time taken, problems and fixes.
- What is the role of BIOS/UEFI at start-up?
Reveal answer
It runs POST to test hardware, then locates a boot device and hands control to the operating system.
- Why install chipset drivers first?
Reveal answer
They enable the motherboard buses and controllers that other devices rely on.
- What does a yellow warning triangle in Device Manager mean?
Reveal answer
The device has no working driver installed or has a configuration problem.
- Why must you back up before a clean installation?
Reveal answer
The installation erases the target partition, destroying any data on it.
- Give one reason to change boot priority.
Reveal answer
To boot from USB installation or recovery media instead of the internal drive.
Write a one-page standard operating procedure your school could use for reimaging a lab computer, including the backup and verification steps.