First of all, does clean install of an OS delete the drivers installed on the hard disk? If so, will the new OS that is being installed contain drivers necessary for the hardware to perform properly? I assume it depends on the kind of OS that is being install. But if an OS has built-in drivers, they will not be compatible with any hardware, but only with some, right? So generally, this information must be included in the specific distribution of the OS, but how to know if there are so many manufacturers out there?
If users need to reinstall all the drivers on their machines after the new OS has been installed, how do they do that if the system will not work without drivers being installed?
Clearly, I have never done clean install. I do want to learn some basics however, since this information may turn out to be very helpful one day. Besides, I guess the process of clear install has changed over the years as newer versions of OS are designed. When comparing clear install of Windows XP to Windows 8, for example, are there many differences in the process?
Thanks everyone for your replies.