Where do you people get Drivers from?

[iceangel89]

i want to nLite a XP & try sysprep then maybe WIM. so i need drivers apart from those i have for my computer now, where do u get them? i tried those from driverpacks.net but when i try sysprep, i get errors... i posted that somewhere here... so where do u ppl get drivers?

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edit: i am testing SP3 RC1, does it contain updated Mass Storage drivers (most impt i think, in the install process) or any other drivers so i dont need to integrate them?

Edited December 14, 2007 by iceangel89

[Arie]

You can grab Intel drivers from their web site, Marvell too from their web site, both are quite generally used.

[IcemanND]

I do one of three things depending upon who I'm working for.

1. Driverpacks.net (for boot devices I find out which they have and only add those and the standard windows ones, I don't use the entire MSD pack for this.)

2. Collect the drivers and make my own repository

3. One of my clients made my life easy and paid for the Universal imaging Utility.

[iceangel89]

is it a good idea to integrate all mass storage drivers with nLite? or at the sysprep stage only...

still looking for a good driver pack i can use...

by the way, intel mass storage drivers are under chipsets>Chipset software>Intel Matrix software?

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.as...r_nav2_download

1. Driverpacks.net (for boot devices I find out which they have and only add those and the standard windows ones, I don't use the entire MSD pack for this.)

how do u know which are "standard windows ones"?

Edited December 15, 2007 by iceangel89

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

you people?! YOU PEOPLE?! whats that supposed to mean?

nah j/k B)

I highly recommend installing driverpacks.net core, MS, CPU, Chipset, and LAN packs because they take very little space and you can boot a machine into XP without a floppy, have LAn connectivity and have USB 2.0 speeds from your pen drive to finish building the system.

[IcemanND]

is it a good idea to integrate all mass storage drivers with nLite? or at the sysprep stage only...

Just add them with sysprep. don't add them with nlite or the driverpacks first.

still looking for a good driver pack i can use...

by the way, intel mass storage drivers are under chipsets>Chipset software>Intel Matrix software?

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.as...r_nav2_download

looks right.

1. Driverpacks.net (for boot devices I find out which they have and only add those and the standard windows ones, I don't use the entire MSD pack for this.)

how do u know which are "standard windows ones"?

the standard ones are added when you use either the -bmsd switch, or add the buildmassstorage section in sysprep.inf and tell it to build it under the sysprep section.

[iceangel89]

i am reading up a bit about sysprep & drivers and have some questions:

From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314479

2. Create a $oem$\$1\Drivers folder in the I386 folder that you copied to the distribution point. You may want to create additional folders in the Drivers subfolder, depending on the hardware that you want to install (for example, network adapter, modem, or video driver). The $1 folder resolves to %SystemDrive%. During text-mode Setup, these folders and files are copied to the %SystemDrive%\Drivers folders. For example:

\i386

-\$oem$

- - \$1

- - - \Drivers

- - - - - \NIC

- - - - - \MODEM

- - - - - \VIDEO

3. Copy all of the OEM-supplied driver files for the device to the folder (or folders) created in the preceding step.

4. Add the OemPnPDriversPath = Driver_Paths entry in the [unattended] section of the Setup answer file. You can list multiple paths in this key by separating them with a semicolon (, as follows:

[unattended]

OemPnPDriversPath = Drivers\NIC;Drivers\Modem;Drivers\Video

do i need to do "OemPnPDriversPath = Drivers\NIC;Drivers\Modem;Drivers\Video"

can i just do "OemPnPDriversPath = Drivers"? because even with "Drivers\NIC", NIC folder can have a lot of drivers right? like NIC1, NIC2 etc so if "OemPnPDriversPath = Drivers" can do the job it will be good

and http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256204

If you have unsigned drivers and you require that they be installed during the Sysprep mini-wizard, you can use either of the following methods:

• Use the -pnp switch when you create your master image. This causes the mini-wizard to perform a full enumeration of all devices. Note that this adds about 5 to 10 minutes to the mini-Setup wizard, depending on the speed of the target computers.

• Create your master image with the devices that require manufacturer-supplied drivers. This does not require the -pnp switch, and decreases the time it takes for the Sysprep mini-wizard to run.

so do u normally use -pnp? or no need?

Thanks, and sorry for the long post

[IcemanND]

you would be better off putting the paths to the drivers directly into the registry, winnt.sif and sysprep.inf have lenth limits to the oemdriverpaths string. hklm\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\devicepath

there are a handful of utilities around that will scan a folder structure and add the folders into the registry.

I use the -pnp switch and have not had a problem. (with the exception of TPM drivers for some Lenovo laptops in the past not sure if they have ever fixed their driver or not)