How to make an XP copy compatible with many sata disks

[alto]

Hello! I like Nlite very much and I' m able to make an xp copy wich perfectly fit with a sata disk. The problem is that every pc requires the proper driver integration wich depends on the chipset model of motherboard. Is it possible, with Nlite, to create an XP copy with sata drivers wich fit every kind of chipset or at least Intel' s ones?

[jaclaz]

NO, not with nlite.

Addition:

(to clarify, it is possible, but to support ALL Intel drivers or even worst ALL Sata drivers it will be a long and tiresome process)

But you may want to explore the possibilities that "Bashrat the Sneaky" (and many others)'s Driverpacks offer:

http://driverpacks.net/

jaclaz

Edited November 20, 2008 by jaclaz

[johnhc]

jaclaz and alto,

There is an ID associated with a piece of hardware and for a driver. This is how Windows finds the right driver for particular hardware. The questions comes down to whether the same type of device has the same ID for all manufacturers. I don't know the answer, but I suspect all manufacturers have unique IDs. If this is true, if you can identify all the drivers from the various builders for a specific type of HW, then you could just integrate all of them with nLite and Windows would use the IDs to select the correct driver for the HW present. I could be wrong and if so please correct me and I'll learn something.

Thanks, John.

[jaclaz]

jaclaz and alto,

There is an ID associated with a piece of hardware and for a driver. This is how Windows finds the right driver for particular hardware. The questions comes down to whether the same type of device has the same ID for all manufacturers. I don't know the answer, but I suspect all manufacturers have unique IDs. If this is true, if you can identify all the drivers from the various builders for a specific type of HW, then you could just integrate all of them with nLite and Windows would use the IDs to select the correct driver for the HW present. I could be wrong and if so please correct me and I'll learn something.

Thanks, John.

Sure, the point is that is not easy as you think to "assemble" and integrate several different drivers for several different hardware.

The driverspack are nothing more than "sets" of common drivers already collected and properly "assembled" together by experts.

It is a way to save some time, since most (if not all) the work has already been done, and as said, properly.

The board is full of posts by people that have difficulties into integrating even a single SATA driver, and Intel ones, are "pesky".

In any case, see this thread:

http://www.msfn.org/board/Integration-Inte...ta-t107504.html

(which is where I would have directed alto had he asked for a specific Intel driver or for a few of them )

jaclaz

P.S.: I edited my previous post to better explain the sense of my suggestion.

Edited November 20, 2008 by jaclaz

[alto]

jaclaz and johnhc, thank you so much for you replies!!!

[Fernando 1]

There is an ID associated with a piece of hardware and for a driver. This is how Windows finds the right driver for particular hardware. The questions comes down to whether the same type of device has the same ID for all manufacturers. I don't know the answer, but I suspect all manufacturers have unique IDs. If this is true, if you can identify all the drivers from the various builders for a specific type of HW, then you could just integrate all of them with nLite and Windows would use the IDs to select the correct driver for the HW present. I could be wrong and if so please correct me and I'll learn something.

You were right, if we would speak about PnP drivers. All these drivers are only checked and used during the second = GUIMODE part of the OS Setup routine. At this stage Setup will have no problem to find the suitable driver INF file entries of the detected Vendor and Device ID. You can integrate as many PnP drivers you want without getting any problem (not even by 64bit drivers integrated into a 32bit OS).

The situation is different with mass storage controller (=textmode) drivers, because the OS Setup needs them already during the first = TEXTMODE part of the installation. The real textmode driver (= SYS file) needs to be within the root of the i386/AMD64 directory.

Problem 1:

Many textmode drivers have the same name (example: IASTOR.SYS), but totally different content (32/64bit structure, differnt versions supporting different ICH Controllers etc.). If you would integrate all available Intel textmode drivers for all existing Intel AHCI and RAID Controllers, only a few of them would be detected, because only the latest integrated driver would work. All previously integrated IASTOR.SYS resp. IASTOR.SY_ files were overwritten by the next one during the textmode driver integration routine.

Problem 2:

The hardware detection and the driver check within the TEXTMODE part of the installation is not as accurate as within the GUIMODE part. That is why you get error messages like "File xyz.SYS is corrupt" or "Cannot find file xyz.SYS" or Setup even loads the wrong driver with the consequence of a sudden BSOD.

[johnhc]

Fernando 1,

Great! Thanks much for your post. I really enjoy learning all the stuff I pick up here!

Thanks, John.