I am trying to find the driver repository that windows 7 uses when you select the

Search automatically for updated driver software

in device manager or through windows update.

The reason I'm asking is that I needed a 3com drive for my WinPE image but stumbled across a few problems because the latest driver wasn't digitally signed so didn't want to work in Winpe initially. Once installed, Windows 7 found a slightly newer version of the driver and I thought I could use it for my boot image. I tried http://catalog.update.microsoft.com but couldn't find it there.

Device manager calls the driver

3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI For Complete PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)

Provider: 3Com Corporation

File Version: 4.31.00.0000

Driver Date: 13/08/2002

Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility

If I update the driver and let windows look for a better version I get this:

3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI For Complete PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)

Provider: 3Com Corporation

File Version: 4.41.00.00000

Driver Date: 04/06/2003

Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility

This is what it says on the NIC itself

03-0287-001 B

3C905CX-TM-M

do you mean this C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository ?

semo.pz, I would suggest that you go to the vendor's site and DL the latest. Enjoy, John.

do you mean this C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository ?

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not sure if all drivers end up there. Is there any way of finding out where the setup files are for a sound card, for example, once the driver is installed?

this will collect them for you Drivermagician Lite > http://www.drivermagician.com/PortableDML.zip

this will collect them for you Drivermagician Lite > http://www.drivermagician.com/PortableDML.zip

This is a really useful tool maxXPsoft. That's 1/2 of what I was looking for . It would still be useful if end users could get their hands on the packages that WU downloads. I'll give it a try and report back but from a quick look around, it does what I need

this will collect them for you Drivermagician Lite > http://www.drivermagician.com/PortableDML.zip

This is a really useful tool maxXPsoft. That's 1/2 of what I was looking for . It would still be useful if end users could get their hands on the packages that WU downloads. I'll give it a try and report back but from a quick look around, it does what I need

Just tried driver magician and it successfully backed up the driver I needed but the driver was no longer signed when I tried to reinstall it (received a warning when installing and says "Not digitally signed" under Driver Signature: )

There must be a way to get your hands on the drivers that windows update finds...

I've come across a whole lot more machines that work fine once updated but I can't find standalone drivers so that I can deploy them without attending the machines themselves.

I've come across a whole lot more machines that work fine once updated but I can't find standalone drivers so that I can deploy them without attending the machines themselves.

I think you'll find what you're looking for in the Microsoft Update Catalog.