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order of directory's IN $OEM$/$1/Drivers?


The game

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is the folder order of directory's in $OEM$/$1/Drivers/ really necessary??

and if it is needed how do i make the disc contain more then one chipset driver?

like this?:

000_chipset1

001_chipset2

002_chipset3

003_chipset4

004_videoATI

005_videoNVIDIA

006_Monitor1

007_Monitor2

008_Monitor3

009_and_so_on

:rolleyes::)

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You always want your chipset to be the 1st driver.. because it may make windows detect more hardware.

Same with video drivers if you have a ViVo card, you install the board drivers first and then the WDM drivers

More drivers should work as you described.. never tested it though...

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I was under the impression that Windows detected hardware, then looked to those folders for matching stuff (so if the chipset drivers cause more hardware to be detected, it will just go back to those folders looking for compatible drivers), not looking the folders sequentially looking for matching hardware. Am I wrong?

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It does it sequentially thats the reason for numbers and not just folder names.

But you are right, if windows finds drivers in a directory it will look in that directory again as if it was in the path (system32 etc).

Windows will also try looking in the Windows\OEM drivers path as well.

That directrory holds all your driver files that got loaded during OEM setup

The CORRECT OEM sort order for driver installation

000=smbus/chipset

001=lan

002=usb/firewire/serial i-o

003=audio

004=video

005=nas

006=ias

*nas = network accessible storage

*ias = internal accessible storage/raid/fiber etc

You can continue to use numbers after that just use common sense :)

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@cyberdiamond

http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/drivers.htm

states that subfolders are not allowed unless u point to them in the winnt.sif...

Extract your driver package to any folder, and examine the contents of it. Sometimes you will find several sub-folders containing the INF files in which case you need to make seperate direct paths to them in OemPnPDriversPath. This is because Windows XP Setup will not scan any sub-folders for any INF files.

I'm confused :) or did u forget to mention that the path must be in the winnt.sif?

or maybe it works.. dunno.. hope u can tell me..

I think I'll go with the MSFN guide

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It does it sequentially thats the reason for numbers and not just folder names.

But you are right, if windows finds drivers in a directory it will look in that directory again as if it was in the path (system32 etc).

Windows will also try looking in the Windows\OEM drivers path as well.

That directrory holds all your driver files that got loaded during OEM setup

The CORRECT OEM sort order for driver installation

000=smbus/chipset

001=lan

002=usb/firewire/serial i-o

003=audio

004=video

005=nas

006=ias

*nas = network accessible storage

*ias = internal accessible storage/raid/fiber etc

You can continue to use numbers after that just use common sense  :)

Hi guys.

This is great! I have previously lurked on here and indeed read the document about the PNP drivers paths/ordering the other day prior to this thread starting.

I then questioned in my mind whether it was valid or not, so am very happy this thread has started, to the extend I finally signed up!!!

Back on topic:

1. Yes, you can use subfolders, but they need to be specified in you unattend file individually.

At least we have some choice over folder design since the old W2k pre SP2 96 character limit for the PNP drivers path!

However, I don't understand your logic of having the top level folders numbered.

Number ing Subfolders makes sence

ie

Video\000_Trident

Video\0001_Trident

In this example if you NEED to include two varying Trident Video drivers for some sort of compatability issue, you know the newer driver you place in the 000 folder will be seen 1st.

However, how does numbering the top level folders help, apart from perhaps a very negligable performance increse?

The model below is what I mean

000=smbus/chipset

001=lan

002=usb/firewire/serial i-o

003=audio

004=video

Surely Windows only even looks for a driver, if it finds a device in the first place?? The example I am questioning seems to infer Windows looks at what drivers it has and then looks to see if it has some hardware to match it?!

Surley it wouldn't matter if you had at the top level:

000_Sound

009_Chipset

If Windows finds chipset hardware 1st it will still go looking for a chipset driver, in whatever paths you have chosen. Sure it will look in 000_Sound first, as it routes through folders in alphabetical sequence, but it doesn't mean it will install the Sound drivers first just as they are in the first folder does it??? Likewise a chipset driver would not definately install 1st just as it was in a 000_chipset folder?

To me, the folders should be designed logically, but have no actaul impact on the older devices are detected or installed.

What do you think?

Graham

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