Having Windows Keep The Drivers

[Beagz]

ok, I got it setup so that I have a cab file on the install cd. with appropriate lines in the corresponding setup files. I made an inffiles.7z (subdirs included) so that I could extract it during setup. then the setupcopyoeminf.exe can add all those infs to windows. the cab is in the right place but it just seems that even with the inf files incorporated into windows it does not search the cab file for them.

what did I leave out?

from what I understand the txtsetup.sif file works this way

[sourcedisksfiles.x86]

ati2dvag.sys = 100,,,,,,,,3,3

100=sp2.cab

if it was 1 it would be the driver.cab

is it related to the line "100 = %spcdname%,%spcdtagfilei%,,\i386,1" found under [sourcedisksnames.x86] ?

can that be changed to reflect the new mydrivers.cab file for installation?

also the 3,3 seems to refer to the windows\system32 directory for placement.

[Beagz]

can setdevicepath.exe be used to setup a .cab file as a source for drivers?

[X-Savior]

Hi There,

Well, I put all the INF files in the $OEM$\$$\INF

Then added the files to the DRVINDEX and then put a copy of the CAB in the I386 Folder and one in the $$\Driver Cache

Then if you made all the entry's for the new CAB as per our Method it will check the CAB during the Install and then reference it anytime there after for Device Driver Install.

[Beagz]

so you leave the directory structure for the inf files intact? and place the whole directory tree in that folder?

I will give it a go. Thanks!

[X-Savior]

Yup.

If you go back and read my final results, there is a Step-By-Step for the easy way to do it. B)

[mark49]

this method must use winnt.sif/unattach..txt ?

i want to add 3rd drivers but also want to boot from CD and go into Console to do something such as /fixmbr /fixboot .

another Q:

in mydriver.CBA ,can i use subfolder ?

[erik_demon]

@ mark49

I think you can do it without the winnt.sif

I believe you are talking about this:

Step 5: Modify winnt.sif

Add this line to your winnt.sif:

[GUIRunOnce]        "%systemdrive%\create_cab_file.cmd"

I think you can also call this batch with RunOnceEx.cmd.

another Q:

in mydriver.CBA ,can i use subfolder ?

Yes, you can. I wasn't very clear about this in the guide. Drvindex.inf will scan your complete .CAB file for the file, also the subdirs!

For instance your .Cab files has the following structure: D\S\CR\blabla.sys and D\W\L\blablabla.sys

All you have to do know is add the following lines to drvindex.inf

[NAME OF CABFILE]
blabla.sys
blablabla.sys

Important: don't use filepatchs in drvindex.inf, only the filename (see example)

[mark49]

@erik_demon,

thank u very much.

and RunOnceEx works at T13 procedure ,also after device scanning and installing.

it can also have the same effect with M1/M2 ?

i want to slipstream 3rd drivers and want to install xp normally(attened) too.

[Beagz]

hmmm, well I tried this and it certainly seems to work but there seems to be a problem when using multiple files with the same name. It runs through the setup and then just locks up when loading windows the first time and I cannot get it to load windows anytime after.

I wonder if this only works with a cab file that has only different filenames. Or maybe I am just doing something wrong. can you post a link to a step-by-step guide?

[erik_demon]

@Beagz

Thanks for testing

I'm afraid you found the great downside to this method

Now I think about it, it is a logical problem.

Imagine we have the file a.sys both in the D\S\CR folder and the D\S\N folder.

How would setup know which on to use?

I agree with you that it only works the way it should, when there are no duplicate filenames included. (I will change this in the manual)

For now, I would recommend all to use schalti method, instead of this one. I can assure you that schalti method doesn't have this problem (I tested it with all DP's)

@X-Savior

What do you think??

@ all

How can think of a fix for this problem?

[X-Savior]

Hey Erik!

Well, I agree with you. Setup does seem to have trouble. I havn't tried to create the problem to find out what will happen. So this is VERY interesting.

This method was NOT originally inteded to create a MASSIVE driver database. It was meant to create a Database of Peripherals. They do not have the problem of same file name. It is only Chipset and Graphics so far.

WHat I did was use the Traditional method for the simple stuff and then created a new cab for Monitors, USB, KB & Mouse, and all that good stuff. I just recommend being careful and make wise choices when selecting that drivers to include. I mean it is VERY easy to create a 1 GB + CAB file if you try adding ALL drivers. I am not sure how Windows will react (Or slow Down) in creating such a large file.

I am still investigating the schalti method. It looks promising to overcome some of our limitations but my problem is that it looks VERY invasive into windows and I question that sometimes. Our method is highly servicable to help maintain a current Database.

I am quite happy with our method. Just My Opinion!

@Erik

Also, Once when I was first learning about integrating drivers I came across a Promise Mass Storage driver that used the same file name as another. I think it was Ultra.sys if I remember right. I went in and changed the INF and TXTSETUP.OEM to reflect the new file name I changed it to and it worked just fine. (To My Knowledge). I even did the normal Mass Storage Integration into TXTSETUP and setup never fussed around. Maby we can modify the Driver in these rare circumstances to aviod a conflict?

[Bâshrat the Sneaky]

Well, in DriverPack WLAN and LAN there are also lots of identical filenames (certainly in WLAN...)!

[X-Savior]

Interesting.

Well, I know it IS possible to change the file names and then edit the INF to reflect the new name. Kinda a no-brainer if you look into the file. Anywhere is has the old name change it to the new name.

[Bâshrat the Sneaky]

OF COURSE that is possible, but that breaks WHQL signing every time

[RogueSpear]

I was going over a bunch of stuff today and suddenly it hit me. How frequent would it be that someone is going to add an expansion card to their computer? And if they did, wouldn't they want to visit the vendor's web site to get the newest driver available?

I thought about it for a while and came to a few conclusions:

Drivers for things like monitors and printers don't change very frequently, but these are exactly the kind of devices that I could see someone plugging in. Monitor drivers take up practically no space at all. Printer drivers, especially when poorly authored, can. So maybe printers could be a concern in terms of extreme bloat in a KtD scenario.

Almost anything with firewire, USB, or PCMCIA interface would be a good candidate. There's nothing worse than slapping in someone else's USB device and then not having the drivers necessary to run it.

So it would seem like we could save a lot of time and space (and maybe even complexity) by cutting down drastically the number of devices included in a KtD project. Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts