Deployment Solution

Hello,

I had WinXP (x86) image from our customer. It was created using HP 8440p, all drivers were installed (?) and finally image was resealed with sysprep.

Now, I'm attempting to deploy this same image to HP Compaq 2510p.

2510p contains Intel PRO1000 NIC card.

I've added 2510p drivers to Deploy AnyWhere database, executed ghwdplaw32.exe with /eval switch and it told me that no drivers were missing from database for this model.

I created Distribute Disk Image task using this image, checked option to use Deploy AnyWhere, selected my own custom sysprep.inf file to use.

When I start deployment and PnP detection phase starts, dialog comes up and it asks me location for NIC card drivers .sys file??? This .sys file can be found from directory in C drive created by Deploy AnyWhere and if I point it there, setup continues.

Please help, how do I get Deploy AnyWhere to automatically install NIC driver without questions in minisetup?

I don't know all the things we edit, but it's possible that we put something in that file that points to the DA driver location.  ?  Have you tried the default Sysprep just to see if it works differently?

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for your reply.

Well I think I could give your sysprep.inf file a shot.

I have not changed default file location for Deploy AnyWhere driver files. They are all in \eXpress\driversdb folder and I think that's the place where Deploy Anywhere searches for them when 'Use Deploy AnyWhere' option is checked from Distribute Disk Image task.

I used this command in WinPE mode to check if DA database has driver for NIC card:

ghdplyaw32.exe /target=c:\Windows /ddb=\driversdb /eval

After I executed this command, it returned me PnP ID of that NIC card, meaning it didn't have correct driver.

I downloaded driver from manufacturer site, extracted it and searched that PnP ID from .inf file and then added directory containing that .inf file to Deploy AnyWhere from Deployment Console.

When I executed command above again, it returned me just "Success" indicating DA thinks it got all drivers for that machine. However, after imaging, XP minisetup starts to asking me where driver files for NIC card are located.

I have not yet attempted to use sysprep to add NIC drivers.

That's why I'm wondering if there's something SLIGHTLY different in our Sysprep file than yours.  A path perhaps - something to point the system to where it can find the drivers.  I simply don't know for sure because I've not read the file top to bottom.  But I figure if the drivers are there (which you confirmed by using them), then it only makes sense that what's missing are instructions to the OS as to where to find them.  Once we know how to give those instructions, you could duplicate that in your sysprep file and bam - problem solved.

I think...

Ok, just ended up call with our support engineer.

He told me that Deploy AnyWhere and Sysprep (both) should not be used to install drivers that I should select to use only DA + Software Installation tasks or Sysprep + Software Installation tasks to install drivers. If both are used, it will "mess things up" ?

Sysprep, as used by our product, WILL do driver detection.  It builds a portion of the unattend.xml file out with hardware drivers it finds prior to reboot.  Minisetup actually does all the driver installations however.  Neither Sysprep nor DA installs drivers.  Sysprep simply creates a file with the known drivers in it, and DA simply dumps driver files on the system.  The unattend.xml tells Minisetup how to install drivers from what Sysprep returned, and hopefully from where DA dumped the drivers.

So maybe I misunderstand what the engineer is saying, but it seems moderately irrelevant from what you have here.

A couple of questions before we go any further:

1. what happened when you used our sysprep file and not yours - but with all other settings the same?
2. what did you customize in your sysprep file to "install drivers"?

Thanks!

1. I changed custom answer file in Distribute Image Task to \express\sysprep\standardxp.inf (this is one of the default files I think?) and deployed image again - no effect. NIC driver still not getting installed during minisetup.

2. Below is copy of my custom sysprep.inf file which I use with Distribute Disk Image task. I have not customized it to "install" anything, instead I have added entries to images registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DevicePath like %systemdrive%\DRV\1;%systemdrive%\DRV\2.

Driver files to these folders are copied right after Distribute Disk Image task in WinPE, using Copy File To task.

Minisetup locates WiFi driver from these folders are install it correctly. It's this NIC driver giving me headache

 

;SetupMgrTag
[Data]
    AutoPartition=1
    MsDosInitiated=0
    UnattendedInstall=Yes

[Unattended]
    OemSkipEula=Yes
    TargetPath=\WINDOWS
    InstallFilesPath=C:\sysprep\i386

[GuiUnattended]
    AdminPassword=*
    EncryptedAdminPassword=NO
    OEMSkipRegional=1
    TimeZone=125
    OemSkipWelcome=1

[UserData]
    ProductKey=%PROD_LIC%
    FullName="Company"
    OrgName="Company"
    ComputerName=%COMPNAME%

[RegionalSettings]
    LanguageGroup=1
    SystemLocale=0000040b
    UserLocale=0000040b
    InputLocale=040b:0000040b

[Identification]
    JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP

[Networking]
    InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

[Branding]
    BrandIEUsingUnattended=Yes

[Proxy]
    Proxy_Enable=0
    Use_Same_Proxy=0

 

Any ideas? Anyone?

I noticed that I've not added UpdateInstalledDrivers=Yes entry to [Unattended] section of my sysprep.inf file.

Is this value processed, if I add it to my custom sysprep.inf file, which is selected in Distribute Disk Image task?

Work went nuts last week and uh...  well, I fell behind here and everywhere else. 

I still think it's something simple though.  Try the change you mentioned - I frankly don't have all the sysprep options memorized.  Oh, and try not using a custom sysprep file at all - just let us build one for you, and see if either option works.

Again, I'll try to look at it later if no one else gets to it first.  Sorry.

You cannot add these to the registry like this is my understanding. Is the image from your customer already sysprep'd? This is definitely an issue of how your OEMPNPDriversPath= is set. It's a possibility that the path where your new NIC drivers is at was never included. I would assume this path still needs to be accurate regardless if you are using DA or not, but I dont know since I do not use DA.

Another thing to check is make sure its not a signing issue or something:

    UpdateInstalledDrivers=YES
    DriverSigningPolicy=IGNORE