Backing up drivers before formatting a hard drive

[Mohamed Shafiee]

Hi,

I had some trouble searching for drivers for certain pcs. I work in an
environment which has a lot of pcs from a different manufacturer. If there
is a way to back up the driver before formatting.... it would help me very
much, coz sometimes formatting the hard drive is the only solution. Can
anyone please tell me how to do this?

Shafiee.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi,

I had some trouble searching for drivers for certain pcs. I work in an
environment which has a lot of pcs from a different manufacturer. If there
is a way to back up the driver before formatting.... it would help me very
much, coz sometimes formatting the hard drive is the only solution. Can
anyone please tell me how to do this?

Shafiee.

I don't think you can. The standard method is to maintain
a folder with each and every driver that gets installed on
any of the PCs, or to maintain a library of installation CDs.

 

[Mohamed Shafiee]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply Pegasus.

I know that it is possible. There is an application which claims to do this.
See www.driverguide.com . The problem is, I don't know how to use that
application to do this, and also I have to register.

Will making a copy of the windows folder do the trick? I have never tried
it, but in theory it should work because previously installed drivers can be
reinstalled by referring to c:\windows\system32 and c:\windows folders for
the files. And c:\windows\inf will have all the inf files for the driver as
well. But it is not worth a risk to loose all the drivers when the operating
system is installed from scratch. That is why I need to know if there is a
reliable way to back up all the drivers. Did anyone try copying the windows
directory and using it later to install the drivers? Installing the os from
scratch might be necessary if there is a hard disk failure and you replaced
it with a new one. Will this method work? And is there a better method?

Shafiee.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply Pegasus.

I know that it is possible. There is an application which claims to do this.
See www.driverguide.com . The problem is, I don't know how to use that
application to do this, and also I have to register.

Will making a copy of the windows folder do the trick? I have never tried
it, but in theory it should work because previously installed drivers can be
reinstalled by referring to c:\windows\system32 and c:\windows folders for
the files. And c:\windows\inf will have all the inf files for the driver as
well. But it is not worth a risk to loose all the drivers when the operating
system is installed from scratch. That is why I need to know if there is a
reliable way to back up all the drivers. Did anyone try copying the windows
directory and using it later to install the drivers? Installing the os from
scratch might be necessary if there is a hard disk failure and you replaced
it with a new one. Will this method work? And is there a better method?

Shafiee.

The installation of a driver involves several steps:
1. Copy certain files to certain locations.
2. Make certain changes to the registry.
3. Start one or several services (or prime Windows
to start the services on the next boot).

Copying files from an existing machine only covers Step 1.
In most cases this is insufficient.

Now don't take my word for the above - start your registry
editor and have a look at this location:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
See if you can find an entry for your current printer(s),
by searching for the printer name, then consider how
to duplicate all these entries. You can, of course, copy
them manually and hope that you catch all of them. I wish
you good luck!

Personally I think that the only reliable way to install a
driver is by using the process designed by the manufacturer.
Everything else is trial and error and is likely to cause
huge support cost for a long time to come.

By the way, please do not multi-post. Use cross-posting
if you wish to increase your exposure.
http://www.aspfaq.com/5003
http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

 

[Robert Moir]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply Pegasus.

I know that it is possible. There is an application which claims to
do this. See www.driverguide.com . The problem is, I don't know how
to use that application to do this, and also I have to register.

Well why not register there and find out how they do it, if you are sure
that they do?

I think this is a bad idea; one of the most common reasons people flatten
and re-install a system is because it has become trashed due to
viruses/spyware or even a good driver thats badly installed.

If you backup all the driver files on such a system, re-install the OS and
then replace all the driver files from before you stand a good chance of
restoring the cause of the problem that you are trying to fix. Now maybe
this is just me, but I can't help but thinking thats a very bad idea.

--

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Mohamed

I wouldn't trust anything from DriverGuide.. also note that it is a trial
version.. that means that somewhere along the line, you have to pay for it

 

[Al Dykes]

Well why not register there and find out how they do it, if you are sure
that they do?

I think this is a bad idea; one of the most common reasons people flatten
and re-install a system is because it has become trashed due to
viruses/spyware or even a good driver thats badly installed.

If you backup all the driver files on such a system, re-install the OS and
then replace all the driver files from before you stand a good chance of
restoring the cause of the problem that you are trying to fix. Now maybe
this is just me, but I can't help but thinking thats a very bad idea.

--
--
Rob Moir
Website - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
Kazaa - Software update services for your Viruses and Spyware.

If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

OT war story about finding drivers: IMO these "all driver" sites are
just bait for sypware and viruses. I support some non-profit groups
that depend on donated hardware and w/98 OS. I started to do a fresh
install (always do fresh installs) and as you know, discovering
drivers for new donated gear is always a PITA. As soon as I got the
machine on the internet I hit several of the these sites looking for
video drivers -and no other sites- and in minutes my Internet Explorer
was hijacked several ways. I was behind a HW firewall when I did this.
I never did get my driver that way. Once I found the drivr I burned
it on on a CD and did a fresh setup and installed essentail MS patches
and FireFox before I hooked up to the internet.

I don't know if www.driverguide.com was one of the sites I hit or if
it was the site that bit me, but just beware. At the very least use
FireFox instead of IE whenever possible.

[1] There are ways of doing unattended installations over the ethernet
but these depend on standardized hardware and site licenses. This is
really teh way to go.

 

[Robert Moir]

If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what about a
private service technician who encourages people to walk in off the street
with any and all computer problems? Under those circumstances its not quite
so easy.

I'm snipping the rest of the post about spyware on those driver sites. I
agree completely and don't see the point in quoting y'all just to add that
at the end ;-)

--

 

[Al Dykes]

If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what about a
private service technician who encourages people to walk in off the street
with any and all computer problems? Under those circumstances its not quite
so easy.

I'm snipping the rest of the post about spyware on those driver sites. I
agree completely and don't see the point in quoting y'all just to add that
at the end ;-)

--
--
Rob Moir
Website - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
Kazaa - Software update services for your Viruses and Spyware.

The walk-in scenario is interesting. I've never done that.

I find that I always have canabalized PCI/ISA cards on hand. A usable
old video or ethernet card is worth much less than my time hunting
down a driver for a mystery chip on the internet. I'd pop in a known
card before I'd go down the windy road of looking for video drivers.
You've got to value your time.

I throw out cards that are not recognized by a w98SE distro CD. Watch
out for Trident cards. They went out of business before they wrote w98
drivers for all their products.

In business environments I've implemented a phase-out of cards that
are not recognized automatically by the Distro CD I'm using. Whenever
a machine hits my bench and I do a setup if the cards are not
recognized by PNP they get replaced fron the junk pile. Over the long
run it's the best use of my time.

 

[Mohamed Shafiee]

Hi,

Thanks very much for your replies.
The problem is, when some pcs are to be maintained, nobody knows where the
installation cds for that pc is. So when windows is freshly installed, all I
get is incorrect installation of drivers for display cards and sound cards,
modem cards etc. Leaving a system like that won't be accepted by customers,
as they want it to function as it did when it was new. Windows xp has a
repair feature which proved very useful. Repair feature would also fail if
the driver files are infected. And especially for pcs with windows 98, there
is nothing really I can do. Even some of the branded computers are
discontinued after 2 to 3 years. Gateway is an example. I tried to download
drivers for a 2001 gateway computer, and when I typed in the serial number,
the website said that serial numbers should be in a different format.
I can avoid those problems if there is a way to backup the drivers when the
pc is new.

Shafiee.

If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what about a
private service technician who encourages people to walk in off the street
with any and all computer problems? Under those circumstances its not quite
so easy.

I'm snipping the rest of the post about spyware on those driver sites. I
agree completely and don't see the point in quoting y'all just to add that
at the end ;-)

--
--
Rob Moir
Website - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
Kazaa - Software update services for your Viruses and Spyware.

The walk-in scenario is interesting. I've never done that.

I find that I always have canabalized PCI/ISA cards on hand. A usable
old video or ethernet card is worth much less than my time hunting
down a driver for a mystery chip on the internet. I'd pop in a known
card before I'd go down the windy road of looking for video drivers.
You've got to value your time.

I throw out cards that are not recognized by a w98SE distro CD. Watch
out for Trident cards. They went out of business before they wrote w98
drivers for all their products.

In business environments I've implemented a phase-out of cards that
are not recognized automatically by the Distro CD I'm using. Whenever
a machine hits my bench and I do a setup if the cards are not
recognized by PNP they get replaced fron the junk pile. Over the long
run it's the best use of my time.

--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi,

Thanks very much for your replies.
The problem is, when some pcs are to be maintained, nobody knows where the
installation cds for that pc is. So when windows is freshly installed, all I
get is incorrect installation of drivers for display cards and sound cards,
modem cards etc. Leaving a system like that won't be accepted by customers,
as they want it to function as it did when it was new. Windows xp has a
repair feature which proved very useful. Repair feature would also fail if
the driver files are infected. And especially for pcs with windows 98, there
is nothing really I can do. Even some of the branded computers are
discontinued after 2 to 3 years. Gateway is an example. I tried to download
drivers for a 2001 gateway computer, and when I typed in the serial number,
the website said that serial numbers should be in a different format.
I can avoid those problems if there is a way to backup the drivers when the
pc is new.

Shafiee.

Al Dykes wrote:
If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what

about

a


The walk-in scenario is interesting. I've never done that.

I find that I always have canabalized PCI/ISA cards on hand. A usable
old video or ethernet card is worth much less than my time hunting
down a driver for a mystery chip on the internet. I'd pop in a known
card before I'd go down the windy road of looking for video drivers.
You've got to value your time.

I throw out cards that are not recognized by a w98SE distro CD. Watch
out for Trident cards. They went out of business before they wrote w98
drivers for all their products.

In business environments I've implemented a phase-out of cards that
are not recognized automatically by the Distro CD I'm using. Whenever
a machine hits my bench and I do a setup if the cards are not
recognized by PNP they get replaced fron the junk pile. Over the long
run it's the best use of my time.

--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

I have many different clients. Some of them are excellent when it
comes to keeping their installation disks. Others are doing very poorly.
When I rebuild one of their PCs then I make it clear to them that the
amount of time I spend is strongly influenced by the number of driver
CDs they can give me. If some are missing then I hunt on the net until
I find a suitable driver. Since I charge them for this time, they quickly
get they idea. After a while I will have a full set of drivers for every PC.

This is no different from the way an accountant works: He too will
charge me for his time if my records for my tax return are inadequate.

Using a questionable driver backup process (presumably free and
thus unsupported and with no guarantee) is likely to cause massive
support problems in the long run.

 

[Al Dykes]

Hi,

Thanks very much for your replies.
The problem is, when some pcs are to be maintained, nobody knows where the
installation cds for that pc is. So when windows is freshly installed, all I
get is incorrect installation of drivers for display cards and sound cards,
modem cards etc. Leaving a system like that won't be accepted by customers,
as they want it to function as it did when it was new. Windows xp has a
repair feature which proved very useful. Repair feature would also fail if
the driver files are infected. And especially for pcs with windows 98, there
is nothing really I can do. Even some of the branded computers are
discontinued after 2 to 3 years. Gateway is an example. I tried to download
drivers for a 2001 gateway computer, and when I typed in the serial number,
the website said that serial numbers should be in a different format.
I can avoid those problems if there is a way to backup the drivers when the
pc is new.

Shafiee.

If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what

about

a
private service technician who encourages people to walk in off the street
with any and all computer problems? Under those circumstances its not quite
so easy.

I'm snipping the rest of the post about spyware on those driver sites. I
agree completely and don't see the point in quoting y'all just to add that
at the end ;-)

--
--
Rob Moir
Website - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
Kazaa - Software update services for your Viruses and Spyware.




The walk-in scenario is interesting. I've never done that.

I find that I always have canabalized PCI/ISA cards on hand. A usable
old video or ethernet card is worth much less than my time hunting
down a driver for a mystery chip on the internet. I'd pop in a known
card before I'd go down the windy road of looking for video drivers.
You've got to value your time.

I throw out cards that are not recognized by a w98SE distro CD. Watch
out for Trident cards. They went out of business before they wrote w98
drivers for all their products.

In business environments I've implemented a phase-out of cards that
are not recognized automatically by the Distro CD I'm using. Whenever
a machine hits my bench and I do a setup if the cards are not
recognized by PNP they get replaced fron the junk pile. Over the long
run it's the best use of my time.

--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

I have many different clients. Some of them are excellent when it
comes to keeping their installation disks. Others are doing very poorly.
When I rebuild one of their PCs then I make it clear to them that the
amount of time I spend is strongly influenced by the number of driver
CDs they can give me. If some are missing then I hunt on the net until
I find a suitable driver. Since I charge them for this time, they quickly
get they idea. After a while I will have a full set of drivers for every PC.

This is no different from the way an accountant works: He too will
charge me for his time if my records for my tax return are inadequate.

Using a questionable driver backup process (presumably free and
thus unsupported and with no guarantee) is likely to cause massive
support problems in the long run.

We're flipping back and forth between walk-in service and managed sites.

For the latter, I set up a filing system and inventory numbers. I
preprint Avery labels from 1 to a couple hundred and buy a big box of
interoffice envelopes. When a new piece of gear comes into the
company I stick the next label on an interoffice envelope and label
all the hardware bits with that number.

I also use a sharpie to write the number on all the CDs and paperwork
and receipts and that crap lives in the envelope. That way if I find
a CD left around the office I know which envelope to put it in. I also
can lay my hands on the right CDs when I need them. I write notes on
the envelope. If there is software update it gets it's own inventory
number and I cross-index these numbers on the related envelope. It's
great to find proof of purchase instantly when you need it. It
impresses the h*ll out of the boss and saves the company big bucks
sometimes.

I pick an odd color interoffice envelope standard so they can be found
in the piles of paper in an office. If the nature of the company
calls for it I insist that these envelopes be kept in a locked file.
I've has sites with as many as 2000 envelopes with useful information
going back 10 years. Envelopes get discarded or passed on when the
equipment is discarded/donated.

I can also use the the inventory number as part of folder names on
the network share I use to keep all my drivers on so I don't have to
dig into the paper files when I work on a machine.

Work smart, not hard.

 

[Mohamed Shafiee]

By the way... I tried copying the windows directory and it worked great.
When windows prompt for the driver, I refered to the inf folder in the copy,
and system32 and system32/drivers folder. And it worked.

Shafiee.

Hi,

Thanks very much for your replies.
The problem is, when some pcs are to be maintained, nobody knows where
the
installation cds for that pc is. So when windows is freshly installed,
all I
get is incorrect installation of drivers for display cards and sound cards,
modem cards etc. Leaving a system like that won't be accepted by customers,
as they want it to function as it did when it was new. Windows xp has a
repair feature which proved very useful. Repair feature would also fail
if
the driver files are infected. And especially for pcs with windows 98, there
is nothing really I can do. Even some of the branded computers are
discontinued after 2 to 3 years. Gateway is an example. I tried to download
drivers for a 2001 gateway computer, and when I typed in the serial number,
the website said that serial numbers should be in a different format.
I can avoid those problems if there is a way to backup the drivers when the
pc is new.

Shafiee.


If you're responsible for a bunch of PCs the only way to go is to keep
copies of the distro kit for each and every driver you need on a share
on a file server. Put the essentials (ethernet and video drivers on
a
CDR that you use during setup. As soon as you get up on the net get
all your drivers and essential patches from the file server.

Doing it any other way[1] is a black hole for your time and certain to
produce less reliable PCs for your users. bad bad bad

Agreed, I'd say this was mandatory for a managed network - but what about
a
private service technician who encourages people to walk in off the
street
with any and all computer problems? Under those circumstances its not
quite
so easy.

I'm snipping the rest of the post about spyware on those driver
sites. I
agree completely and don't see the point in quoting y'all just to add
that
at the end ;-)

--
--
Rob Moir
Website - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ -
http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
Kazaa - Software update services for your Viruses and Spyware.




The walk-in scenario is interesting. I've never done that.

I find that I always have canabalized PCI/ISA cards on hand. A usable
old video or ethernet card is worth much less than my time hunting
down a driver for a mystery chip on the internet. I'd pop in a known
card before I'd go down the windy road of looking for video drivers.
You've got to value your time.

I throw out cards that are not recognized by a w98SE distro CD. Watch
out for Trident cards. They went out of business before they wrote w98
drivers for all their products.

In business environments I've implemented a phase-out of cards that
are not recognized automatically by the Distro CD I'm using. Whenever
a machine hits my bench and I do a setup if the cards are not
recognized by PNP they get replaced fron the junk pile. Over the long
run it's the best use of my time.

--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

I have many different clients. Some of them are excellent when it
comes to keeping their installation disks. Others are doing very poorly.
When I rebuild one of their PCs then I make it clear to them that the
amount of time I spend is strongly influenced by the number of driver
CDs they can give me. If some are missing then I hunt on the net until
I find a suitable driver. Since I charge them for this time, they quickly
get they idea. After a while I will have a full set of drivers for every
PC.

This is no different from the way an accountant works: He too will
charge me for his time if my records for my tax return are inadequate.

Using a questionable driver backup process (presumably free and
thus unsupported and with no guarantee) is likely to cause massive
support problems in the long run.

We're flipping back and forth between walk-in service and managed sites.

For the latter, I set up a filing system and inventory numbers. I
preprint Avery labels from 1 to a couple hundred and buy a big box of
interoffice envelopes. When a new piece of gear comes into the
company I stick the next label on an interoffice envelope and label
all the hardware bits with that number.

I also use a sharpie to write the number on all the CDs and paperwork
and receipts and that crap lives in the envelope. That way if I find
a CD left around the office I know which envelope to put it in. I also
can lay my hands on the right CDs when I need them. I write notes on
the envelope. If there is software update it gets it's own inventory
number and I cross-index these numbers on the related envelope. It's
great to find proof of purchase instantly when you need it. It
impresses the h*ll out of the boss and saves the company big bucks
sometimes.

I pick an odd color interoffice envelope standard so they can be found
in the piles of paper in an office. If the nature of the company
calls for it I insist that these envelopes be kept in a locked file.
I've has sites with as many as 2000 envelopes with useful information
going back 10 years. Envelopes get discarded or passed on when the
equipment is discarded/donated.

I can also use the the inventory number as part of folder names on
the network share I use to keep all my drivers on so I don't have to
dig into the paper files when I work on a machine.

Work smart, not hard.
--

a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.