driver backups

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I see no value in attempting to back up *installed* drivers. I'd much
rather back up the package that the driver came in from the source so
that I can easily reinstall it again if I need to.

Exactly right! It isn't much different from backing up installed
programs--generally useless.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

 

[glee]

On Fri, 18 May 2012 08:48:53 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

In message <[email protected]>, Char
Jackson
[]
I shouldn't have mentioned the updating at all. What I'm really
after is a
driver backup utility--just to have something separate from my
full backups.

Nil and Ken Blake have it right. Stay far away from those so-called
driver backup sites and either create your own driver store or
simply
get them fresh the next time you need them.

I'd agree about staying away from any _site_ that offers to back
(anything) up: <snip>

I know you didn't mean to, but snipping there might mislead: what I
meant was that I wouldn't backup to a _site_. (Whoever it was above
who said "stay away from those ... sites" possibly didn't mean to
imply cloud backup.)

Exactly.... same here. I don't see the point of trying to back up
already installed drivers, when it makes more sense to find and backup
the installers for those drivers, which is what I have done for years.

Depends whether the restoration process from such a backup is easier
than reinstalling all the drivers (including customising the settings
back to how one likes them). Not having tried any driver backup, I
don't know (and, for example, whether such backups allow restoration
of several drivers at once).

Yes... I'd like to see some detailed info from someone who has
*restored* drivers backed up by one of those driver backup program, as
to what is backed up exactly, how well the restoration works, and
whether it is a one at a time backup and restoration or can be done en
masse.

 

[glee]

I looked at my HD and remembered that I had indeed done this at one
time (backed up individual drivers), using Driver Genius and Driver
Magician.

When I look at their subdirectories, I see individual subdirectories
for each driver. IIRC, you can individually select which ones you
would like to restore, but I think they were all created at once by
the driver program. Also, IIRC, you had a choice as to whether or not
to back up the MS ones (as an option).

....but exactly what is in those folders, as far as drivers? Does it
include "driver files" (assorted DLLs and a VXDs in Win9x, DLLs and SYS
files in XP+) and registry entries? Or does it save the driver files
and the INF files instead of the Registry entries? Or both? How
complete is the restoration and do all devices work with the restored
drivers?

Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[glee]

And in retrospect, I think you might have been able to select just
which individual ones you wanted to check off to be backed up, and not
necessarily be forced to do them all en masse (although you could
elect to do so).


OK, I'll tell you:

various DLL, EXE, INF, SYS, VXD, and NFO files (depending on the
individual drivers and the OS).

OK then, the programs that back up all those files may be useful then,
as an alternative to the installer files. I'd still want the installers
backed up anyway.

Speaking of "enquiring minds", you didn't answer my other post.

Oh man, which one did I miss? I saw one asking what Win7 features I
liked, but I think I touched that in a reply to another of your
comments. Is there another I am missing?

 

[BillW50]

In J. P. Gilliver (John) typed:

In message <[email protected]>, glee


Having looked at some of the web pages people have posted links to,
some of them talk about "single mouse click" restoration of all
drivers.
I'd still like to see the account you describe, i. e. from someone who
has done it!

I have and they are pretty slick. Sure you can go the normal route and
install a dozen or so drivers one by one. Or you can install all of them
in one pass.

 

[glee]

Indeed! I've been assuming these softwares back up stuff in a way that
allows minimal-intervention restoration; if they don't, and only copy
things, then I may as well just do things manually.

....especially since most of these programs are not free.

 

[Jo-Anne]

No. And every single "drive update" service I've ever seen falsely
advertises as free, then hits you up for money later. They are a rip-
off.

They're an unnecessary crock o' dung anyway. If you have a commercial
computer, it would have come with a set of usable drivers on a disk,
anyway. If not, you can get them from the vendor and burn them to a
disk yourself. That's your backup.

Using the latest drivers is mostly a good idea in general, but usually
not necessary. If they work, there is no compelling need to update
them, and some good reasons NOT to do so unless you really know what
you're doing.

Thank you, Nil. One of my computers came with disks; the other didn't. I
back up both computers with Acronis True Image, which should take care of
reinstalling all the drivers--but what I'd like is a simple backup of
drivers so I can reinstall one if needed, not all at once. I gather that
drivers are not all stored in one place; hence the help provided by a driver
backup program.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

When I got my laptop, in addition to burning three DVDs as a backup image
of the Windows 7 installation, the Acer software also burned a "driver
CD".
Now, I haven't wasted time looking at it, but my guess would be, there
would be drivers for everything from Touchpad to Wifi on there, suitable
for usage with a Microsoft reinstallation DVD.

Drivers should really be acquired "fresh" from the manufacturer site,
or with enough leg-work, you can also trace down drivers from the chip
makers. For example, my motherboard has a Marvell network chip, and
I can find network drivers on the marvell.com site. My Wifi is broadcom,
so I could look at their site and so on.

Anyway, check the set of optical media your laptop had you burn when you
got the machine, and it's possible you already have a full set. Each would
be a proper installer, making an entry in Add/Remove, loading the registry
with settings if needed, and dumping the DLLs into the Windows "store".

Paul

Thank you, Paul! I'm ashamed to say that I never did burn the OS and other
system files to an optical disk on the netbook (the laptop came with media).
I do, however, back up everything with Acronis True Image, so presumably the
drivers are there--just not easily accessible if I ever need to restore a
single driver.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

Several points:

1. There's no need to backup drivers. If you ever need any of them
again, just get them again from the web site where you got them the
first time.

2. Despite what I say in number 1, if you do want to back up your
drivers, you don't need any special program to do it. Simply copy them
all to a thumb drive, CD, or whatever.

3. Any of the programs or web sites that do unneeded things like this
are not to be trusted. I would avoid them all like the plague.

4. You should also avoid updating a driver simply because a newer one
is available. The only reason to update a driver is that you know that
the new one fixes a problem you are experiencing in the old one or has
some new feature that you desire. To install an unneeded update is
just looking for trouble.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

How would you copy all your drivers to external media? Are they all in the
same place? I was assuming they weren't and that's why it would be useful to
use a driver backup program.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

Haven't used it for a while but I found My Drivers workable...
http://www.zhangduo.com/driverbackup.html

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Thank you! Anyone else tried this program?

Jo-Anne

 

[BillW50]

... I gather that
drivers are not all stored in one place; hence the help provided by a driver
backup program.

I've done manual backup of drivers before and it is a royal PIA. Parts
of each driver are in the INF, SYSTEM32, DRIVERS, and gosh who knows
what other folders. It is a real mess. It can be done by the best, but
even then it just doesn't seem worth doing it that way.

 

[BillW50]

How would you copy all your drivers to external media? Are they all in the
same place? I was assuming they weren't and that's why it would be useful to
use a driver backup program.

I believe Ken was talking about the install driver files. The ones that
you get from your OEM or chip manufacture. Although this method you need
to install one by one. Some of them like the video and chipset ones will
most likely tell you to reboot after you install them one at a time.

The slick thing about those driver backup programs is that it is like
installing only one driver and you are done. But it actually installed
all of them in one shot.

 

[BillW50]

I haven't found the need to do either of these, or at least not in recent
memory. Isn't it just simpler to restore an image or clone backup of your
system drive, and take care of everything in one fell swoop, rather than go
chasing down individual drivers? Of course, that assumes you've been
keeping up-to-date system backups.

I've done both. And yes, cloning or backing up the whole system is
usually the preferred method. But there are times when it is best just
to reinstall everything from scratch once again. And now these driver
backup programs really speed things up. No need to hunt for these TV
tuner, printers, and special devices install discs anymore. Just get yer
all done in one single pass. ;-)

 

[BillW50]

Yes... I'd like to see some detailed info from someone who has
*restored* drivers backed up by one of those driver backup program, as
to what is backed up exactly, how well the restoration works, and
whether it is a one at a time backup and restoration or can be done en
masse.

What would you like to know? Yes when it works, it is very slick. But
not all driver programs are created equal. And not all drivers are
created equal either. So sometimes, a particular driver backup might not
get the complete driver. Then you have sort of a problem.

 

[Char Jackson]

Thank you, Nil. One of my computers came with disks; the other didn't. I
back up both computers with Acronis True Image, which should take care of
reinstalling all the drivers--but what I'd like is a simple backup of
drivers so I can reinstall one if needed, not all at once. I gather that
drivers are not all stored in one place; hence the help provided by a driver
backup program.

Your drivers are currently stored in one place: the Internet.
Additional locations include the various installation disks or CDs
that go with your system and its hardware. Gather them all up and
place them in descriptively named folders on a CD or thumb drive and
you're done.

Trying to track down and back up the various files that make up a
driver package is a fool's errand. If you need to reinstall a driver,
which in itself is not a common occurrence, are you really going to
track down a *.sys file, a *cab file, an *.inf file, an *.ax file, and
so on, and attempt to place each of them where you think they belong?
Are you also going to take notes on related Registry entries for each
set of files? No, of course not. You're going to use the same kind of
installer package you used the first time. That driver installer will
put the right files in the right locations and will make the proper
Registry entries.

I don't understand your fascination with trying to back up the
individual files that make up a driver package after it has been
installed to the system. That makes no sense.

 

[Char Jackson]

How would you copy all your drivers to external media? Are they all in the
same place? I was assuming they weren't and that's why it would be useful to
use a driver backup program.

A web browser would work a lot better than a "driver backup program".
Browse to the various web sites and download the drivers that you
want, then save them in well-named folders on a CD or thumb drive.

After that they will all be in the same place. You don't want to try
to gather them up (from the Windows directory and its subfolders)
after they've been installed.

 

[Chris S.]

A web browser would work a lot better than a "driver backup program".
Browse to the various web sites and download the drivers that you
want, then save them in well-named folders on a CD or thumb drive.

After that they will all be in the same place. You don't want to try
to gather them up (from the Windows directory and its subfolders)
after they've been installed.

Super +

 

[Char Jackson]

And (if you happen to know, or have a hunch), why MS has been progressively
removing more user control over the OS each time, with each succeeding
version, making it harder for us tweakers to do anything (like at the file
and directory level, or with adding or tweaking some audio and/or video
codecs, or what have you).

If you're talking about User Account Control, one click turns it off.
If you mean something else, you'll have to be more specific since I
don't see the progressive removal of user control that you refer to.
If anything, there's more fine grained control, not less.

As for a/v codecs, I have no idea what you've read but I can tell you
that I haven't had any trouble installing the codecs I need.

 

[Char Jackson]

I hope that day never comes. It would take me years to get it all back to
what I have now, with all the (seemingly infinite) customizations I've made
to the OS, and various apps, etc. So that would be like a trip to Hades
for me.

You don't have to do it all at once. Spend a few minutes now and then
to restore the things that you really miss and you'll probably be
surprised at just how many of your customizations you'll be glad to
let go.

 

[BillW50]

Super +

No, it isn't that super. I have done it that way and you end up with
different driver versions. And not all new versions work better with
your stuff than what is already on your machine. And sometimes that
method can cause the Blue Screen of Death. But it is like playing
Russian Roulette. Sometimes you luck out. ;-)