what is the best way to save drivers on a system before a format and reinstall?
i have a winxp computer that i’m going to format and reinstall windows for a friend. i’d like to save him the hassle of getting drivers for his camera, printer etc
i thought all the drivers were in the system32 folder. i remember saving this from a system i worked on in the past – the problem came when it was looking for drivers after a fresh install, i’d point it to the old system32 folder from the old system and it wouldn’t find the drivers
looking into this. the winxp installation is fucked beyond belief. tried several repair methods, figured it was best to just throw the drive in another computer, grab documents etc, then format and reinstall
I download them before I wipe, that way you get the latest drivers. But I do a print screen of the device manager for any off devices.
Question: how do you know the drivers aren’t part of the problem with that machine? All the trouble I’ve ever had with Windows has either been spyware or bad drivers.
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i have a winxp computer that i’m going to format and reinstall windows for a friend. i’d like to save him the hassle of getting drivers for his camera, printer etc
i thought all the drivers were in the system32 folder. i remember saving this from a system i worked on in the past – the problem came when it was looking for drivers after a fresh install, i’d point it to the old system32 folder from the old system and it wouldn’t find the drivers |
you also need the inf files
that said, I’d strongly recommend against using the old drivers with the system. Just download the install files from the web and burn them to a disc
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you also need the inf files
that said, I’d strongly recommend against using the old drivers with the system. Just download the install files from the web and burn them to a disc |
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this is what i do. out with the old in with the new. this way you’re sure you have the latest drivers as well.
do not try to copy them out of an existing install. whenever possible, download the current version from the manu website.
Exactly what I do.
I always partition my drive anyway into C and D and I keep everything but OS and programs on my D drive (including driver installers). That way if I need to do a reinstall (planned or not), I can format and install on C without worry.
If you insist on keeping them from the old install, most should be in the windows/inf folder.
I agree to download them new though…
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i have this problem:
but when i try the fix, after i make the directory, the next line is to copy a file. it tells me the file cannot be copied
i also tried the other repair method when you let it find the existing windows install and repair it. it won’t find the existing install
tried fixboot and fixmbr, multiple boot repair cds
I’ve dealt with this issue several times before. Typically, the best way to fix it is to throw the drive into another machine, run a chkdsk /r, then copy the registry hive backups in place of the active registry hives. Put it back in the original computer and see if it boots.
That sounds like it’s worth a shot, if the computer really is as hosed as dork says it is.
Download them before you wipe. After you get it reloaded and get all the drivers installed, use ghost or drivesnapshot or something to make an image of the fresh install, so you don’t have to fuck around with it again.
Acronus true image works like a pro. took like 4 mins on a Gb connection
I use DPs [], but my work is generally done in an environment more conducive to it. I still recommend it, especially if you reformat often.
Alternatively…
Here’s one out of the MSFN community:
Here’s a command-line utility that will do it:
(the above is just a 7zip sfx that contains devcon and a cmd file. the cmd is a modified version of this one: [])
everytime i download a new set of drivers on a computer (to either install initially, or update a device’s drivers), i keep them in a folder specifically created to hold all my driver executables/zips. i also have an image of the fresh install.
i usually get info on the hardware in the computer and then make sure i download the display and network card drivers before starting. i download and install everything else after the install is done.
Download the latest drivers for your devices off Device Manager. Make sure you have internet down, if you forget any you can always go online and get it. Video, sound, and printer are the other main ones.
with service pack 3, i didn’t need any drivers. he’ll have to find the drivers for his printer, camera etc on his own
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