Retain drivers during install

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joel Pettigrew
  • Start date Start date
J

Joel Pettigrew

I have a desktop that has Windows XP on it. TIt has all the drivers
applicable to the hardware (no splashs). The machine is custom and not sure
where to find the drivers for it. I want to store the drivers on an
external, delete the partitions, install xp and recover the drivers.

any ideas how to retain the drivers and recover them?

Thanks,
Joel
 
just because it is a custom
machine doesn't mean that
the drivers are not included
by microsoft in windows.

furthermore, just because it is
a custom machine doesn't mean
that generic components were
not utilized to build it.

as an example, if you install
winxp on one of those superfluous
partitions, windows will tell you
which drivers it does not have
on the cd.

the other concern you
might encounter is that
if you are utilizing a full
installation version or
and upgrade version of
winxp.

in which case you will need
an older version of windows
that is/was a full install for
the upgrade to verify your
eligibility to install the upgrade.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
 
Joel, you could try a free program such as Belarc Advisor. It gives
you a very good inventory of what's installed on your PC.
 
Its a custom machine in that it has a lot of componants from different
places.
My history of installing XP is that the drivers, specifically 3rd party
drivers need to be provided by those manufacturers. Since I have the drivers
on the machine now, i just want to retain them while i wipe it and do a clean
install.

I have full copies of xp so the upgrade path wont be a problem.

any ideas how to retain and retrieve the drivers though?
 
That looks like it usually shows applications and other system specific
information.
does it show driver information that would allow me to either go to the
manufacturer or actually provide a way to retain it?

That sounds like a really good idea, I guess I just need a little more
information before giving it a try.

Thanks!
 
Belarc will give you make and model of almost every piece of hardware in the computer. With that
you could go to the web and get new drivers.

| That looks like it usually shows applications and other system specific
| information.
| does it show driver information that would allow me to either go to the
| manufacturer or actually provide a way to retain it?
|
| That sounds like a really good idea, I guess I just need a little more
| information before giving it a try.
|
| Thanks!
|
| "Rich Barry" wrote:
|
| > Joel, you could try a free program such as Belarc Advisor. It gives
| > you a very good inventory of what's installed on your PC.
| > | > >I have a desktop that has Windows XP on it. TIt has all the drivers
| > > applicable to the hardware (no splashs). The machine is custom and not
| > > sure
| > > where to find the drivers for it. I want to store the drivers on an
| > > external, delete the partitions, install xp and recover the drivers.
| > >
| > > any ideas how to retain the drivers and recover them?
| > >
| > > Thanks,
| > > Joel
| >
| >
| >
 
you can try clicking
on start>run>msinfo32

then you might want to
check out the components
section and then utilize the
export file menu option to
create a txt file.

then open that file via
excel so that the data
will be presented as a
table.

also, it might be of some
help if you copy the files
from the drivers subfolder
under system32.

however, simply copying
these driver files is not
adequate to reinstall them
because the registry must
also be updated.

therefore, the component
installation software is better
for installing the driver files and
updating the registry.

i think all of the above is
what you need to hunt down
any drivers windows cannot
provide.

i think for the most part you
will be lucky and windows
will have most of them on
the cd.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
 
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