Windows Vista driver folder?

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Guest

I just did a clean install of Vista 5744. It did not load my ethernet driver
or my sound driver. I pointed it to the previous Vista install directory
(RC1, 5600 I think) and it was able to install them.

I want to wipe clean the HD that I installed RC1 on to reclaim the space
(Vista is installed on my primary boot drive now), so could someone please
tell me what folder I would need to save from RC1 that contains the drivers?
I'm wasting 25GB of space right now that I need back.

Thank you!
 
Vista has put the driver's files in you current Windows folder and/or
sub-folders, so you really don't need anything from your previous
installation. It also backs up a set in
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository, so you should see them there
in each driver's respective folder. If you sort those folders in that
directory by Date Modified, they should show up as being among the latest
folders added.

Dean
 
Apparently I do need them.

When I did a clean install of 5744, it did not install/load my ethernet
driver or my sound driver. The only way I got those two installed was to do
"Have Disk" and point it to the drive that had the old (5600 RC1)
installation.
 
Maybe I wasn't clear?

I want these available for the next time I do a clean install. I do one
about every 6 months.
 
At the time you installed the driver with the "Have Disk" method, Vista
updated its database and created a backup in your current
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository folder. True, the driver's
files are also on your old installation. But since you basically have two
new sets (those currently in use by Vista in the Windows folder and/or
sub-folders, and those backed up in FileRepository), you can point your next
installation to your current FileRepository folder, and achieve the same
thing once again, without using an even older installation. In other words,
you only need one previous installation to install the driver the way you
are doing it. Once installed, though, you can delete the previous
installation, because Vista has copied the files it needs to your present
installation, as well as making a current backup.

What I do, though, is just save the original Setup program for those Drivers
that don't come with Vista. When you were running 5600 RC1, how did you get
the drivers that you didn't have? If from your OEM or the driver's
manufacturer, just save the installation program. If from Windows Update,
you can either try Windows Update again, or save the appropriate folder
created in FileRepository when the Update was installed; (using Device
Manager, note the files the driver uses, and compare them with those in a
sub-folder of FileRepository, and you'll be able to figure out the folder
that has the Driver's backup).

Dean
 
dean-dean said:
At the time you installed the driver with the "Have Disk" method, Vista
updated its database and created a backup in your current
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository folder. True, the driver's
files are also on your old installation. But since you basically have two
new sets (those currently in use by Vista in the Windows folder and/or
sub-folders, and those backed up in FileRepository), you can point your next
installation to your current FileRepository folder, and achieve the same
thing once again, without using an even older installation. In other words,
you only need one previous installation to install the driver the way you
are doing it. Once installed, though, you can delete the previous
installation, because Vista has copied the files it needs to your present
installation, as well as making a current backup.

What I do, though, is just save the original Setup program for those Drivers
that don't come with Vista. When you were running 5600 RC1, how did you get
the drivers that you didn't have? If from your OEM or the driver's
manufacturer, just save the installation program. If from Windows Update,
you can either try Windows Update again, or save the appropriate folder
created in FileRepository when the Update was installed; (using Device
Manager, note the files the driver uses, and compare them with those in a
sub-folder of FileRepository, and you'll be able to figure out the folder
that has the Driver's backup).

Dean
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