I'm looking for a way to automatically install missing drivers on newly installed machines. All the machines are the same brand and model, so I created a shared folder that hass all the drivers in it. On the machine, I edit the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DevicePath
By default, this value is %SystemRoot%\inf, but I changed this to %SystemRoot%\inf;\\SERVER\drvstr to also include my driver share.
Now, after the installation of Windows, A few drivers are missing as you can see in the picture. Weird, because it must search the drivers in my driver share (right?).
To try and fix this, I click Action, Scan for hardware changes. After a few seconds, I get the following information
it can't find my drivers. However, When I right click a missing device, and click on Update Driver Software, the driver gets installed. I Don't browse for the driver, I choose Search automatically for updated driver software and I'm doing this WITHOUT internet connection. So I'm pretty sure it's getting the driver from my driver share, right?
When I check the installed driver, it's indeed the driver from the share.
- Why isn't the driver installed automatically?
- Why doesn't device manager find the driver when I use 'Scan for hardware changes?'
- Is there a way to automate this problem?
I've tried devcon.exe /rescan, but this doesn't even try to install the drivers. It does nothing so far I can see. I'm also not looking for third party software like Driver Genius. I Want to install the drivers, automatically, from the driver share that I maintain.
Thank you
Best Answer
Have a look at this article :
Steps for Configuring a Shared Network Folder to Hold Signed Device Driver Packages.
One paragraph there limits enormously the usability of a network share as a repository for drivers, to the point of being almost useless :
If the network share is the reason for this behavior, you will need to trick Windows into treating it as a local drive.
One trick that might work is to put the drivers in a VHD on the network share, then mount it as a local drive.
This can be done from the command-line by using Diskpart as follows :
Another is to use a TrueCrypt folder, since I believe that a mounted TrueCrypt volume is treated as a local drive. Although this is a third-party software that you might prefer to avoid, you could use Portable TrueCrypt installed onto the same network share.