Setting up the SDA driver feed with computers like HP and Toshiba (4267650)

Setting up the SDA driver feed with computers like HP and Toshiba

The KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) allows you to automatically install drivers as part of a deployment. The Driver Feed feature automates this process for most models of Dell computers. When deploying to computers like HP or Lenovo for example, you can manually add raw plug-and-play drivers to the \\K2000host\drivers_postinstall share. This article walks you through the process of manually adding drivers.

In SDA version 3.5 and higher, the drivers in the correct location are automatically installed on target computers when running Scripted Installations and can be optionally injected when running System Images by checking the Use driver feed (only with Sysprepped images) option in the Deployments|System Images|click on the desired System Image | System Image Detail page on the Administrative Console.

 

The SDA uses WMI calls to determine the location of the drivers. The folder structure where the process expects to find the drivers is manufacturer\target_OS_xXX\model within the drivers_postinstall share (\\SDA_hostname\drivers_postinstall). Any raw drivers found in a folder that corresponds to the computer model will be injected by DISM during the deployment. The KACE Driver Feed Discovery Tool helps you determine the correct folder structure. You must run this script from the model of the computer you plan to target.

1. Download the drivers for the desired model of computer and extract the plug-and-play drivers from the EXE files to get the actual driver files; otherwise, they will not work.
2. From the computer, you plan to target with a deployment, open the \\SDA_hostname\drivers_postinstall\feed_tools folder. Double-click driver_feed_discovery_tool.vbs. The script returns specific information about the computer, including the path where a deployment will look for driver files.
   Here's an example of the output:
   
3. Navigate back to the root of the drivers_postinstall share and create the folder structure noted in Path. For example, a path of vmware\windows_7_x86\vmware should result in a full path of \\SDA_hostname\drivers_postinstall\vmware\windows_7_x86\vmware
4. Move the extracted plug-and-play drivers from the local system into the model folder. Optionally, you can organize the driver categories into sub-folders, such as network, chipset, etc.

• collecting the installed drivers from a working system of that computer model
• extracting the raw driver files from manufacturer-provided EXE and ZIP driver packages