Building the Driver catalog for ConfigMgr 2007 MDT/OSD
Ok so i have spent the last 2 weeks trying to figure out how to get all of the drivers that i need imported into ConfigMgr. What a headache. If you follow the MS docs you end up having issues with duplicated driver, but you already know that.
I have read lots of different ways to setup the drivers.
My personal preference is this one:
http://www.deployvista.com/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/82/language/en-US/Default.aspx
This one is also helpful
http://blogs.technet.com/deploymentguys/archive/2008/02/15/driver-management-part-1-configuration-manager.aspx
But neither answered the #1 question of “how do i know what to include in my drivers folder?”
I took all of the Dell driver cd’s that we had and imported them into Configmgr thinking that was the best way. Boy was i wrong.
Then i followed Johan’s directions but i still didn't have the number one question answered.
I asked others for advice but didn’t get much in responses, i think this is because others like me are not sure what to include from the original drivers folders. At one point i had 17 different driver sets to cover 17 models and i had 4.7 gig worth or files. this was unacceptable.
I did some more searching on the internet and came across this cool FREE little tool.
Driver Magician Lite
This tool allows you to backup all existing drivers of a running machine. Simply run this tool and copy all of the drivers it displays in red to a folder.
I chose c:\Dell\Drivers\{model}
Once i had all of the drivers for a model i copied them to a drivers folder on my Configmgr server
e:\MDT_OSD\Source$\Drivers\{desktop\laptop}\{model}
Then i simply follow Johan’s directions.
By doing this i was able to reduce the drivers from the Dell 360 from 550meg to 54meg
Once i have everything reduced i expect to be under 1 gig for all 55 models i need to cover.
I know my headaches are not over with MDT and drivers but this is a good start.