Windows 7 / Getting Started

Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 1

To make all driver packages available to all clients during deployment, do the following:

  1. In the Windows Deployment Services console, under the server_name node, right-click the Drivers node and select Add Driver Package.
  2. Either browse to select a folder containing the driver packages you want to deploy, or browse to select the .inf file of a single driver package you want to deploy.
    Note that you cannot deploy driver packages that are in the form of .msi or .exe files. You must extract the driver files from these packages to add them to your Windows Deployment Services server.
  3. Click Next and select the driver package(s) you want to add to the Windows Deployment Services server.
  4. Click Next to add the driver package to the Windows Deployment Services server.
  5. Click Next and select the Select An Existing Driver Group option. Then select DriverGroup1 as the driver group to which the driver package will be added. DriverGroup1 is the default driver group and has no filters configured for it. This means that all client computers will have access to the driver packages in this driver group. Plug and Play will ensure that only those driver packages that match the client's hardware will be installed.
  6. Finish the Add Driver Packages Wizard. The added driver package will be displayed in the Windows Deployment Services console under DriverGroup1.

You can test this approach as follows:

  1. Make sure that the device for which the driver package is intended is connected to or attached to a client computer.
  2. Use Windows Deployment Services to deploy Windows 7 to the client computer.
  3. When the install is finished, log on as an administrator and open Device Manager. Verify that the device drivers needed by the device have been installed and that the device is working properly.
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In this tutorial:

  1. Configuring Windows Deployment Services
  2. Introducing Windows Deployment Services
  3. Service Architecture
  4. PXE Services
  5. Operating Modes
  6. Legacy Mode
  7. Mixed Mode
  8. Native Mode
  9. Planning for Windows Deployment Services
  10. Choosing a Version of Windows Deployment Services
  11. New Features of Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008 R2
  12. Server Requirements
  13. Client Computer Requirements
  14. DHCP Requirements
  15. Routing Requirements
  16. Capacity Requirements
  17. Installing Windows Deployment Services
  18. Windows Server 2003
  19. Windows Server 2008 R2
  20. Windows 7 Configuring Deployment Services
  21. Preparing Discover Images
  22. Windows Importing Images
  23. Importing Boot Images
  24. Importing Install Images
  25. Managing and Deploying Driver Packages
  26. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 1
  27. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 2
  28. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 3
  29. Managing Driver Groups and Driver Packages
  30. Adding Driver Packages to Boot Images
  31. Managing Image Security
  32. Pre-staging Client Computers
  33. Configuring Administrator Approval
  34. Windows 7 Installing
  35. Capturing Custom Images
  36. Creating Multicast Transmissions
  37. Performing Multicast Deployment
  38. Using Windows Deployment Services with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit