.inf Files for Image

[SGACC]

I am attempting to create an image for laptops deployed in my company, and Microsoft best practices suggest adding the .inf files to the image offline:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-and-remove-drivers-to-an-o...

While I understand that extracting the .inf files from the .exe files is an option, my attempts at manually doing this for the 30 drivers I downloaded from HP SoftPaq is a pain, since missing one .inf file can cause the others to fail to load due to missing configs. Is there a way to get .inf files directly from HP for the hardware or an easier way to get the .inf files from the .exes?

Thanks!

[Joel_R]

Tested Driver Packs for many HP Commercial platforms can be found at this site.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_Driverpack_Matrix_x64.html

The ZBook 14u G6 is supported on this site with Driver Packs for 1909 / 1903 and 1809 / 1803.

You can read up on these using the following links

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp100501-101000/sp100597.html   (1909/1903)

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp99501-100000/sp99665.html   (1809/1803)

Joel

[SGACC]

That definitely helps a lot with the consolidation of finding the drivers!

With that being said, are .exes the only way drivers are made available by HP? Is there no option to download the .inf directly instead of being packaged in the installers? With these driver packs, I still have to manually locate and copy the .inf files.

Thank you!

[Joel_R · Accepted solution]

For commercial platforms HP packages drivers in SoftPaqs.  These are EXE files that can contain an installer or just INF files.  If you want to find the SoftPaqs that are available for your platforms you should check out and use HP Image Assistant.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HPIA.html

This Tool from HP allows you to several things to a system (for exmaple).

• Analyze you current image and compare it to an image from HP to look for deltas and then download and install potential updates.
• Download SoftPaqs - This feature allows you to select one or more systems and download SoftPaqs you decide.
• Create Driver Pack - This feature allows you to create a driver pack for a specific platform and OS version.  The analyze for this feature we then present you with a list of INF only SoftPaqs based on the platform and OS selected.  You can then select 1 or more SoftPaqs to be included in your "custom" driver pack.  As part of the creation process you can select the file type you need (ZIP, CAN, ISO or WIM).

HPIA will also identify the installation type.  Keep in mind that unattended installations should be silent and require not interaction but an attended installation will require some interaction during the installation.  Check the Installation Type column for each deliverable to know for certain as you select your deliverables.

I hope this proves useful to you.

Joel