How do I make a copy of all drivers currently in use? (windows)

[thevillageinn]

This is from another forum, but no-one has an answer there yet...

So, folks, the question remains - how do I make copies of the drivers my machine is currently using, and copies that would be sufficient to use on a clean install?

This would be more than just finding what .vxd files are in use in the device manager and copying them...I would need to have the correct .inf files, and just making a copy of the Windows\INF folder won't do either because there will be other drivers that aren't in use in there, which could lead to me choosing the wrong version when I do a fresh install.

It seems like there should be a utility for this

TIA!
-Dan

 

[rbV5]

It won't work, some drivers need to be registered. You can us Norton Ghost to create an image of your drive when you have a stable setup and use that image a fresh starting point, that will do exactly that.

 

[thevillageinn]

thanks for your response......I know of ghost, but I already have an image file, plus to make a good image you have to be able to start from a good clean stable point. Can't do that if I lose the current drivers I am running now...all I want is a copy of the drivers that are in use. I know they have to be registered, I want to be able to install them, but I want to have a CD with them on it. I know I could just dig them up on the web, but there are times when you do a fresh installation and you want to be able to install the various stable drivers either in a certain order, or when they are needed etc...some drivers you can't get any more as well, and to be able to take a copy of it from your disk would be very handy.

 

[thevillageinn]

no one has anything else for me? (shameless bump)

 

[corkyg]

Hi, Dan!

I would suggest copying all the INF files you have onto a CD. At least with XP and ME, and I guess, W2K, they know which ones are certified, etc., and let the OS pick the needle out of the haystack.

We are always updating drivers, and new INF files get added all the time. The old ones often stay there as well, but at least XP and ME know when an older driver is about to be replaced, and it will challenge you to be sure.

As usual, there ain't no perfect solution. I use the "reserve drive" system . . . each computer has two identical drives, and they get cloned every Saturday or when a major software/driver change takes place. They are in mobile racks, or in the case of a laptop, in a spare rail set, With mobile racks, only one drive is used and the other is in reserve.

A fixed system after a bad driver update is only a key switch away. The laptop swap is a little slower . . . a couple of screws away.

Anyway . . . this is good for a bumpity bump.