Introduction
When you have a new computer model that you want to use with SCCM, there is a step that you always should do. You need to export drivers with PowerShell.
I am talking about preparing SCCM with the drivers used for that specific computer model. New models might work with old drivers, but you should always have a package for the specific model.
There are multiple sources of drivers, the most common are the manufacturer’s website, but they don’t always work. Sometimes we need a specific driver, or the model doesn’t have a prepared package.
If that is the case, you can install the drivers manually on a reference machine and export them for later use.
Export the Drivers From the Current Operating System
This method uses PowerShell to export the drivers you have installed on the current operating system.
The cmdlet will create a folder with all the drivers from the system, containing the files required to use them again later. This means everything you need to reinstall hardware in the device manager is available for you.
Run Powershell.exe as an Administrator and execute the following cmdlet to export all drivers to the C:TempDrivers folder.
Export-WindowsDriver -Destination "C:TempDrivers" -Online -Verbose
I prefer to use the -Verbose parameter to make sure PowerShell is working on something and not stuck.
Each of these folders contains the CAT and INF files for each hardware, which allows you to install them on a separate system or to use them in SCCM.
If you want to use exported drivers in SCCM, you need to delete the folders that starts with “prn”. They contain drivers for the printers installed on your system, which you don’t want to include in your model package.
The reason for this is that everyone is usually using different printers at different sites. Including them during OSD will probably give you a headache later.
Summary
This is a great way to find the drivers you are using if you wish to make a backup or use them in a client management system.
We all wish that the manufacturer would deliver a package with everything we need, but this isn’t the case for many models. Usually we can apply this to devices that are aimed at home or professional use.
It is also possible to export drivers from a mounted offline image, but I will cover that at a later date.
The following links will tell you more about using drivers in SCCM and the cmdlet itself.