Quickest easiest first...

Putting SAD on a thumb drive does not solve the issue.
Putting the whole install on a thumb drive may not work either since if the machine is so old it has no DVD it may not boot from USB either.

No the best solution is to create a DVD installation disc and just hang an IDE DVD ROM on machines that have no DVD ROM.

I'd like to use the DISC method, but a lot of the PCs we are donated don't have DVD drives, only CD.  If I integrated all the drivers in the unattended installation I use, the image suddenly becomes waaaay too big for a CD.

It is not a big problem. Just make multiple SAD CD, each containing different driverspacks. Or put SAD on USB (2GB should be more than enough for all current driverspacks hosted on this site).

Another thing I've noticed after a load of messing about and getting SAD to work, is that PC hang ALOT whilr trying to install AC97 drivers.  I've had it happen on about 5 different PCs now.  Maybe the driver I downloaded is corrupt or something...

This is not an issue when slipstreaming the DriverPacks into the source.

With the MS tool DPINST.exe there are limits that do not exist with windows setup.
I don't recomend attempting to install a clean system with SAD. it is good far adding a device or for updating existing drivers.

If you insist on a software first install then it will take several passes with reboots in between. For example a HD Audio driver depends on teh HDA bus to be installed first. if the HDA bus is not installed then the HD sound driver will not install. (because teh device does not exist). Same goes for like a SCSI tape backup. You must first install the SCSI adapter driver reboot then install the Tape driver.

Using SAD on a machine with no drivers may take three passes and two reboots.
the reason is simple all devices are conected to the chipset driver... the chipset driver must be installed first (pass one with SAD), then the machine msut be rebooted then the devices that are connected to the chipset can be installed (pass two with SAD). This is not a bug or a shortcoming with SAD. It is simply the way PnP works... think of it like building a pyramid, you can't put the capstone on first, you must start at the base and work your way up to the top one level at a time.

If you don't like this then use the DISC method to slipstream the DriverPacks into your source... That is what it's for

This is almost the same basis on my aspirations regarding installing clean versions of windows on clean PCs, with licenses that are fitting those machines (OEM).

There's no definitive how-to's, and an abundance of tech-based/dev stuff around. It's mind-numbing.

sounds like it worked as designed... IDK what else would be useing sound recorder at that time... strange.

again the ding sound is supposed to alert you that SAD completed successfully...

Having said that, it looks like it runs through ok but stops with a "Sound Recorder" window saying saying another application is playing audio.

I'm lost now, I've never seen the way it's supposed to work, so I don't know what it looks like when it does!  If I close the "Sound Recorder" window by clicking "OK" to the prompt, that's it, nothing else happens...

I work for a charity where we are donated old PCs, re-install Windows and then give them to disabled people.

In the past I've always manually hunted for drivers and while I don't have too much trouble, I stumbled across this site and thought the driverpacks sound like a GREAT idea.

Anyway, I downloaded all the driverpacks, ran base with SAD selected, and all seemed ok.

I put all the files in the driverpacks.net folder onto a CD and then ran DP_Install_Tool.cmd

A blue window flashed up then disappeared.  Hmmm.

Obviously I've done something wrong - but what?

Gray