• Jaak
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  • From: Eeklo, in the East Flanders
  • Registered: 2006-07-23
  • Posts: 3,594

Topic: So... November was great, what about 2008.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.
I am Jaak.
I am a noob.
Really.. I am.

When I finalize a pack and release it I have to write PHP files, and I make a backup of those before I update.
Afterwards you will see there is an update in version tracker.
You will also see a supported device list, and a change-log.
There is an RSS feed. The RSS feed's xml is auto-magically generated when we release a new version..

Some people are masters at driver version tracking, not me.
I came aboard and was soon asked to be on the testing team.. Where I learned about a lot of things.
When I got asked to join the main team, I felt honored.
Honor means something.

Let me tell you a few things.
Some of the team worked on updating packs, and some on testing. We direly needed good testers.
Some users worked on fixes and then did not share their work.
The smarter workers gave us feedback, letting us know how they had addressed issues.
Those users were rewarded by not having to repeatedly re-apply the same fix when new packs were released.

The DriverPacks are always in a state of flux.
Intelligent users join. Currently we have PE coders, SysPrep coders, and noobs - like me.
I have learned many things from the SysPrep gurus.  Their requirements are not the same as those of the PE crowd.
I have learned from Jeff (OverFlow), the current DriverPacks BASE Code guru.
I often read about problems and it makes me wonder. I write a lot of nonsense, but hey, noobs often do.
I have tried to get people to write about how they solved issues, and a lot of their tips and ideas are used later on..
Some ideas have been developed in different environments and with different goals in mind. However, they have turned DriverPacks into a living community where teamwork on the DriverPacks works for the best interests of all.

Getting it all together so it works for as many as possible is what has the packs in flux.
The DriverPacks team and the SysPrep crowd (Hey You Guys PLEASE don't just lurk. Come from the woodwork out...), and the PE crowd, and the noobs, we are all working towards a common goal.
A good PE build is one goal, Method Two DISC install is a goal, Method 1 optimization is, and there are still other.

I do not see the benefit in an auto-magical download of DriverPacks because most folks would then NOT read about changes.

We are, for instance, working on foldername shortening, and we are also constantly grooming the packs eliminating duplicates and consolidating others with universal drivers where available.
This means a state of turbulent flux.
The folder names do change - and could perhaps change in a really drastic way at any time.
Suppose we release a totally new approach for a drastic Method 1 path optimize (and this may happen), and the SysPrep guys don’t find the information in a changelog. (sadness)

A short comment on the filtering of drivers:
I can tell you that this will probably NOT EVER be done auto-magically, because...
For instance (top of iceberg).
1) The target Operating system looks at a driver, and a 2003 only driver gets mistaken for a win2K, where we (humans) would realize that the system files are different and not compatible.
2) A new driver does not work on old hardware, but pretends it will.
((A good example of that was in sound. We had over 2000 competing HWIDS between drivers that came from different manufactures’. ))

EDIT: March 2008: while grooming LAN we found hundreds and pruned a dozen folders, and in WLAN we pruned 70 folder from the tree whithout dropping a single HWID .

Do you want to help us help you?
Released packs are at least tested by a few noobs like me. But that is not enough.
Be smarter than you were, and show us how you fix things at your job, and get your fix released in a future version, or just be a tester.

Help make 2008 great.
%) Jaak

------------------------------------------------
I am Jeff.

We have much to look back on and be proud of in 2007

I am not going to list names out of fear I will miss someone.
We had lots of new faces, some dedicated veterans and a few returning founding members.
Bâshrat the Sneaky had a "tough row to hoe" with college but he managed to keep the project alive from the shadows.
Everyone on the team "stepped up to the plate" in his absence.
They put in long, hard, unpaid, and nearly thankless hours.
Much ground was gained - all facets of the base and packs are better than they ever were.

DriverPacks grew from a one man show to a world class team!

By team I don't just mean the small group of us who turn out the packs and base.
I mean every single person who made a [REQ]est or posted a [BUG] or asked a question that made us think.
Every Person who has contributed through helpful feedback or tested a pack and reported back.
People who have figured out how to do or fix something and shared it with us.

"The team" is all of you who post any DriverPacks related info here. 

Thank You! -
Recognize yourselves and each other
Realize what has been gained
Be proud - Very Proud!
As I am proud of each and every one of you.

Sorry I hi'jaak'ed your post wink

%) Jeff (Overflow)

Last edited by OverFlow (2008-01-02 12:03:34)

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.
  • Jaak
  • Old Timer Rookie
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  • From: Eeklo, in the East Flanders
  • Registered: 2006-07-23
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Jeff actually added many of the (silent) thoughts I did not know to express.

2007 was a turning point.
November 2007 was great.
Help us remember  2008.
%)

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.
  • From: Cambridgeshire, UK
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 6,226

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

AMEN Brother!

Oh, and I can't come out of the woodwork just yet...I'm painting the woodwork!
Our house extension is nearly finished.  I've been painting for the past two weeks.  My wife was desperate to have Xmas dinner in our new dining room (it's still not finished).

Good news is the new Graphics DriverPacks are up in the nightlies.
Happy New Year!

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  • Registered: 2006-05-30
  • Posts: 24

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

the SysPrep crowd (Hey You Guys PLEASE come out of the woodwork...)

I am using the driverpacks with Sysprep and UA install cds and would like to participate more directly with the team.  I am already testing the dev builds and wondering what is the best way to report feedback with those?  Greets smile

Shuttle XPC SN68SG2 | AMD X2 4000 (Brisbane) | Gigabyte 8600GT | 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 | Samsung SH-S203B | Samsung HD501LJ |
  • OverFlow
  • DriverPacks Administrator & BASE Developer
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  • From: Cincinnati
  • Registered: 2006-12-02
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Installation platforms would be the primary category appropriate to posting about it.

The PE audience seems to be our most active usergroup that is sysprep savy. Try the new forum for PE  if you like - it is somewhat related.

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  • Jaak
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  • From: Eeklo, in the East Flanders
  • Registered: 2006-07-23
  • Posts: 3,594

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Sorry folks...
Disc based install always was and is main goal.
I think I got carried away when the forum made me think sysprep solutions would work for disc based install.

We can probably tell you how you can see which drivers would stall sysprep.
A LOT of the info is on site, in the packs, in supported device list and in forum.
Making packs ready for Disc based setup with a thirty ton load of drivers is not easy.

I regret to say that we cannot always cater for SYSPREP.
The PE crowd have problems, and the SYSPREP gurus have problems.
We will try to get DriverPacks the perfect solution for DISC based install. We already are the best.

We will try to cater to syprep, and we discussed ideas.
We can tell you how to use DriverPacks, and you should tell us about your issues.
The DriverPacks team cannot have a slogan like 'IT works for Every Thing', because the goals are too different.
But, we can make our slogan, "Help us help you'.

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.
  • chud
  • Testing Team
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  • From: England
  • Registered: 2007-03-25
  • Posts: 294

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Hi,
I have spent most of last year and this year developing a reliable sysprep solution with one image covering all machines.
It hopefully now gets around most of the wierd and wonderful behaviours of hardware, especcially with Dell laptops.
Actually its a bit more than that , it's a full machine from box to user thing, all automated.
I developed it for the hospital I work at, but as I am soon leaving I need to document it all anyway; so over next few weeks I will try and make a comprehensive explanation of it all.

  • OverFlow
  • DriverPacks Administrator & BASE Developer
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  • From: Cincinnati
  • Registered: 2006-12-02
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

wow that would be incredible...

we seem to have a growing audience for sysprep.

armed with that sysprep might be able to be added to base
and subsequently become a supported platform

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  • JakeLD
  • Moderator, Sysprep & BartPE Master
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  • From: Montreal, Canada
  • Registered: 2007-07-05
  • Posts: 872

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

I do something very similar chud, I could help you no problem.

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  • OverFlow
  • DriverPacks Administrator & BASE Developer
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

good documentation will probably lead to my codeing it...

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  • Jaak
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  • From: Eeklo, in the East Flanders
  • Registered: 2006-07-23
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

It's my birthday and I reflected on the moons behind me..

I have to say I have seen many shortcomings in work I did, and am glad I got help from users.
The first two months in 2008 were great because we saw quite a few users whom helped us.
I thought we need some sort of academy.
Let us work on documentation to start that.

What YOU do and HOW you do it can help all of us if it gets properly documented.
When Bâshrat the Sneaky decided to go open source I had no idea about much of what we have to know to make a driverpack work.
The best piece of info I saw was the txt written by ruudboek.
I see posts with exception code and the code makes sense, but I figure that to write new solutions requires better documentation on how the DriverPacks work, and how DpsBase handles exceptions.
I never learned how to use AutoIT.

We did learn from one another, though.
When I saw a meteor crash past me I thought about a gal I love.
When I got back to reality from that scary experience (no, not her..), I saw it was some piece of hot scrap that had banged through a wall and it had missed me by many meters. It wasn't even big.
I reported the hole in the wall and what had caused it, and never mentioned I was daydreaming while walking there.
Is this a daft story?
It happened.
To fix things we need good reports, good documentation, and we do not need daydreams.
I am not saying we do not need ideas.
Help us help you.
It is rewarding.

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.
  • From: Bakersfield California
  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 635

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Happy Birthday Jaak and many more to come.

Give your girl a big hug for all of us and tell her we appreciate the time she lets you spend on DriverPacks.

What you need is a night out and a few beers to brighten up your day.

Enjoy.

Stu

Last edited by BigBrit (2008-03-12 02:00:18)

  • Jaak
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  • Registered: 2006-07-23
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

I think we need standardised test reports more than ever.
We have had to hold back pretty cool ideas and the DriverPacks based on those ideas are promising.
Daydreams are not only about people you love. Daydreams can be about worthy ideas that are hard to implement.
Bâshrat the Sneaky has a future for us, and Overflow has cool ideas which are.. Well.. Really Cool.

In the meantime, we walk on trodden paths.
One of the cool ideas we started to implement was folder path shortening.
We recently learned that my handywork breaks KTD.

I did not know it, and released some of those optimized 'short-folder' packs.
I could, and maybe I should revert the edits what made shorter folders work in my tests.

On the other hand...
I could use automize and record the few commands I use to shorten path even further (to under 3900), and I could just as well record what I did to have the old paths (from approx 7000.) reduced to what we have released. (main packs in test have a path of approx 4500 in Method 1)

Mass storage DriverPacks.
I am not happy with what we have.
It is the best collection, it has a good load order (which can be changed quite easily) but it cannot have all of its contents working simultime.
(hence.. load order. If drivers was perfect and BIOSes were, then load order would not be an issue.)
Some drivers take the task when they should not take it, and that happens when we make them load later than the driver the machine should use. When you move the secction of driver it should use in the INI below the section of the "wrong one" and recompress.. they load in an other order.
It should not make a difference but it does. sad

We either educate and elucidate, or we drop some stuff what never worked together.
OR.. the brilliant coders make you choose.
We could then perhaps elucidate and tell a user that a01250 and Si3112r and megaIDE2 are mutually exclusive.
It is perhaps a daydream, but it may work. (after a hyllovvalotta work.)
> My personal opinion is that database driven driver selection with non filtered original drivers is never going to work because I saw what I saw.

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.
  • abdou
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  • Registered: 2007-07-26
  • Posts: 383

Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

Jaak wrote:

Mass storage DriverPacks.
I am not happy with what we have.
It is the best collection, it has a good load order (which can be changed quite easily) but it cannot have all of its contents working simultime.
(hence.. load order. If drivers was perfect and BIOSes were, then load order would not be an issue.)
Some drivers take the task and load when they should not take it, and that happens when we make them load later than the driver the machine should use. When you move the section in the INI below the section of the "wrong one" and recompress.. they load in an other order.
It should not make a difference but it does. sad

yes, I have blue screen error more than time when I try it...
I make cd with nlite and specifd drivers for eatch installation sad

I prefer your driverpack and universal CD but impossible for this moment !!

Last edited by abdou (2008-03-24 08:54:26)

  • Jaak
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Re: So... November was great, what about 2008.

abdou, you can quite easily edit the pack.

trim or move often has same result.
A trimmed pack loads faster, tho.
http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic. … 499#p18499

The answer was 42?
Kind regards, Jaak.