• az_tekk
  • DriverPacks newbie
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  • Registered: 2006-07-20
  • Posts: 2

Topic: OemPnpDriversPath too long if all driverpacks used, is there a fix?

The OemPnpDriversPath in winnt.sif is TOO LONG if all driverpacks are used.  Is there a fix?  I noticed that when you install with a path too long, setup freezes after copying all of the initial setup files.  To remedy this I have combined all of the drivers (except for LAN, MassStorage, WirelessLAN) into fewer folders, and have then installed them as 3rd party driverpacks, but I don't know if the video cards will get the control panel support as loaded with the normal graphics driverpack.   With fewer folders, 56 compared to 239, the OemPnpDriversPath is considerably shortened.  In fact, if I did all of the driverpacks with the driver grouping that I've done thus far, I think I could get a path short enough to use with winnt.exe (1024?), and still preserve all of the device drivers in all of the driverpacks.  Any suggestions, comments?

  • From: Amherst, NY
  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 271

Re: OemPnpDriversPath too long if all driverpacks used, is there a fix?

This has long been a limitation of Method 1 and it was one of the original reasons I made the switch to Method 2 a while back.  It had been discussed at one time consolidating some of the folder structure, but combining some folders together would make maintaining the DriverPacks even more difficult than it is now.

If you use all of the official DriverPacks, it far exceeds the limitation, let alone adding in some of the 3rd party DriverPacks.

RogueSpear's Website

  • az_tekk
  • DriverPacks newbie
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  • Registered: 2006-07-20
  • Posts: 2

Re: OemPnpDriversPath too long if all driverpacks used, is there a fix?

Thanks for the reply.

Concerning method 2.  If we have a precompiled folder/driver structure having used method 1, i.e., D\,,,, etc., wouldn't it be easier to modify the DevicePath registry key in \i386\hivesft.inf

[HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion","DevicePath",0x00020002,"%SystemRoot%\inf"]

with the path that was copied to winnt.sif by method 1 before compiling the image?  Basically you're doing the job of method 2 and sysprep without having to do a fake install.  In other words, the DevicePath is pre-modified, and the driver folders are copied over since they are in \$OEM$\$1 folder.  I guess mine would look like:

%SystemRoot%\inf;%SystemDrive%\_setup\Drivers\D\,,,etc.

My last question for this reply is, can I just use the normal C:\ path type or do I need to stick with %SystemDrive%?

One last note:  Since I have a devicepath from winnt.sif from method 1, I guess I can extract the drivers from their .7z files, and leave them in their folders uncompressed.  While it would take up a lot more space, I bet the install would go faster without the need for uncompressing.  I'm burning these builds to DVD's anyways, so space isn't super important.

Last edited by az_tekk (2006-07-22 03:23:01)