Drivers
Pre-integrate device drivers for plug-and-play hardware support.
This page integrates drivers to an image and can be used to check if all needed drivers are covered for the loaded target.
Supported drivers are in the INF format, with accompanying files in the folder as they came originally in the package. You can import drivers from the host, or download from the internet.
If the driver is only available in EXE format, extract it first - the method depends on the driver. Sometimes just a switch is needed. If you cannot find how, contact support.
Driver Queue
The queue holds the drivers staged for integration. Add takes either individual driver files, or a directory containing drivers, which is scanned for INF packages. Dropping files or folders onto the page does the same.
- SubscribePremiumAdds a directory and keeps it monitored, so drivers placed there later enter the queue on Refresh instead of being added by hand. Sits on the Add → Directory containing drivers menu.
- Import hostPremiumAdds the host machine's installed 3rd party drivers to the queue, read from its driver store.
- Export driver(s)PremiumWrites the selected 3rd party drivers - installed on a host, or already integrated in the image - out to a folder.
Hardware Checklist
The checklist is a target machine's device list, held in an XML file. Export HW list writes one for the machine currently running the tool, from the Drivers page toolbar or from File → Export HW list. Exporting needs no license, so a list can be gathered on any machine and carried back to the one doing the work.
The host's own device list is always loaded, so the checklist has something to check against before anything is imported. The selected machine is also reflected on the Components page Compatibility list, to easily protect needed drivers for the targeted machine if removing components.
- Import HW listPremiumLoads exported hardware lists and connects every device on them to the drivers that support it.
- MachinePremiumSelects which loaded list the checklist and Exclude unused work against.
- Show hidden devicesPremiumShows hidden and unplugged devices in the checklist, and widens what Exclude unused keeps.
Exclude UnusedPremium
Detects the drivers appropriate for the selected machine's device list and removes the rest from the integration queue. Most useful after Import host, which queues everything the host has, far more than the target machine needs.
A queued driver survives when it supports at least one device on the checklist. Hidden devices only count as a match while Show hidden devices is on - with it off, a driver whose only devices are hidden ones counts as unused and gets removed. The button enables itself only while the queue actually holds a driver it would drop.
Reuse Driver CachePremium
An option in the toolbar, used to reduce the effective Windows size by utilizing NTFS links between identical driver files in cache and where deployed (e.g., System32). Most space is saved when used on Live deployments with installed drivers.