ASPE-IT instructor Tom Carpenter provides some new thoughts.
One of the key benefits of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is the ability to deploy your Windows 7 device drivers automatically. Rather than manually installing device drivers after the Windows 7 installation completes (like all of us techies do at home), you can incorporate the drivers into your deployment so that they are installed automatically. In order to do this, you’ll need to keep a few important facts in mind:
- You will need individual drivers for each component. Check the hardware vendor’s website for these drivers.
- You will need INF-based drivers and not executable installs. All Windows 7 drivers are INF-based. Some vendors simply deploy them using installation executables to simplify the process for the average user.
- You may need both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If you deploy a mixed environment, go ahead a download both the 32-bit and 64-bit drivers so that you are ready for all deployment types. Click to continue »