Hey Team, I've been working on updating our methods for populating Drivers / BIOS into ConfigMgr [Scripts here on GitHub] and thought, it's basically the same script to download them directly onto a machine and extract as it is to download the driver packs to the source server for a CM Package. So with a little tweaking I came up with the idea of having the driver pack download straight from HP or Dell onto the machine, extract, and make a variable to the location to be used in IPU. [Included in the WaaS Download, version 2020.04.16 or higher]
History: We currently dynamically download the driver packs from our DPs by having a TS Step that acts as a database for all of the models and which Driver Package IDs are associated with them, so it knows which one to download, then sets a varable to the downloaded location in the ccmcache. https://garytown.com/driver-pack-mapping-and-pre-cache-v2
For this new idea, I left that intact, but added a condition to allow downloading the drivers from the internet instead. You can do this different ways, currently we also capture if the machine is running on VPN (This will be a unique step depending on your VPN, so I can't say my step will work for you), so I've added that as a condition on the Download from Internet.
The Module is pretty small, with a few steps. HP relies on the HPCMSL being installed, so if you already have that on all of your HP Systems, you could trim this back.
- To find drivers for hardware that Windows refuses to recognize, open Device Manager (a search from the Start menu or Windows 8 Start screen brings it up lickity-split), right-click on the listing.
- Drivers Library We know a lot about PC drivers Welcome to the PC Matic Driver Library, the internet's most complete and comprehensive source for driver information.
The versions of the drivers Microsoft provides are also a bit older. Microsoft doesn’t update these drivers as frequently, so your device manufacturer may have newer versions on their website. However, using older drivers often isn’t a problem. We don’t recommend updating hardware drivers — this can introduce problems. The one exception. Vendor (Both Sides of the MASTER indicator are lit) Choose this if you want to use the dedicated DJ-202 USB driver that you downloaded from the Roland website. Use the rotary selector to change the value of the setting. When you’ve finished making settings, press the blinking START/STOP button. Dell Driver Download Tool - Dell Drivers Updates for your PC - Free Drivers Scan & Automatic Updates with Leading Driver Update Website. Vendor software return.
HP: The Script leverages the intelligence built into HPCMSL to know what DriverPackage to download for the model of the machine it is running on.
The script will request the Driver Pack that MATCHES the OS you are installing (%SMSTS_BUILD%). IF there is not a driver pack for your model, it will grab the latest one available.
Once it downloads and confirms it's downloaded, it will set the TS Variable.
Before it downloads, the scripts will check for a previous download, if the Softpaq (HP) or cab file (Dell) Match what is already there, it will skip downloading and continue on to set the Variable.
Please NOTE, this does not include any hash checking.
Drivers Vendor Id
The same Steps will need to be in both Pre-Cache TS & IPU TS. It will pull down the content during Pre-Cache, then confirm during IPU (or download if not there).
Nation Safe Drivers Vendor Portal
Hopefully that explains it well enough, hit me up with questions, or just play around with it.
Driver Vendor Lookup
Gary