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I'm using a Linux live USB to run on computers with a broken Windows installation in order to make backups, check the SMART status of the hard disk, and other things.
Usually after that, I do a fresh Windows 10 installation. Windows installs most drivers automatically. Some drivers are only installed when I go to Device Manager and do right-click on a device -> "Update Driver" -> "Search automatically for updated driver software", and then it downloads a driver. But some drivers are still not installed then. For the remaining drivers, I have to do right-click on a device -> "Update Driver" -> "Browse my computer for driver software" and then select the location of the driver.
I would like to make a backup of the drivers, so when I do a fresh Windows installation, I can select the folders of the drivers that are not automatically installed to let Windows install them. I already know I can copy the C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository directory from the old installation and let the new Windows installation search in that folder. But this folder can be big and copying can take a long time.
It would be better if only the drivers that are used are copied. Even more better would be if also the drivers that are included in Windows are skipped. How would I do that in Linux? I know how to program and I know how to access the Windows registry from within Linux using hivex.
So if someone knows where in the Windows registry is saved what drivers in the FileRepository folder are used, I would have a solution.
Paul
Posted 2019-05-02T15:02:16.827
Reputation: 111
1What drivers are used entirely depends on your system configuration. You really should just let Windows reinstall the drivers, Windows is going to reinstall the drivers regardless, it's just how Windows works. Likewise, once you have a running system, you will only be able to mount a registry hive from another system. You DO NOT want to attempt to replace the registry hive, from outside of Windows, Windows will not boot. The location of each registry hive, so you can mount it, is well documented though. – Ramhound – 2019-05-02T15:26:45.647
@Ramhound I think you missed what I'm trying to accomplish. I've edited my post to make things a bit more clear. The idea is that Windows reinstalls the drivers. But I have to have the files of the drivers that are not automatically installed or installed via Windows Update, in order to let Windows install them. Also, I didn't say anything about replacing a registry hive, the idea is just to look in the registry to see what drivers are installed. – Paul – 2019-05-02T17:24:20.400
I understood what you wanted to do. The files you need to copy from
FileRepositoryis entirely dependent on your system configuration. We cannot be based on the information you provided indicate which drivers you will need. – Ramhound – 2019-05-02T17:28:08.670Of course it is dependent on system configuration. But for every folder in
FileRepositorythere must be a way to detect whether that driver is installed or not. – Paul – 2019-05-02T18:19:19.683