How to Add Drivers to the WIM Image

Use this procedure to add drivers to the WIM image for 1GbE systems.

Before You Begin

You should have already obtained the necessary drivers as described in Downloading Server Software.

1. Extract the contents of Windows Server 2008 R2 DriverPack_x_x_x.zip to a network share (for example: \\yourshare\share\DriverPack), making sure to maintain the directory structure.
2. Select the service image to update and export the image.
   1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Windows Deployment Services.
   2. Find the image to service. Right-click the image and then choose Disable.
   3. Right-click the image and choose Export Image. Follow the wizard directions to export the image to the location of your choice.
3. Mount the Windows image you just exported. For example:

   imagex /mountrw C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim 1 C:\win_mount

   The first Windows image in the Install.wim file is mounted to C:\wim_mount.

4. Use Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) to create an answer file that contains the paths to the device drivers that you intend to install.

   Refer to the Microsoft documentation for the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for the details of starting the Windows SIM application.

5. Add the Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE component to your answer file in the offlineServicing pass.
6. Expand the Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE node in the answer file. Right-click DevicePaths, and then choose Insert New PathAndCredentials.

   A new PathAndCredentials list item appears.

7. In the Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE component, specify the path to the architecture folder in the DriverPack folder on the network share, and the credentials used to access the network share.

   For example, the path and credentials for a 64-bit image might be:

   <PATH>\\yourshare\share\DriverPack\64bit/</Path>
   <Credentials>
   <Domain>MyDomain</Domain>
   <Username>MyUserName</Username>
   <Password>MyPassword</Password>
   </Credentials>

8. Save the answer file and exit Windows SIM. The answer file must be similar to the following sample. The sample assumes the architecture is 64-bit.

   <?xml version="1.0" ?>
   <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3" 
   xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State">
      <settings pass="offlineServicing">
         <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE" 
           processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" 
           language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS">
            <DriverPaths>
               <PathAndCredentials wcm:keyValue="1">
                  <Path>\\yourshare\share\DriverPack\64bit</Path>
                  <Credentials>
                     <Domain>MyDomain</Domain>
                     <Username>MyUserName</Username>
                     <Password>MyPassword</Password>
                  </Credentials>
               </PathAndCredentials>
            </DriverPaths>
         </component>
      </settings>
   </unattend>

9. Use Package Manager to apply the unattended installation answer file to the mounted Windows image. Specify a location for the log file to create. For example:

   pkgmgr /o:"C:\wim_mount\;C:\wim_mount\Windows" /n:"C:\
   unattend.xml" /l:"C:\pkgmgrlogs\logfile.txt"

   The .inf files referenced in the path in the answer file are added to the Windows image. A log file is created in the directory C:\Pkgmgrlogs\.

   For more information about using Package Manager, see the Microsoft Windows AIK documentation.

10. Review the contents of the %WINDIR%\Inf\ directory in the mounted Windows image to ensure that the .inf files were installed.

    Drivers added to the Windows image are named oem*.inf. This is to ensure unique naming for new drivers added to the computer. For example, the files MyDriver1.inf and MyDriver2.inf are renamed oem0.inf and oem1.inf.

11. Unmount the .wim file and commit the changes. For example:

    imagex /unmount /commit C:\wim_mount

12. Replace the service image and enable the image.
    1. If the Windows Deployment Services snap-in is not running, select Start, select Administrative Tools, and then select Windows Deployment Services.
    2. Locate the image to service. Right-click the image and choose Replace Image. Follow the Wizard directions to replace the service image with the Windows image that was updated.
    3. Right-click the service image and choose Enable.

    The service image is now available, and all the server-specific drivers are added to the image.

Next Steps

To boot from the WIM image, see How to Install Windows Server 2008 R2 Using PXE.