How are Windows drivers installed from a CAB file?

Driver installation from CAB file(s) in Windows (Vista, 7, 8) and Windows Server
(2008/2012)

Microsoft Windows stores drivers in a designated location which is maintained by the OS

through the Windows Plug- and Play Manager. To automatically load the INF files from a
driver CAB file, we need two Windows on board tools, both located in %windir%\System32:

 Expand.exe

 Pnputil.exe

How to configure Windows to install the drivers from a CAB file

Download and installation:

The command below will do all this in one line; copy / paste the command into the
command prompt windows:

for /f "tokens=*" %a in ('dir *.inf /b /s') do (pnputil –i -a "%a\..\*.inf")

Let’s breakdown the command above:

"for /f "tokens=*" %a in ('dir *.inf /b /s'":

reads recursively all sub directories beginning with the folder the current Windows
Command prompt points to. If the directory contains a .INF file, the folder name will be
stored in the session variable %a, and executes the second part of the command

pnputil –i -a "%a\..\*.inf":

Syntax: pnputil.exe [-i] –a <INF file location>

-a – adds all drivers into the Windows driver store, but does not install the driver.

-i – installs the driver after added to the store.

(The "-a" switch by itself only adds the driver but will not be installed until triggered, e.g.
manual driver update from Windows Device Manager. )

Each driver will be acknowledged with a message:

Microsoft PnP Utility

Processing inf: IntcDAud.inf Vendor-INF file found for device

Driver package added successfully. Status message

Published name: oem253.inf OEM-INF file created (same as under Hardware Info in Device
Manager’s driver properties)

Total attempted: 1 Number of drivers added from the INF file

1. Download the driver cab file for the correct system model / operating system from
Dell Enterprise Wiki: http://dell.to/zca7V6 .

2. Create a target directory for the expanded files. (In this case C:\TargetFolder)

3. Expand the CAB file to a target directory from an elevated command prompt with
administrative rights:

4. Syntax: expand.exe -f:* (file name pattern) expand C:\Downloads\Driver.cab

C:\TargetFolder -f:*

5. Once we extracted all driver files, navigate to the target directory where the
extracted files are located.

6. Syntax: CD C:\TargetFolder\<System Model>\<CPU

Architecture>\ cdC:\TargetFolder\E6320\x64 or x86 for 32bit driver

7. To add all drivers from the underlying folders, we will borrow the functionality from
Windows’s command interpreter to

o create a list of all subdirectories that contain a .INF file (driver information
file)

o run pnputil.exe against each of .inf files from the step before

8. Restart the system after all drivers been added to the Windows driver store.

Note: When video driver being installed with pnputil, the video resolution may change and
requires restarting the system before maximum screen resolution can be achieved.

With the introduction of Windows Vista, Windows will not prompt the "Found New
Hardware" Wizard any longer and the installation occurs silently. The end user will only see
Windows UA prompts for unsigned driver. Total runtime ~ 10 – 15 minutes depending on
number of driver in the CAB file.

Supporting Articles:

MSDN / TechNet Reference:

PnPUtil: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff800798.aspx
Expand: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh875569.aspx

How to delete users profiles from system.

http://serverfault.com/questions/450389/how-to-delete-domain-user-profile-from-a-
computer.

 Open up "Control Panel | System and Security | System"

 In the dialog click on "Advanced system settings" (requires Admin rights)
 The "System Properties" dialog will be displayed
 Make sure you are in the "Advanced" register
 In the "User Profiles" section click on "Settings"
 The "User Profiles" dialog is displayed
 Select the account. Hit Delete.