Driver Backup and Restore

[Kritiker]

Attempting to backup my Windows XP Pro SP2 drivers prior to doing a complete Win XP re-installation has led me to ask some embarrassingly simple questions, questions for which I would have expected to find answers somewhere but I must be searching incorrectly. I haven't run across any clear answers yet.
1. I see, everywhere, the same syntax description for the "driverquery" command. I have been unable to find, anywhere, a description/explanation of the different driver listings this command produces and their meanings
- for the command with no parameters,
- for the command with the /SI (signed drivers) parameter and
- for the command with the /V (verbose) parameter which I would have guessed would be just a verbose (i.e., more detailed) version of the parameter-less option, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

2. The various driver backup and restore packages all seem to produce different driver lists. I attempted, in each case, to produce as complete a listing of drivers as I could, both signed and unsigned, bothj MS and third party.

For example,

The driver categories reported by the packages differ.
- DriverMax reports 26 driver folders.
- DriverMagician reports 90 driver folders.
- Driver Genius reports 127 driver folders but doesn't include all the drivers the others include

for my 1394 drivers,
- DriverMax includes files 1394.inf, 1394bus.sys, arp1394.sys, enum1394.sys, nic1394.sys & ohci1394.sys while
- DriverMagician3.28 includes file 1394.inf only while
- Driver Genius includes file net1394.inf only

Also, for example,
- DriverMagician reports drivers for Canon PowerShot G6 but neither of the other two does.
- DriverMagician reports one set for Default monitor (monitor.inf) wheras
DriverGenius reports
- Default Monitor (monitor.inf),
- Default Monitor#1 (monitor.inf) and
- Default Monitor#2 (monitor.inf).
- DriverMagician reports files
- iaStor.cat,
- iaStor.sys and
- oem0.inf for Intel(R) ICH8R DO DH SATA RAID Controller wheras
Driver Genius reports files
- ich8smb.cat and
- oem8.inf.
- DriverGenius reports 13 generic driver folders. The others don't.

3. Is there a package/utility that anyone knows of that will list for me ALL the drivers (and associated files????) on my system and then identify each as to its properties, i.e., signed or unsigned, Microsoft or third party etc. ?

Can anyone help me make sense of this? Thanks.

 

[mafadecay]

Errm? Not really ever used any driver query. But IMHO I think you are being overcautious regarding your backup procedures. I understand the importance of backing things up perhaps more than most but there are lots of drivers available for download and XP is quite good at getting basic drivers at install. Vista is not so good but is still teething a realm where manufacturers are catching up.

As long as your graphics are working and you can install an internet connection then the rest can be found with minimum fuss online after the event. The time to worry is if you do not know what hardware you need drivers for and XP doesn't plug and play. Then you will struggle to find drivers if you do not know what you are looking for in the first place.

Another problem is if manufacturers cease supporting a product and you can't get drivers as the hardware is too old. I just make a mental note of what hardware XP doesn't pick up but sometimes even document these drivers so I can always find them if XP struggles.

Personally I think you are creating much work for yourself in trying to be too efficiant.

 

[Kritiker]

Personally I think you are creating much work for yourself

I rather think that you are right. It all sounded so simple at the beginning. Just back up the drivers and restore them once Win XP has been reinstalled. Then I realized that it wasn't so simple after all, but it should have been, and I was hooked. I am still hoping that I have missed something simple, and obvious to others, perhaps, in all this, else I will certainly do as you suggest.

 

[frozenlead]

Too much work, to me.
I've never used it either, but from what I've seen from microsoft backup utilities, I'd never even want to do it. Manually installing your drivers over again will probably give you a faster system in the end, with less clutter. If I reinstall windows, I always want a clean slate to work with. Hangovers, backups, and updates crowd, complicate, and slow things. Save your important docs and driver setups and reinstall them when windows is freshened up.

 

[Kritiker]

Your comments are all well taken but I am still curious about, and would like to understand, why there are inconsistency in listing drivers, first, by Microsoft's driverquery command and it options and, second, by the driver backup utilities.

What constitutes a driver is relatively well-known, so why all the inconsistency? I know some of these utilities try to include the initialization and setup files as well. Anyone have any insights? I'd like to understand what's going on here.

 

[mafadecay]

Imagine all the third party hardware in the world each using its own drivers. Some drivers do not even install in the conventional manor. The software you speak of doesn't grab a list of all the drivers on your PC but merely the ones it recognises. Similar to AV software its only as good as an update. Personally by all reports I hear MS driver query is one of the best even though others pick up some rogue drivers that MS doesn't. Think of it this way - Who or what knows best what is installed and going on with your PC. Answer your operating system and most often MS.