[Last Reviewed: 2019-04-24]
If you’re like me, one the first things you do when you get a new device is wipe and reload it. OEMs have gotten better about the amount of value added softwarethey preload on machines these days, but I still prefer starting fresh and building on top of that.
If you happen to purchase a device that also has a driver package available, we can use this to our advantage! Here’s how:
Step 1: Download the driver package
Dell
Download your driver CAB from Driver Packs for Enterprise Client OS Deployment
Extract your CAB using expand.exe driverpack.cab -F:* .\destination-path
HP
Download and extract your driver package from Driver Packs – HP Client Management Solutions
Step 2: Install the drivers
PnPutil is a built-in application to add drivers to the currently-running OS. Previously one could use pnputil.exe in conjunction with forfiles.exe to install drivers recursively, but now this functionality is included with the /subdirs switch! Run the following at the root level of your extracted driver package:
pnputil.exe /add-driver *.inf /subdirs /install
PnPutil will find and install all the drivers it can to the OS that’s currently running. Reboot when it’s done and you’ll be ready to proceed with awesomeness!