Easy Way to Import Dell CAB Drivers into SCCM
In this post I will cover the steps to import Dell CAB drivers into SCCM. As the title suggests I will be importing Dell drivers using Dell command integration suite. In one of my post I documented about Dell Command Integration Suite for SCCM. The Dell Command Integration Suite for SCCM is a software that extends the SCCM tool to provide management for Dell Business Client platforms. You can find more information about Dell command | integration suite for system center on this page.
I have seen many organizations that provide dell latitude laptops to their employees. Dell has got wide range of latitude laptops for business purpose. Whenever you want to image a laptop using SCCM, drivers are must. Assuming you are using SCCM to image the laptops, the drivers need to be imported into SCCM first. With every new laptop model purchased, the new set of drivers needs to be imported. While importing drivers is not so tough, keeping the drivers updated is a challenging job.
In this post I show the steps to neatly import Dell CAB drivers into SCCM. I will also show how do you apply the drivers in the task sequence. Applying drivers can be done in many ways, you have a choice to choose the method that suits your requirements.
Import Dell CAB Drivers into SCCM [Dell Command Integration Suite]
To import dell CAB drivers into SCCM, we will utilize the Dell Command Driver Import utility. This tool is integrated with SCCM and makes it easy to import the drivers. As an example, I am going to download and import Dell E7290 drivers in SCCM.
Prerequisites
- First of all download the Dell CAB File for the specific Model and OS that you require from here. Ensure the CAB downloads successfully, they are notorious for failing halfway through a download.
- Place the CAB file in the sources folder. For example – \\serverFQDN\Sources\Drivers\Dell\. You can create two folders, one for laptops and other one for desktops. Within laptops folder, you can create folders with laptop model number. This helps you to locate and import the CAB files quickly.
Import Dell CAB Drivers into SCCM
We will now see the steps to import Dell CAB drivers into SCCM. Now that you have downloaded the drivers, login to SCCM server. Launch Configuration Manager in an elevated state (Right click, Run as Administrator). In Configuration Manager, browse to Software Library > Operating Systems. Right click Driver Packages and Dell Command | System Driver Library Import.
You will now see system driver library import wizard. You must first select library source. Since I have the driver package downloaded, I will select Local Driver Library. Click Browse and provide the driver package path. Click Next.
Some laptops support both Windows 10 and Windows 7 OS. So you get drivers for both the OS. The recent models that are released support only Windows 10. Select the operating system and click Next.
Under Select Options, you have list of DP’s to which you can distribute the driver package. Ensure you have specified UNC destination path where drivers are extracted. Click Next.
On Summary page, click Next. On the Progress page, you can monitor driver import progress. Most of all, importing drivers will take good amount of time, wait for the process to complete. Finally close the driver import wizard.
Organizing Drivers and Driver Packages
In the next step file the imported driver packages under the right location. This ensures future driver imports do not conflict, and keeps the platform tidy. Simply expand the Driver Packages folder layout, right click and move the newly imported packages to the correct location.
In addition, once you have moved the Driver Packages, you need to file the actual drivers. This step is optional and you can skip it if you want to. Browse to the Drivers folder, you will probably find lot of drivers here. Expand the Driver folder path and find the model of the Device you just imported. If there is no folder, create one, and the necessary x86/x64 folders. Select all of the x86 or x64 drivers, right click, and select Move. Navigate the folder structure and find the correct home for them. Do the same for both architectures.
Task Sequence – Applying Driver Package
Let’s look at steps to apply driver package. Edit the SCCM task sequence. Add a Apply Driver Package step, specify name and select the package by clicking Browse.
Use a simple WMI query to determine the laptop model and apply driver package.
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