What is the correct way to remove drivers from the WinPE driver list

[Migration User]

I had to delete everything and start over with my WinPE image.  I lost all the drivers I had, and am now fighting with Ghost Console for a driver for Gateway E4500s for "82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller" specifically DEV_27C5.  When i do find drivers with the 27C5 and add them, I still get the failed to boot to virtual partition for that device.  I now have about 10 different driver entries in the boot wizard named "Intel...".  What is the proper way to remove them.  I know you can uncheck them from the list, but I want them gone from the list.  I dont want to just delete the folder, since I dont know how that will effect the WIM.  Is there an official way?

[Edward Tippelt]

My first port of call would be the manufacturer's website when it comes to drivers. After that, the Intel website would be another place to look.
The key factor in finding the correct driver is to determine the pnp id of the hardware device (the sata controller in this case) and then check the INF file associated with any downloaded driver to see if the pnp id can be found in the INF. WinPE will mount the correct driver when it finds the entry in the associated INF file, so conversely, removing INF files from the image will prevent any duplication of pnp ids in different INFs.
It also helps to have the correct version for the operating system you are working with - I believe the version of WinPE used by Ghost will work with Vista 32 bit drivers, but perhaps if you could confirm the version of GSS you have, it would enable us to confirm the WInPE version.

[Migration User]

I know what you are saying.  I'm saying I tried multiple sets, and I want to remove the ones that didnt work from the checkbox list.  So if in the Storage Controllers list I had "intel 1, intel 2, intel 3, intel 4" and I wanted the first 3 to NEVER be in that list again, what is the way to do that?  Not just unselected, but gone.

[Migration User]

Look in INF files that come with drivers and make sure that device IDs that Console reports are present in INF file. Often you think that driver is identical but it is in fact not and it may list bunch of devices but that one that you need.

Also you can have a look at drivers.manifest.txt that ghost boot wizard (GBW) creates in each winpe folder under c:\doc&sett\all users\app data\symantec\ghost\template\common\winpe. This file lists all devices that are found by GBW. It will give you exact idea of what devices it has found.

Also make sure that you download Vista driver.

[Migration User]

I'm not looking for someone to tell me where to get the driver!  Or how to check if its the correct driver.

I want to know how to remove items from the Storage list in the Ghost Boot program.  And I dont just mean unchecking the box next to the option.  I want the option GONE.  Never to see "intel 1" or "intel 2" again.  GONE

Also, since someone asked, its GSS 2.5 updated to current 2266

[Migration User]

You want to remove drivers you added through the Ghost Boot Wizard right?

Try this:

1. First, using the Ghost Boot Wizard, make sure they are not checked in the WinPE or WinPE-512 (or any other PE config you have.  If they are you'll need to uncheck them and click OK.  This gets them out of the boot.wim.
2. Note the path to the WinPE configs you have, they'll be something like "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Ghost\Template\common\WinPE\" (I have Srv2003)
3. Close the Gost Boot Wizard (very important!)
4. Head on over to one of those paths, but go up one level to "..\common", and go into "windrivers"
5. Find the folders named like you saw in the Wizard (Intel 1, Intel 2) and delete them (write down the name first so you don't forget)
6. Next remove them from the driver all the "drivers.manifest.txt" files.  The first one is in the root of the "windrivers" folder.  The other ones are located in each of the WinPE config paths you noted in step 2.

If you re-launch the Ghost boot wizard the drivers should no longer be listed.

Let me know if this soves your issue.  Cheers!

[Migration User]

I forgot to mention that you should backup your drivers.manifest.txt files before you start hacking them.  The sections in these files are laid out in Java/C looking fashion.  A section will look like this:

    "Driver Name" = {
        class = network,
        selected = 0,
        drivers = ({
            path = "Driver Name\\DRIVERXXX.INF",
            os = ("VISTA" "2003" "XP")
        })
    },

Each section is separated by a comma ",".  Don't forget to remove any extra commas between sections, or the end of the list if that's where the driver showed up.  Ensure all the open brackets have a matching close bracket.  If you mess it up, at least you can restore the old file back.