Harvesting drivers from C:WindowsSystem32DriverStoreFileRepository and PNF files

 

In my blog article with harvesting drivers tool here I described how to harvest drivers from the repository. I've being used that process on a different projects, and I noticed, that exactly the same driver with an exception of one file gets imported creating a duplicate.

After a little bit of digging, we've found the culprit - the PNF files. Here is a quick description:

Windows Precompiled INF File

The .pnf file extension is also used to represent a Windows Precompiled Setup Information File. Windows creates a PNF file for each INF file to ensure efficient processing. Typically, PNF files are stored in the %windir% or %windir%\Inf folder.

 

So, basically, that file gets created by P&P manager on every machine and unique on every machine! That, effectively, makes our content unique and you keep creating duplicates of your drivers.

So here is what you need to do - Delete all PNF files from captured drivers before importing them to SCCM or MDT!

Give it a shot. Delete all PNF files from your repository and re-import. Check how many duplicates you got rid off.

 

You are welcome :)