Nvidia driver e6420 sccm, windows 7 x64 fails unattended

Running the driver package as a software install is the only workaround at the moment. We are working with Nvidia to get the issue resolvied so that their drivers can be used with ConfigMgr.

"Running the driver package as a software install is the only workaround at the moment. We are working with Nvidia to get the issue resolvied so that their drivers can be used with ConfigMgr."

I've been trying to run the standalone driver package as a software install (after extracting the drivers to VIDEO_DRVR_WIN_R297609, and importing into SCCM) I've been trying to run it as a program but it keeps failing (the command line I'm trying to use is setup.exe -s ) -- can somebody outline what the exact steps I need to take are?

I ended up using the command line: setup.exe /s but the problem is it does not supress the reboot and I could not find the switch to do so. I ended up juct clicking "Continue on error" in the Task Sequence so it would complete. Nvidia needs to get their act together on this. I'm also have an issue with the Free fall sensor for the E6420.

I've been having the same issue. Importing the driver into SCCM obviously doesn't work. You can't even run the driver upgrade wizard and point it to the INF to install the driver...it ONLY seems to want to work if you run setup.exe. I'm not sure what NVIDIA changed but I sure wish they would unchange it.

I've managed to get the driver to install as an application during the Task Sequence. If you open the Setup.cfg file in a text editor you can see a series of "options" in the middle of the file. I'm currently using:

setup.exe /s /noreboot /noeula /nofinish

There's also a /prestage switch but I can't find any information on what this switch does.

UPDATE: I may have found a workaround but I need to test it before saying for certain. After you've run the setup on a computer the installer leaves all of the files under the Program Files directory. I found the driver package at the following location:

C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Installer2\Display.Driver.0

I made a copy of the Display.Driver.0 directory and then uninstalled all NVIDIA components. After a reboot and verifying that the display adapter was listed as "Standard VGA Adapter" I ran the Driver Update Wizard. I pointed it at the copy of Display.Driver.0 and it worked! It even stuck after a reboot.

I'm going to try importing this into SCCM tomorrow and running a test install. I'll update after my test.

I should also note that the system I'm working on is a Precision T1600, so it's not just an issue with the mobile version of the drivers.

Curtis,

It should fail when importing into ConfigMgr. It worked because you used a local copy of the driver. ConfigMgr stages the driver locally, but lists it in the registry as being sourced from your DP. This caused the driver install to fail. You can reproduce the issue by placing the extracted driver on a network location and attempt to manually update the driver from the share. The install will fail.

I'm doing testing now with Nvidia on this issue and have made some progress but we don't have a fully fixed version of the driver yet.

Installing it as a software package is the only option at the moment.

Thanks!

Warren,

My apolgies for not responding sooner. You're absolutely correct in that it failed from SCCM. I was able to import it successfully, but it didn't apply the driver when I tested my Task Sequence. It also fails when attempting to run the Driver Upgrade Wizard and pointing to either a UNC or mapped drive.

If you want this to get a bit weirder...I have an E6520 with Optimus enabled. The driver installed during the Task Sequence on that laptop! The driver used was the 266.96 drivers from support.dell.com.

I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind:

Do you have any way of installing it as a software package and still having Aero enabled after the install? I had the driver package installing as the last item in my software list, but I'm going to try it as the first item to see if that makes a difference (probably not as the "Default" profile has already been created at that point).

Can you ask NVIDIA what the /prestage option does?

Thanks!

"Do you have any way of installing it as a software package and still having Aero enabled after the install?"

I figured this one out after a bit of searching. A reboot is (obviously) required for the driver install to take effect. My Task Sequence reboots twice during the application installs. The very last item in my TS is to "Run Command Line". The command I'm running is "winsat.exe dwm" starting in C:\Windows\System32 with the "Disable 64-bit file system redirection" option checked.

"winsat.exe dwm" forces Windows 7 to "Run the Desktop Windows Manager assessment". The last step of the assessment is to restart the Desktop Window Manager. Since the driver is installed this enables the full Aero interface.

Note that this has to be done during the TS so that it's applied to the Default User Profile, which causes it to be used for all new profiles when a user logs on.

"Unfortunately installing it as a stand-alone software package does not work, at least for me anyway. I've confirmed that i'm using the correct installation switches by just doing it from the OS ... however it will not install during the TS"

Thanks for the info. I'll pass it along to the team that is working this issue.

I noticed NVIDIA released new drivers today. Is there a chance these fix the SCCM problem?

No, the 275 version does not address the issue with ConfigMgr OSD.

Any follow-up on this yet?

We are still working with Nvidia for a fixed driver. I'll post here when a test driver has been found that works and any ETA for a released version.

Installing the Nvidia driver as an app worked for me. But, to get it to work, I had to change the /noreboot switch to just /n. I also added a reboot at the end of the task sequence to finish the driver install. I put in a WMI query for it to reboot only for this model.