Create Your Own Custom Platform Pack

Building a pack has two parts:

1. Create the pack and set its Manufacturer and Model queries, so SmartDeploy applies it only to the right computers.
2. Download, extract and organize the drivers, then import them into the pack's operating system node.

Part 1: Create the pack and add the Manufacturer and Model queries

Step 1: Find the Manufacturer and Model names with wmi.vbs

Run wmi.vbs on the computer you are building the pack for, then read the Manufacturer and Model values from the wmi.txt file it creates. The Manufacturer and Model queries in the pack must match the names the computer reports to Windows exactly, so read them from the computer itself.

1. Download the wmi.vbs script.
2. Copy wmi.vbs to the computer you're building the pack for. Run it on a computer that has all of its drivers installed, for example with the manufacturer's factory image or after running the manufacturer's update tool.
3. Double-click wmi.vbs. It writes a wmi.txt file in the same folder.
4. Open wmi.txt and find the Win32_ComputerSystem section. Write down these two values exactly as shown:
   • Manufacturer, for example Dell Inc., HP or LENOVO.
   • Model, for example Latitude 7450 or HP EliteBook 840 14 inch G11 Notebook PC.
5. Lenovo computers: the Model value in Win32_ComputerSystem is a machine type code (for example 21ML), not the model name. Use the Version value in the Win32_ComputerSystemProduct section instead, for example ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12.

Keep wmi.txt. Its list of hardware IDs is also useful in Part 2 for confirming that you have a driver for every device.

Step 2: Create a new Platform Pack in Platform Manager

1. In the SmartDeploy console, go to Platform Packs, click the green plus icon and select Create a Platform Pack. This opens Platform Manager.
2. Select File > New... and save the pack using the naming convention Manufacturer-Model-OS.ppk, for example Dell-Latitude7450-Windows11.ppk. The tree on the left now shows a single Platform Pack folder.

Steps 3 and 4 build the pack's top two levels: a manufacturer folder and a model folder. Each folder carries a query, and SmartDeploy only uses the pack on a computer that matches both. By the end of Part 2 the tree looks like this:

• Platform Pack
  • Dell: Manufacturer query (Step 3)
    • Latitude 7450: Model query (Step 4)
      • Windows 11 (x64): operating system node (Part 2)
        • Audio
        • Chipset
        • Network
        • Video
        • ...
      • Windows PE 11.0 (x64): optional, storage and network drivers for the boot media

Step 3: Add the manufacturer

1. Right-click Platform Pack and select Add... to open the Add New Manufacturer dialog.
2. In Manufacturer name, choose the manufacturer:
   • For a known manufacturer, select it from the list.
   • For any other manufacturer, select Other and type a short, distinctive part of the Manufacturer value from wmi.txt. For example, type Alienware if wmi.txt shows Alienware.

3. Leave Automatically generate filters checked. Platform Manager fills in the WMI filter for you:

   SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE Manufacturer LIKE '%Dell%'

   The % signs match any text before or after, so '%Dell%' matches Dell Inc. Check that the name between the % signs appears in the Manufacturer value in your wmi.txt.

4. Click OK. The manufacturer folder appears under Platform Pack.

Step 4: Add the model

1. Right-click the new manufacturer folder and select Add... to open the Add New Model dialog.
2. In Model name, type the model name, for example Latitude 7450. This is the name of the model folder.

3. In WMI Filter, type the model name from wmi.txt between the two % signs:

   SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE Model LIKE '%Latitude 7450%'

4. Click OK, then save the pack (File > Save).

Make the model name specific enough. Latitude 74 would also match a Latitude 7440 or 7400, which need different drivers. Copy the full model name from wmi.txt. You can leave off a trailing word like "Notebook PC", but only if every model you want to match ends with it.

Part 2: Download and organize the drivers, then import them

SmartDeploy installs drivers from the pack's operating system node the same way Windows does from a folder of .inf files. Your goal is a folder of extracted drivers (.inf, .sys, .cat and related files) for every device in the computer, organized by device type.

Step 5: Download the drivers from the manufacturer

1. Go to the manufacturer's support site and look up the model, ideally by the serial number or service tag so you get the exact configuration.
2. Download the latest Windows driver for each device type: chipset, graphics, audio, network (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth), storage, card reader, camera, touchpad and input, security (fingerprint, smart card) and, if present, WWAN.
3. Many manufacturers also publish a single driver pack for deployment tools (Dell Command | Deploy driver packs, HP driver packs, Lenovo SCCM packages). If one exists for your model, it's usually the fastest starting point because it's already extracted.

You don't need BIOS or firmware updates, applications, or utilities in the operating system node. Platform Packs hold drivers.

Step 6: Extract each download into driver format

Most downloads are installers (.exe). Platform Manager needs the files inside them. Common ways to extract them:

• Dell: run the package with /s /e=C:\Drivers\<name>, or open it and choose Extract.
• HP: run the SoftPaq and choose to save the files without installing, or run it with /e /s /f C:\Drivers\<name>.
• Lenovo: run the package and clear the "Install now" option at the end. The files stay in C:\Drivers\<name> (or the folder you chose).
• Other installers: many open with 7-Zip. Some only unpack to a temporary folder while running; copy the files from there before closing the installer.

A folder is ready when it contains .inf files. If you only see an .exe or .msi, it isn't extracted yet.

Step 7: Organize the drivers

1. Create one folder per device type, matching the layout of our packs: Audio, Bluetooth, Camera, Chipset, Network, Storage, Video and so on. Open one of our packs for the same manufacturer for naming examples.
2. Put each extracted driver in its folder. Keep each driver's files together in their own subfolder; an .inf needs the files beside it.
3. Remove anything that isn't needed for the hardware: duplicate versions of the same driver, drivers for operating systems you won't deploy (for example 32-bit or Windows 10-only), and installer leftovers. A smaller pack deploys faster.
4. Optional: compare the hardware IDs in wmi.txt with the drivers you have, so no device is left without one.

Step 8: Import the drivers into the operating system node

1. In Platform Manager, right-click the model folder and select Add... to open the Add New Software dialog.
2. In Target operating system, select the operating system the drivers are for, for example Windows 11 (x64).
3. In Source folder, click Browse and select the folder that holds your device-type folders (for example C:\Drivers\Latitude 7450, which contains Audio, Chipset, Network and so on). Everything inside it is added relative to that folder, so pick the folder that contains the drivers, not a folder above it.
4. Click OK. The operating system node appears under the model folder with your device-type folders under it.
5. Optional: repeat with the target operating system set to Windows PE 11.0 (x64) and a folder holding only the storage and network drivers the boot media needs to see the disk and reach the network.
6. Save the pack.

Step 9: Test the pack

Before using the pack widely, deploy an image with it to one computer. Then open Device Manager and confirm that no devices show a yellow warning or appear under Other devices. If any do, find the missing driver on the manufacturer's site, add it to the pack and test again.