# How to extract INF files from EXE ?



## Sporx

Hey guys i formated a hard drive on a sony vaio to try and replace vista with XP, the drivers available from the sony site are EXE only and when i try to install a regular XP disk i get BSOD because the sata drivers for the laptop arn't on the disk.

Is there anyway i could get the chipset and sata drivers in INF form from the .exe files or am i basically screwed?

The laptop has a recovery partition but i do not have the disks to initiate the recovery because the laptop is refurbished. They cost 30 dollars >=| from the sony online store and i really really dislike that option so if there is a way i can get the INF files out of these EXE files to create a streamlined XP disk with nlite i'd like to hear about it. Thanks.


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## AMD+nVidia

You can run the .exe, wait for everything to exact, then not proceed with the install (don't close the window)

Then search the AppData folder (It's hidden in your user folder) for a random folder with inf's in it


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## BiG O

You can use something like 7zip or WinRAR to open the .exe. You'll be able to see the INF files in the folder structure.


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## criminal

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BiG O* 
You can use something like 7zip or WinRAR to open the .exe. You'll be able to see the INF files in the folder structure.

7zip is your friend.


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## Sporx

Ok well this isn't a self extracting install file its just a regular EXE. BUT i managed to find a program called universal extractor that can extract all the files from a regular exe. It managed to extract the .inf file but there are like 10 other files it extracted so now im curious how N-lite is going to use these inf files correctly ? To me it just seems like .inf files are just glorified text documents. But its the only file Nlite recognizes , so ... will this work ?

Edit - I don't want to burn a dead boot disk this is my last blank CD.


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## xandypx

Depending on how the .exe contents are packaged, you may need to run it as AMD+nVidia has suggested.

You could download a zip program like Peazip or 7zip, and look at the contents of the exe file, to see if they can be unzipped from the file. In some exe files, the drivers are in seperate containers that you won't be able to extract the inf and driver files from. Think of this in the same way you would look into a .cab file, where you need another program to extract the information from the cabinet container.

Ninja'd by Big O


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## xandypx

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Sporx* 
It managed to extract the .inf file but there are like 10 other files it extracted so now im curious how N-lite is going to use these inf files correctly ? To me it just seems like .inf files are just glorified text documents. But its the only file Nlite recognizes , so ... will this work ?

Edit - I don't want to burn a dead boot disk this is my last blank CD.

You are correct that the .inf file is a text document, but is a "pointer" that will point the the OS installer to the proper driver, based on the hardware found. nLite will actually include all of the drivers referenced in the .inf file on the install disk... most likely all 10 files.


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## zxo0oxz

Universal extracter is my friend that works very well. here ya go


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## Sporx

Alright awesome, and just a follow up question. I have a Sony Vaio VGN-NS160E
and i downloaded all of the drivers from the sony website. Now when i tried using a modified version of windows and an original windows install disk i got BSOD.

If i make a streamlined CD with all of the drivers from the website it will probably correct the BSOD issue right ? Its probably because of the sata controller driver ?

I don't work with laptops ever so this is kind of new for me. Out side of installing RAID drivers i've never had this BSOD issue with operating systems so i want to make absolutely sure i understand whats happening in this case so i can retain that information for next time.


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## Sporx

I'm just looking for a second opinion on the problem from someone who might understand the situation.


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## Sporx

Ok new problem, i'm using Nlite to create a streamlined XP CD for this Sony Vaio VGN-NS160E and when i go to select the INF files for the sata driver i get this image:










What am i clicking here? I don't want to install multiples of different drivers and i dont know what regular pnp means?


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## xandypx

Ok... your Sony laptop has a GM45 Express chipset, so you want to select the ICH9* Drivers. tSelect the three at the bottom, and the Windows install will use the driver it needs during the install.
Even though you are not using RAID, put the RAID driver on the install disk anyway... It won't hurt anything, and if for some reason the installer wants it, it will be there.

Regarding your BSOD. If the BSOD was caused by pci.sys, you are going to have to slipstream XP Service Pack 3 onto the install disk. An original XP disk (no service pack), will not install on a computer that has SATA ports on the motherboard. It is adviseable to upgrade the installation to SP3 antway, as you will find you will have less Windows updates to install after you get the OS installed.

The option to include SP-3 is presented to you within the nLite wizard, and links are provided for the SP-3 files at the bottom of the dialog screen.

as a note, PNP are "Plug and Play" drivers, and may just be "generic". Since you have the actual drivers, for the hardware, you are correct to use them instead.


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## Albylion

*SOLVED*
I had a similar problem. I'm stubborn and like XP, but I want to connect to a network printer on a Win7 machine. The printer is a 2007 Dell Laser Printer 1710n PS3, which came out right around the time Vista did. After scavenging the Net, I found an XP/2000 driver, but it was a zipped file from Dell. The problem is that when selecting the printer as a network printer, and choosing to install x86 drivers (in addition the existing 64-bit drivers) so I could use it via XP, the installation program would only accept an .inf file. Using Universal Extractor, I was able to point extract those files and point the 'Additional Drivers' applet to the .inf file it needed. I had to do this repeatedly for various languages, but it worked in the end. I felt so awesome, I wanted to confirm in this Google-found thread that it actually works for anyone else who Googles the problem.


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## Plan9

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sporx*
> 
> Ok well this isn't a self extracting install file its just a regular EXE. BUT i managed to find a program called universal extractor that can extract all the files from a regular exe. It managed to extract the .inf file but there are like 10 other files it extracted so now im curious how N-lite is going to use these inf files correctly ? To me it just seems like .inf files are just glorified text documents. But its the only file Nlite recognizes , so ... will this work ?


Self extracting archives are just regular EXEs and for Universal Extractor to work, it would have to have been a self extracting archive (all those files are, is a Windows PE file format (ie a regular EXE) but with an archive (pkzip, MS Cabinet, Rar, etc) stored as a resource. It's actually quite basic stuff to do, but very neat solution.

In regards to your question though, you'll likely need all the files. the Inf is basically just an install script - the other files will be the drivers et al.


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## Romaandme

AMD+nVidia said:


> You can run the .exe, wait for everything to exact, then not proceed with the install (don't close the window)
> 
> Then search the AppData folder (It's hidden in your user folder) for a random folder with inf's in it


Some new Laptops manufacturer provides hardware drivers by extracting SCCM downloadable file.its work fine with SCCM and can use to install individual driver ..


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