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Injecting Intel Matrix Mass Storage Drivers into a Windows XP WIM

In Classroom and Lab Computing, we use sysprep in our Windows XP imaging process so that we can support the various computer models that comprise the 4000+ computers participating in CLM, both at University Park as well as several other campuses at Penn State. Using the tools and techniques that we have developed, we are able to apply our single OS image to a machine in about 5 minutes using a USB drive. After that, the USB drive can be removed and the machine will continue to build completely unattended. Not only is the process really cool, it saves a lot of time. However, sysprep for Windows XP isn’t perfect, and with newer hardware we have run into a few caveats.

The Problem

While updating our XP image last year, we ran into a snag where the new model (a Dell Optiplex 755) refused to build when SATA operation was set to AHCI in the BIOS. This was due to a missing Intel Matrix Storage driver. Normally, drivers can easily be added to a sysprep image by injecting them into a folder within the image and then adding them to OEMPnPDriversPath in Sysprep.inf. However, these drivers are not applied until midway through the mini-setup process that runs the first time Windows boots. Without having the correct Mass Storage Driver for booting the first time, Windows will blue screen (with stop error 0×0000007B) before it can even enter mini-setup. Now that many of Dell’s newer systems come with eSata ports, it is recommended that AHCI is used for SATA operation. There is a way to insert Mass Storage Drivers when sealing a sysprep image. However, we already sealed our image for this year and wanted to avoid another reseal. Fortunately, there is a way to manually inject the drivers into the image. It’s a bit tedious, but it does work.

Manually Injecting the Intel Matrix Storage Drivers into an Windows XP image

1. Download the Intel Matrix Storage driver (be sure it’s the latest version) from the Intel website or from the system manufacturer website. If using the Intel website, you will probably need to extract the drivers from the executable. This can be done by calling <filename>.exe -a -0 <folder path>. Folder path is the folder where the drivers will be extracted to.
   • Make sure that you have the following files: iaahci.cat, iaahci.inf, iastor.cat, iastor.inf, and iastor.sys.
2. Open iaahci.inf with a text editor. First, look in the [version] section for the ClassGUID. Copy and paste this somewhere. Next, look for the [INTEL_HDC] section. You will see syntax similar to this:

   %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2681&CC_0106.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Inst, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2681&CC_0106

   The portion of the line that is in red is the HardwareID. Copy and paste the HardwareID portion of each entry in [INTEL_HDC] to a separate line in an empty text file. They will be important later on.
   Note: The [INTEL_HDC.ntamd64] section below, which is below this section, can be skipped. They are the same.

3. Open iastor.inf and note the ClassGUID.  Look for the [INTEL_HDC] again. The formatting should be the same. Once again, copy and paste each of the HardwareIds to a separate line in an empty text file.
4. Mount your Windows XP image using imageX (imagex.exe /mountrw <path-to-wim-file> <image index #> <mount-folder-path>) . If using Ghost, you will probably have to apply the image to a separate hard drive. Last time I checked, Ghost couldn’t edit disk images that were in NTFS format. By the way, now may be a good time to look at switching from Ghost to ImageX for capturing and applying your image.
5. Copy the driver files to the following folders:
   • Copy iaahci.inf and iastor.inf to <mount-folder-path>\Windows\inf
   • Copy iaStor.sys to <mount-folder-path>\Windows\system32\drivers
   • Copy iaahci.cat and iastor.cat to <mount-folder-path>\Windows\system32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}


The HKLM\systemxp\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase key

6. Next, the SYSTEM registry hive from the image must be loaded. Open the Registry Editor (Start->Run->regedit.exe). Click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and then go to File->Load Hive… browse to <mount-folder-path>\Windows\system32\config and select the file named SYSTEM. When prompted to give the hive a name, type systemxp. The systemxp registry hive should not appear below HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
   Note: At this point, you should take a moment to browse to <mount-folder-path>\Windows\system32\config and make a backup of your SYSTEM file in case the registry changes break something.
7. Now that the driver files are in the right spot, a registry key must be created for each of HardwareIDs that we retrieved from iaahci.inf and iastor.inf.  The easiest way to do this is to create a .reg file that will add all of the entries to the hive. Create a blank text file and name it IntelMSD.reg. From a text editor, open IntelMSD.reg and set the first line to this:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

   Next, we need to create an entry for each of the HardwareIDs that we are adding. Here is what the syntax for each entry will look like:

   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\systemxp\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_2929&cc_0106]
   "Service"="iaStor"
   "ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

   The parts in bold are what will be changed for each entry. On the first line, the red text is where the HardwareID for each entry will go. The second line is the same in each entry. The third line is where the GUID associated with that entry will go. The two ClassGUIDs that were retrieved in steps 2 and 3 will be used here. Make sure that the GUID you put is the one that was in the same .inf file as the HardwareID.

   Note: I realize that this part was a bit tricky. You can compare your .reg file with mine here to make sure your syntax is correct. Keep in mind that yours may have more entries, especially if it’s a newer version of the driver. Also, be sure that you have made a backup of your SYSTEM file in case the registry becomes corrupt.

8. In the registry editor, go to File->Import… and browse to the IntelMSD.reg. This will load all of the registry entries into the systemxp hive. To be sure, you can browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\systemxp\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase and check for the entries yourself.
9. In addition to the entries created in CriticalDeviceDatabase, an entry for the iaStor service must be created. This registry file should apply the entries that are needed to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\systemxp\ControlSet001\Services. To import it, go to File->Import… and browse to iaStor.reg.
10. In regedit, click the systemxp registry hive and then go to File->Unload Hive… This will unload the XP Image SYSTEM hive so that the image can be unmounted.
11. Unmount the image (or if using Ghost, recapture it). Test it on machines that have AHCI enabled (and use the Intel Matrix Storage Driver).

Other Mass Storage Drivers

Although I haven’t tested this, I am pretty sure that this process will work with other Mass Storage Drivers. The key to getting them to work is being able to read and understand what the inf file is doing. The Intel Matrix driver only required registry edits, and so it was fairly easy to do. For more information on inf file syntax, look at this MSDN page.

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