How do I combine the 3 device driver CDs into 1?

[Jaegen]

Hello,

I would like to be able to install all my drivers off of a network drive, rather than the 3 CDs which came with my Developer Suite.  So far I can do this by copying each CD to it's own folder, but the installer still prompts me to find discs 2 and 3 at some point in the middle of the installation.  Given that the installation takes a long time, and I don't want to have to sit twiddling my thumbs every time I do this, I'd like to be able to put them all in one volume and just hit GO once.

I notice the only unique thing about the three CDs is that they each have a "nidist.id" file, which indicates which volume the CD is.  I've also noticed that the "setup.ini" file on disc 1 has a "Volume" tag for each inidividual driver element.

Can I combine the 3 CDs into one folder, leave only disc 1's "nidist.id" file, and change the "Volume" tag to 1 in "setup.ini"?  Is there some other way of doing this?

Thanks,

Jaegen

[Laura F.]

Hi Jaegen,

You can do this with a silent installation.  You can see a KnowledgeBase about doing a silent install for NI-DAQmx, but you can do the same for the Device Drivers CD.  You'll just have to modify the spec file to include the drivers you need.

I'm not sure if the method you proposed would work, but I'm certain you can use the spec file to do the installation. 

Regards,
Laura

[Jaegen]

The problem is I'd still like to be able to select what gets installed - I'd just like to set it up and hit "Go", without having to wait around to respond to 2 prompts asking for disc 2 and disc 3.  Is this not possible?

Jaegen

[Laura F.]

Hi Jaegen,

You can select what gets installed in the spec file.  It's a text file and you change your options from "absent" to "local" if you want them installed.  It's not as nice as the installer interface, but it does the trick.  Remember that you must also specify that you accept the licenses.  You shouldn't be prompted for the other disks, as long as you have folders with the other disk contents in the same location as the first disk.  I don't think you'll get prompts for the other two disks.  Have you given this a try?

Regards,
Laura

[Jaegen]

Sorry, I wasn't clear.  I meant I want to be able to use the graphical interface to select different components to install each time.  I will give both the spec file method and my proposed method a try as soon as I have a computer to test on.

Thanks,

Jaegen

[mbailey]

I have exactly the same question.

At the end of the network installation is asks for the path to the device drivers CD's. Is it possible to include this in the network installation setup somehow?

[Brian F.]

Hello. 

I would recommend looking at another discussion forum to answer your question at:

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=100381&requireLogin=False

This discussion forum seems to answer your question completely explaining how to do a silent install of LabVIEW along with a handpicked number of other drivers.  Let me know if this works for you!  If it doesn't fully answer your question, I would appreciate more information on exactly what you would like to install and what you would like to exclude in the installation. 

Have a great day!

Brian F
Applications Engineer
National Instruments