In attempting to automate the install, the author used a test machine to get the list of necessary files from Driver Details in Device Manager, and also grabbed the related oem*.inf file from the C:\Windows\inf folder to complete the collection of items to attempt an automated and unattended install. Imagine his frustration when this effort produces the following error message:

Windows cannot verify the digital signatures for the drivers required by this device. Error Code 52.

The drivers are in fact signed, and the problem is apparently well-documented all over the Internet for drivers of all kinds. But alas, no easy fix is available, without turning to 3rd party software products to remedy this known Windows defect. I’m sure apexwm isn’t the only Windows admin who would voice his sentiments on this approach “No thanks. I’m not about to start installing a bunch of unknown 3rd party products to try and help with a Windows problem.”

If I were in those shoes, however, I would try to take advantage of Windows’ ability to run post-install scripts after the initial installation process completes (which is how additional common applications such as Office, 7-Zip, FileZilla, and so forth, often occur at the tail end of automated installation processes). It seems to me that if the driver uses an InstallShield .exe file, there should be some way to script or automate its installation as a post-install task.

I do get apexwm’s complaint that Linux/Unix does a much better job of integrating drivers into its kernel directly, and that compilation into the kernel is an option for those few odd drivers that aren’t already included under this umbrella. But I’m a member of the “where there’s a will, there’s also a way” club of Windows-heads and suggest that he needn’t have given up in defeat.