设备驱动程序在让计算机上的多个硬件组件正常运行方面发挥着非常重要的作用。如果您希望它们正常工作，像视频卡或主板之类的东西需要您安装更新的驱动程序。安装适当的驱动程序对于那些没有经验的人来说可能是一个难题，但大多数时候这些驱动程序的文件以可执行安装程序的形式出现。您可能已经看过这些带有.exe(.exe)和.msi等扩展名的文件。
但是，您有时可能会遇到此设备驱动程序文件不是自解压器形式而是 . zip文件或.inf文件。
如何使用 .INF 文件手动安装驱动程序(Driver)
在本文中，我们将演示如何在Windows 10中使用“.inf”文件安装驱动程序(install a driver)。如果您想快速完成这些步骤并且不知道到底发生了什么，这里是该过程的一个小要点：
- 打开设备管理器(Device Manager)并单击以更新设备的驱动程序。
- 选择以在您的 PC 上本地查找驱动程序。
- 在您的文件夹中浏览。
- 打开并安装 .inf 文件。
- 或者，右键单击INF文件名并从上下文菜单中选择安装。( Install)
显然，在开始执行以下步骤之前，有必要确保在 PC 上下载了驱动程序文件。如果它是一个 zip 文件，请将其解压缩并将其放在您记得的位置，因为它将开始使用。
按Windows(Windows)和“R”组合键打开“运行”(Run)对话框。在空白处输入“devmgmt.msc”并按回车键。这将打开您 PC 的设备管理器(Device Manager)。
在设备管理器(Device Manager)中，您将看到硬件设备的设置。找到您已为其下载驱动程序的设备并将其展开。右键单击相关设备，然后单击“更新驱动程序”。
这将打开一个单独的窗口，为您提供两个选项。您也可以让Windows在您的计算机和网络上搜索相关设备的最新驱动程序并安装它，第二个是让您手动找到并安装它。由于您已经下载了驱动程序文件，因此单击后者。
在随后的窗口中，单击“让我从计算机上的设备驱动程序列表中选择”，然后进一步单击“从磁盘安装...”。
单击(Click)“浏览..”并找到已下载设备相关驱动程序的文件夹。找到文件夹后，打开它并选择.inf文件。单击(Click)打开并(Open)按照显示的说明安装文件。
您可能无法在目录中找到任何 .inf 文件，在这种情况下，您的 PC 上没有下载驱动程序包，您必须下载一个新的。要使更改生效，请重新启动您的 PC。
或者，您可以简单地右键单击INF文件名，然后从上下文菜单中选择安装。( Install)
相关(Related)：Windows 在哪里保存或存储设备驱动程序？
DriverStore 文件夹
在浏览文件夹以查找适当的 .inf 文件时，您可能偶然发现了一个名为DriverStore的文件夹。DriverStore是一个系统文件夹，用于记录通过第三方来源安装在您的计算机上的所有设备驱动程序。如果您精通设备驱动程序并且觉得需要管理它们，那么您可以使用名为DriveStore Explorer的免费软件来管理它们。
奖金提示：
您还可以使用命令行(Command-Line)或批处理文件安装(Batch File Install)方法。
要在命令行上或使用批处理文件安装执行INF文件的(INF)DefaultInstall和DefaultInstall.Services部分，请在命令提示符处键入以下命令，或创建并运行包含此命令的批处理文件：
RUNDLL32.EXE SETUPAPI.DLL,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 path-to-inf\infname.inf
Rundll32和InstallHinfSection分别在(InstallHinfSection)Microsoft Windows SDK文档的工具(Tools)和设置(Setup)以及系统管理(System Administration)部分进行了描述。
我们希望您现在使用 .inf 文件在系统上安装设备驱动程序不会有任何问题..inf
How to manually install a Driver using a .INF File in Windows 11/10
Devicе drivers play a very important role in letting severаl hardware сomponents on your cоmputer function properly. Things like a video cаrd or your motherboard require уou to havе updated drivers installеd if you want them working well. Installing aрpropriate drivers can be a tough nut to crack for thoѕe who are inexрerienced at it, but most of thе time the files for these drivers come in the form of executable installers. You mау have seen these, fileѕ with extensions like .exe and .msi.
You may, however, sometimes encounter a scenario where this device driver file is not in the form of a self-extractor but is rather a .zip file or a .inf file.
How to manually install a Driver using a .INF File
In this article, we will demonstrate how you can install a driver using a ‘.inf’ file in Windows 10. If you want to get walked through the steps quickly and not know exactly what goes on, here’s a small gist of the procedure:
- Open the Device Manager and click to update drivers for a device.
- Select to locate the drivers locally on your PC.
- Browse among your folders.
- Open and install the .inf file.
- Alternatively, right-click the INF file name and select Install from the context menu.
Obviously, it is necessary to ensure that you have a driver file on your PC downloaded before you begin following the steps below. If it is a zip file, unzip it and place it in a location you would remember, because that will come into use.
Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows and ‘R’ key combination. In the blank space, enter ‘devmgmt.msc’ and press enter. This will open your PC’s Device Manager.
In the Device Manager, you will see settings for your hardware devices. Locate the device that you have downloaded the driver for and expand it. Right-click on the relevant device and click on ‘Update Driver’.
This will open a separate window that will present you with two options. You could, either, let Windows search your computer and the web for the latest driver for the device in question and install it and the second is for you to locate and install it manually. Since you have already downloaded the driver file, you click on the latter.
In the subsequent window, click on ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’ and further click on ‘Have Disk…’.
Click on ‘Browse..’ and locate the folder in which you have downloaded the relevant driver for the device. Once you have located the folder, open it and select the .inf file. Click on Open and follow the instructions that show up to install the file.
It’s possible that you are not able to locate any .inf files in the directory, in which case the driver pack isn’t downloaded on your PC and you have to download a fresh one. To let the changes take effect, reboot your PC.
Alternatively, you can simply right-click the INF file name and select Install from the context menu.
Related: Where does Windows save or store Device Drivers?
DriverStore folder
While scrolling through the folders looking for the appropriate .inf files, you may have stumbled upon a folder named DriverStore. DriverStore is a system folder that records all the device drivers that are installed on your computer via third-party sources. If you are adept with device drivers and feel the need to manage them, then you can do so using a freeware named DriveStore Explorer.
BONUS TIP:
You can also use the Command-Line or Batch File Install method.
To execute the DefaultInstall and DefaultInstall.Services sections of your INF file on the command line or by using a batch file installation, type the following command at the command prompt, or create and run a batch file that contains this command:
RUNDLL32.EXE SETUPAPI.DLL,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 path-to-inf\infname.inf
Rundll32 and InstallHinfSection are described in the Tools and Setup and System Administration sections, respectively, of the Microsoft Windows SDK documentation.
We hope that you will now have no problem in install a device driver on your system using a .inf file..inf
