Core WinPE Driver Cleanup

Remove obsolete WinPE driver versions from the OSDeploy Core library.

Update-OSDeployCoreDrivers stores each driver release in a separate versioned folder. New releases do not replace older folders. Over time, the library can contain multiple Dell, HP, Intel, and Microsoft driver versions.

Remove obsolete versions to reduce disk usage and keep the driver selection list in Build-OSDeployBoot easy to identify.

Keep the newest known-working version of each driver family and architecture. Do not delete the winpedrivers-amd64 or winpedrivers-arm64 roots. A newer version number is usually the current release, but verify the version you use before deleting an older folder.

Driver Folder Location

Expanded driver folders are stored by architecture:

C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\winpedrivers-amd64\
C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\winpedrivers-arm64\

These roots contain module-managed packages. User-managed drivers are stored separately under C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\repository\winpedrivers-amd64 and C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\repository\winpedrivers-arm64; maintain those folders according to your own repository workflow.

A folder name contains the driver family and version. For example:

dell-A09
dell-A10
hp-3.30
hp-3.40
intel-ethernet-31.1
intel-ethernet-31.2.2

In these examples, dell-A09, hp-3.30, and intel-ethernet-31.1 are older candidates. Keep a previous release when it is still required for tested hardware or rollback.

Review Installed Drivers

Close any active OSDeploy build, then open an elevated PowerShell 7 session.

List the expanded folders for both architectures:

$DriverRoots = Get-Item "$env:ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\winpedrivers-*"

Get-ChildItem -Path $DriverRoots.FullName -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
	Select-Object Name, Parent, LastWriteTime, FullName |
	Format-Table -AutoSize

Compare folders belonging to the same driver family. Use the version in the folder name to identify the release. Treat LastWriteTime only as supporting information because copying or re-expanding a folder can change that date.

Select Old Driver Folders

Use Out-GridView to select only the obsolete versioned folders. Hold Ctrl to select multiple rows, then select OK.

$OldDrivers = Get-ChildItem -Path $DriverRoots.FullName -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
	Select-Object Name,
		@{Name = 'Architecture'; Expression = { $_.Parent.Name -replace '^winpedrivers-', '' } },
		LastWriteTime,
		FullName |
	Out-GridView -Title 'Select old WinPE driver folders to remove' -PassThru

Review the selection before deleting anything:

$OldDrivers | Format-Table Name, Architecture, FullName -AutoSize

If the selection is incorrect, run the selection command again.

Preview the Removal

Run Remove-Item with -WhatIf to preview every folder that would be deleted:

$OldDrivers.FullName | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -WhatIf

Confirm that every displayed path is below the correct architecture folder and represents an obsolete version.

Remove the Old Drivers

Remove the selected folders and confirm each deletion:

$OldDrivers.FullName | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -Confirm

The command deletes only the selected expanded folders. It does not remove the winpedrivers-amd64 or winpedrivers-arm64 roots.

Downloaded package archives are stored separately below C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\downloads. Removing an expanded driver folder does not remove its downloaded archive. When the current catalog still references that package, rerunning Update-OSDeployCoreDrivers can restore the expanded folder from the cached archive.

Verify the Cleanup

List the remaining folders:

Get-ChildItem -Path $DriverRoots.FullName -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
	Select-Object Name, Parent, FullName |
	Format-Table -AutoSize

Confirm that one current or known-working version remains for each required driver family. Run Build-OSDeployBoot and select only the required driver folders when creating the next boot image.

Restore a Deleted Driver

Refresh a current driver source when a required folder was removed accidentally:

Update-OSDeployCoreDrivers -Name 'dell'

Replace dell with hp, intel-ethernet, or intel-wifi as required. The command restores the version currently published in the OSDeploy driver catalog; it might not restore an older vendor release that is no longer published.

Related

• Update WinPE Drivers
• Update-OSDeployCoreDrivers command reference