Quite simply, in Windows 7 Pro I would drop driver folders into c:\windows\inf\<added-subfolder> that would cover all the systems we support. At first boot after imaging, Windows 7 would recursively search for drivers in the default path c:\windows\inf which includes that <added-subfolder> with many subfolders containing many other drivers.
By the time the user logon was available, everything was installed and happy. Everything worked great.
Yes it can extend the initial post-image boot time but it was worth it for an easy universal image.
Now with Windows 8.1u1 Pro I have tried the same mechanic (with 8.1u1 drivers of course) and it refuses to look in c:\windows\inf\<added-subfolder>. Sysprep and my answerfile do their job but the system doesn't begin loading any drivers until reaching the desktop. It appears that Windows is only initially loading critical drivers and even those are only the Win8 native ones.
Has something changed or been broken that I've missed?
Injecting these drivers with pnputil is not an option. The registry bloats and breaks the image. Neither is using SCCM an option.
It's a very simple solution but so far it's refusing to work with Win8.1u1 .
Installing via Update Driver on the device in Device Manager, then pointing to the subfolder, I get:
Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device.
Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
The system cannot find the file specified.
