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How to Install a Driver in Windows Server 2022 Core

Published July 19, 2024

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A Windows Server Core installation has no GUI, so, all tasks – including driver installation – are performed via PowerShell. Read this guide to learn how to install a device driver in a Windows Server 2022 Core.

If you Enable Remote Server Manager Connection and Access to Computer Management on your server core, you can manage some tasks on the server with Server Manager or Computer Management.

Step 1: Download and Unpack the Driver

You require a device driver’s .inf file to install it in a Server Core installation. So, if you download an exe driver pack, you must unpack.

In this guide, I will demonstrate how to install the Realtek USB GBE Ethernet Controller Driver from Dell.

After downloading the driver, to unpack it, I ran the executable and selected the Extract option. Then, I saved the driver files and folder to a folder on my computer.

Step 2: Copy the Driver to the Server Core

If you need to install a network driver, it means that the server may not be connected to the network. In this situation, use a tool like Dell’s iDRAC or HP’s ILO to mount the driver and access it via the PowerShell command prompt on the server.

RDP to the Windows Server Core and create a folder path with these commands.

New-Item -Path c:\Drivers -Name USBNetAdapter -ItemType Directory -Force

The command creates a folder path, C:\Drivers\USBNetAdapter\

Then, return to your laptop (or the computer you unpacked the driver earlier) and run this SCP command to copy the driver files to the Server Core.

I Install OpenSSH as part of my Server Core post-install configurations. This allows me to use SCP to copy files to the Server Core.

Before you run the sample scp command below, change the paths, the username, and the server core hostname. The first path on drive E:\ is where I have the driver while the second path starting with C:\ is the path on the destination server core.

scp.exe -r "E:\Drivers\Realtek USB GBE Ethernet Controller Driver\*" administrator@IPMpHPV4:"C:\Drivers\USBNetAdapter"

Including the -r syntax in the SCP command tells the command to perform a recursive copy. This allows the command to copy all subfolders and files in the “E:\Drivers\Realtek USB GBE Ethernet Controller Driver\* path

Step 3: Install the Driver

Back on the RDP connection to the server Core, install the driver by running these commands.

Before installing the USB network adapter driver, run the Get-NetAdapter command to confirm that the network card does not exist on the server.

Install the NIIC driver with this command

#I installed the driver

pnputil.exe -i -a C:\Drivers\USBNetAdapter\10240\Drivers\64\rtump64x64.INF

After installing the drivers, restart the server for the changes to take effect.

Restart-Computer -Force

Finally, if you run Get-NetAdapter, it includes the newly installed network adapter.

Conclusion

Installing drivers on a Windows Server Core installation is not as straightforward as it is on a server with GUI. However, by following my tested steps explained in this guide, you’ll get the job done and I hope you did!

Let me know your thoughts about this guide and your experience with Windows Server Core in general. To provide feedback, respond to the “Was this page helpful?” feedback request below.

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About the Author

Victor Ashiedu

Victor is the founder of InfoPress Media, publishers of Ilifeguides and Itechguides. With 20+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, his expertise spans Windows, Linux, and DevOps. Explore his contributions on Itechguides.com for insightful how-to guides and product reviews.