INF SourceDisksFiles section

The SourceDisksFiles section names the source files that are used during installation, identifies the installation disks that contain those files, and provides the directory paths, if any, on the distribution disks that contain individual files.

In order for a driver file or an application file to be included as part of a signed driver package, the file must have a corresponding INF SourceDisksFiles section entry and a corresponding INF CopyFiles directive.

[SourceDisksFiles] | 
[SourceDisksFiles.x86] | 
[SourceDisksFiles.ia64] | (Windows XP and later versions of Windows)
[SourceDisksFiles.amd64] | (Windows XP and later versions of Windows)
[SourceDisksFiles.arm] | (Windows 8 and later versions of Windows)
[SourceDisksFiles.arm64] (Windows 10 version 1709 and later versions of Windows)

filename=diskid[,[ subdir][,size]]
...  

Entries

filename
Specifies the name of the file on the source disk.

diskid
Specifies the integer identifying the source disk that contains the file. This value, along with the initial subdir (subdirectory) path (if any) that contains the named file, must be defined in a SourceDisksNames section of the same INF.

subdir
This optional value specifies the subdirectory (relative to the path value of the SourceDisksNames section, if any) on the source disk where the named file resides.

If this value is omitted from an entry, the named source file is assumed to be in the path directory that was specified in the SourceDisksFiles section for the given disk or, if no path directory was specified, in the installation root.

size
This optional value specifies the uncompressed size, in bytes, of the given file.

Remarks

A SourceDisksFiles section can have any number of entries, one for each file on the distribution disks. Any INF with a SourceDisksFiles section must also have an INF SourceDisksNames section. By convention, SourceDisksNames and SourceDisksFiles sections follow the INF Version section. (These sections are omitted from a system-supplied INF, which instead specifies a LayoutFile entry in its Version section.)

Each filename entry must specify the exact name of a file on the source disk. You cannot use a %strkey% token to specify the file name. For more information about %strkey% tokens, see INF Strings Section.

To support distribution of driver files on multiple system architectures, you can specify an architecture-specific SourceDisksFiles section by adding an .x86, .ia64, .amd64, .arm, or .arm64 extension to SourceDisksFiles. Be aware that, unlike other sections such as a DDInstall section, the platform extensions for a SourceDisksFiles section are not .ntx86, .ntia64, .ntamd64, etc.

For example, to specify a source disk names section for an x86-based system, use a SourceDisksFiles.x86 section, not a SourceDisksFiles.ntx86 section. Similarly, use a SourceDisksFiles.ia64 section to specify an Itanium-based system and a SourceDisksFiles.amd64 section to specify an x64-based system.

During installation, device installation functions look for architecture-specific SourceDisksFiles sections before using the generic section. For example, if, during installation on an x86-based platform, Windows is copying a file that is named driver.sys, it will look for the file's description in [SourceDisksFiles.x86] before looking in [SourceDisksFiles].

Examples

The following example shows a SourceDisksNames section and a corresponding SourceDisksFiles section. Note that this example has only a SourceDisksFiles.x86 section, specifying the files for the x86 architecture. An INF that supports another architecture will need a corresponding SourceDisksFiles section for that architecture, or the use of an undecorated [SourceDisksFiles] section, which supports all architectures.

[SourceDisksNames]
;
; diskid = description[, [tagfile] [, <unused>, subdir]]
;
1 = %Floppy_Description%,,,\WinNT

[SourceDisksFiles.x86]
aha154x.sys = 1,\x86 ; on distribution disk 1, in subdir \WinNT\x86

See also

CopyFiles

DestinationDirs

RenFiles

SourceDisksNames

Strings

Version