Unpack / extract Dell driver EXE files under OS X #

The Windows XP SP3 install CD lacks many SATA drivers, resulting in a BSOD shortly after booting the disc on unsupported hardware. One solution is to copy the required SATA driver to a floppy and press F6 during boot to load. Dell drivers come packed in EXE files - OS X users can extract them via: unzip:

$ unzip -L ~/temp/R173412.exe 
Archive:  /Users/user/temp/R165147.EXE
  inflating: iastor.sys              
  inflating: txtsetup.oem            
  inflating: iaahci.cat              
  inflating: iaahci.inf              
  inflating: iastor.cat              
  inflating: iastor.inf              
  inflating: version.txt

GUI lovers note: OS X's "Archive Utility.app" was unable to extract the files, but FileJuicer ($18 shareware with 6 day trial) matched unzip's performance. (Postscript: SATA config had to be changed from AHCI to ATA in Optiplex 330 BIOS to prevent BSOD when loading driver from floppy.)

/mac | Sep 13, 2009

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