If you install the Recovery Console on a computer that uses 3rd party mass storage drivers, when you boot the Recovery Console you still have to press F6 and load the drivers from some media.

You can install these drivers in the Recovery Console:

01. Install the Recovery Console on any Windows NT-based computer.

02. Locate the OEMSetup.inf file for the device and open it in Notepad.exe.

03. Locate the string or strings that contain the Plug and Play identifiers which contain PCI\VEN. On my Adaptec Array1000U 160 PCI RAID Controller, the lines that contained the PCI\VEN string are:

%PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7815.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7815
%PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7378.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7378
%PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_8378.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_8378
%PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7893.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7893
%PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7895.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7895
%PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0013.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0013
%PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0053.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0053
%PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_00c3.DeviceDesc%= CDA1000,PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_00c3

NOTE: The multiple strings indicate that the same device driver handles multiple devices.

04. Locate the device driver (.sys) file. Mine is CDA1000.sys by inspecting the contents of the OEMSetup.inf file.

05. Make sure that Windows Explorer can display the hidden Cmdcons folder by using the Tools / Folder Options menu and selecting the View tab. Check the Show hidden files and folders box and clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) box. Press Yes to confirm. Press Apply and OK.

06. Copy the device driver file to the \cmdcons folder.

07. Open the \cmdcons\txtsetup.sif file in Notepad.exe.

08. Under the [HardwareIdsDatabase] section, add the PCI\VEN strings from step 3, followed by the driver file name, as in:

[HardwareIdsDatabase]
PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7815 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7378 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_8378 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7893 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9004&DEV_7895 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0013 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0053 = "CDA1000"
PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_00c3 = "CDA1000"

09. Locate the [SCSI.Load] section and add the driver reference, as in:

[SCSI.Load]
cda1000 = cda1000.sys,4

10. Locate the [SourceDisksFiles] section and add the driver reference, as in:

[SourceDisksFiles]
cda1000.sys = 1,,,,,,4_,4,1,,,1,4

11. Locate the [SCSI] section and add the driver description from the OEMSetup.inf file, as in:

[SCSI]
cda1000 = "Adaptec Array1000U160 PCI RAID Controller for Windows2000"

12. Save the changes to the Txtsetup.sif file and exit Notepad.

13. When you choose the Recovery Console from the boot menu, don't press F6 to load the OEM driver.

NOTE: See How can I use the Windows 2000 Recovery Console to recover Windows NT 4.0?

NOTE: I tested this tip on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. I know it will work for Windows Server 2003, because I don't have to press F6 to load the "Adaptec Array1000U160 PCI RAID Controller for Windows2000" on my server, it was already configured in \cmdcons\txtsetup.sif. That is how I derived the information to compose this tip. I am sure it will work for Windows NT 4.0 also.