Dot4usb.sys

I just had an issue yesterday that had me pounding out searches and wizards, trying to figure out how to get some driver files from a Windows XP CD.  It wasn't actually getting them from the CD, but I couldn't figure out where on the disc the files were.  Here's my story, and I hope it helps someone:

The Problem:
I was trying to install an HP LaserJet 1200 on a Windows XP Pro laptop via USB.  No problem, right?  I've never had trouble before.  However, this XP install didn't seem complete because when I put my USB flash drive in, it went through the Add Hardware Wizard.  That almost never happens, especially with XP.

Installing the printer seemed easy enough, but when it came time to copy the driver files to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers, it asked for the XP installation CD.  I finally got around to bringing a CD, and when I popped it in at the requested time, the installation still didn't find Dot4usb.sys.  Time for Google.

The Solution:
Google showed me a few sites that discussed the problem, and one site pointed to a download site to simply get Dot4usb.sys so we could just finish up and go home.  Turns out that the site wanted $19.99 for it.  What a racket!  More Google, please...

I finally stumbled upon some other post somewhere else that led me to believe the file I was looking for was actually in a cabinet file within the I386 folder on the CD.  I recall having looked in there before, so here we go...

Dot4usb.sys actually exists on the CD at \I386\DRIVER.CAB.  It's on every damn XP, Vista, Server 2003, and probably Windows 7 installation disc.  I extracted the file and another one I figured I needed, and all was well.  And to think someone wanted $20 for a free system file.

Also, the thread that lead me to the $20 site was on experts-exchange.com.  That is surprising because Experts Exchange is usually a very reputable site.  I think I found my real answer at tomshardware.com, another very good resource.

I hope that this post, in the archive, can help someone solve a similar problem, or at least remind them that XP might not look in DRIVER.CAB for something that it should otherwise know is there.