-*- outline -*-

* Which version exist?

 - VxD

                Windows 3.x and Windows 9x

 - Windows Driver Model (WDM)

                Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows

                2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista (for

                backwards compatibility)

 - Windows Driver Foundation (WDF)

                Windows 2000 and later

* VxD.

See

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD

* WDM.

See

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Driver_Model

* WDF.

See

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Driver_Foundation

* Tools.

** Msinfo32.exe

Windows XP/2003 System Information Tool.

See

  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308549

** Sysinternals.

*** WinObj.

Winobj is a program that lets you browse the Windows NT Object Manager

namespace.

** devtree.

The DeviceTree V2.12 utility is a Windows XP/Server 2003 utility written by

OSR, that allows the user the ability to display the drivers and devices

loaded in 2 different views. The first view Driver View the user sees a list

of all the drivers loaded in kernel mode and all the devices that those

drivers have created. In the second view PnP View the user sees a list of all

the devices in the system from that of Plug and Play Manager (PnP).

** Microsoft DDK.

*** DevCon.

Supported device classes:

  cmd> devcon.exe classes

Which files used by specific driver (with "*" prints list of files for all drivers):

  cmd> devcon.exe driverfiles *

Device ID (names included):

  cmd> devcon.exe hwids *

Device status (running/stoped):

  cmd> devcon.exe status *

** USB Command Verifier.

All USB peripherals are required to pass the Device Framework tests in order

to gain certification.

  http://www.usb.org/developers/tools/

* Files.

** Windows 98 SE/ME.

 * .386

   VxD driver under Windows 3.x

 * .vxd

   VxD driver under Windows 95

** Windows NT (2000/XP/2003).

 * .inf

   Stored in %Windir%\Inf.

 * .pnf

   Precompiled INF File. Stored in %Windir%\Inf.

* Driver type.

** CDC.

  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837637

                How to use or to reference the Usbser.sys driver from

                universal serial bus (USB) modem .inf files.

* Driver class.

See

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791134.aspx

                System-Supplied Device Setup Classes

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff538820.aspx

                Drivers for the Supported USB Device Classes

* How list drivers?

Set environment devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices to 1 and run Device Manager,

select "View" --> "Show hidden devices".

* How install drivers?

** dpinst.

Driver Install Frameworks (DIFx) tools allow installing driver under following

OSes:

  Windows Server 2008 R2

  Windows 7

  Windows Server 2008

  Windows Vista

  Windows Server 2003

  Windows XP

  Windows 2000

It consist from API (from library, DIFxAPI, DIFxApp) and command line tool

(DPInst) which can be found in WDK and their licence allow redistribution.

  http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/install/DIFxFAQ.mspx

                Information about Driver Install Frameworks Tools

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/ru-ru/magazine/cc302206%28en-us%29.aspx

                If you update any drivers in Device Manager

                %windir%\system32\ReinstallBackups folder is created with

                backups of the old drivers.

** devcon.

This command-line specifies the location of the driver package's INF file (c:\toaster\toastpkg.inf)

and the toaster device's hardware identifier (ID), which is specified within the INF file.

  cmd# devcon.exe install c:\toaster\toastpkg.inf {b85b7c50-6a01-11d2-b841-00c04fad5171}\mstoaster

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff553642.aspx

                Using the DevCon Tool to Install a Driver Package

* How debug Windows drivers.

To detect whether a driver loaded, check the status of the device in Device Manager.

In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, SetupAPI logs information about device installation

in a plain-text log file that you can use to verify the installation of a device and to troubleshoot

device installation problems. Check

  %SystemRoot%\inf\SetupAPI.dev.log     installation events in the device

  %SystemRoot%\inf\SetupAPI.app.log     application installation

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff553497.aspx

                Troubleshooting Install and Load Problems with Signed Driver Packages

  http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/debugtips.mspx

                Improve Driver Debuggability

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff551063.aspx

                Debugging Tools for Windows

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff543450%28VS.85%29.aspx

                Checked and Free Build Differences

* Driver signing.

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff552958.aspx

                Tools for Signing Drivers

* Invoking a Device Properties Dialog Box from a Command-line Prompt.

You need get device-instance-ID-parameter:

  cmd# rundll32.exe devmgr.dll,DeviceProperties_RunDLL /DeviceID "ACPI\PNP0F03\4&1A8C8C2E&0"

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff548170.aspx

* Driver Selection Process.

Windows uses the following criteria to select a driver for a device:

 * Windows selects the driver that has the lowest rank value as the best match for the device.

 * For drivers that have equal rank, Windows selects the driver that has the most recent date.

 * For the drivers that have equal rank and date, Windows selects the driver that has the highest version.

 * Windows XP SP1 and later: For drivers that have equal rank, date, and version, Windows can select any driver.

 * Windows XP and Windows 2000: For drivers that have equal rank, date, and version, Windows can select any driver.

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff549553.aspx