xxxxx@ieee.org said:
We have a PCI card and associated device driver that works splendidly
under NT 4.0 SP6. The DriverEntry routine of this driver ennumerates
the PCI bus, locates our card, and allocates the appropriate memory
for I/O etc. The user installs our software using InstallShield which
puts the appropriate entries in the Registry for the user.
We have a variety of drivers that are NT4 that we recompiled and installed
under WIN2000. It worked on some machines, but not others. We concluded
that the facade of compatibility was a lie, so watch out! It may work for
you, but it may well *not* work for someone else.
Once we got to WDM drivers, we found that InstallShield or InstallerVise
installers were no longer able to generate installers for these drivers
as you need to negotiate with the PnP demon to get PCI devices installed,
and that is where the .inf files come in.
There is a PnP setup API that custom installers can use to install the
device drivers, but it is a WDM driver specific thing and 'though we toyed
with extending InstallerVise to support PnP driver installation, we conceded
that the users are going to be facing the “Hardware Wizard” anyhow so we
were pretty much compelled to make the “have disk” route as easy for the
user as possible.
(Installing hardware is more complicated for the Win2000 user. Accept it.)
xxxxx@ieee.org said:
-It looks like you can put information in the inf file that will add
Registry entries. Registry info is supplied by our InstallShield
script. Do we need to duplicate this information in the inf file?
Yes because some of it tells the PnP demon what to do. Note that Win2000
PnP requires some slightly different registry entries. You need to pick
through the win2kddk documentation with a very fine tooth comb.
xxxxx@ieee.org said:
-Do we have to put the inf file in a special directory?
You have to let the Windows installer put it in a special directory.
Either the hardware wizard does it, or a custom installer calls the
PnP demon API to make it happen.
xxxxx@ieee.org said:
-Is there another way to do what we are trying to do WITHOUT using an
onf file?
Nope. Even the custom installer route requires an INF file, as that
file is stored in the accursed depths of the PnP demon’s lair, and is
scanned when new cards (of any type) are installed or removed. That is
how it associates drivers with discovered devices.
Steve Williams “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
xxxxx@icarus.com But I have promises to keep,
xxxxx@picturel.com and lines to code before I sleep,
http://www.picturel.com And lines to code before I sleep.”
