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Chapter 11

MANAGING DEVICE
DRIVERS

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OVERVIEW
Understand the relationship between
hardware devices and drivers
Install a device driver
Use Device Manager to view and manage
hardware devices and their device drivers
Troubleshoot device driver problems

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UNDERSTANDING DEVICE DRIVERS

What is a device driver?
Software routines that implement devicespecific functions for generic input/output
operations.
Communication interface between the
operating system and the hardware device.
Defines and processes device commands.

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DEVICE DRIVER FUNCTIONS

A device driver exposes device-specific
routines to device-independent functions in
the operating system.
A device driver allows you to manipulate the
physical properties of hardware devices.
A device driver can provide functionality
through two separate driver components
A high-level driver
Interact with application and operating system

A low-level driver

Direct hardware interface

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DEVICES AND DRIVERS

Some drivers (standard keyboard, mouse) are
generic, so a single driver can be used with
hundreds of compatible devices.
Other drivers are very specific and work only
with
a specific model of device.
Generic drivers require less frequent updating
and therefore present fewer challenges to the
administrator.
Device driver may not be available or
unsupported.

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DEVICE DRIVERS AND HARDWARE

RESOURCES
I/O address (port)
Data mailslot

DMA
Transfer without
processor support
8 channels

Memory address
Additional BIOS
routines

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DEVICE DRIVERS AND HARDWARE

RESOURCES
Device manager
View
IRQs
Hidden devices
NIC

Action

Update driver
Disable
Uninstall
Scan for changes

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CONFIGURING HARDWARE RESOURCES

Issues with manual configuration:
Limited device resource settings
Resource depletion
Device conflicts

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PLUG AND PLAY (PnP)

Introduced in 1995 (aka Plug and Pray)

Detects new hardware
Installs the appropriate device driver
Determines what hardware resources the
device requires
Scans the system for available hardware
resources
Selects appropriate resource settings for the
device
Configures both the device and the device
driver that will use the selected resources

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Non-PnP COMPLIANT OR STANDARD

DEVICE
Manual device driver installation and
configuration:
The system fails to detect the new device
The system detects the device but cannot
identify
The system cannot identify the specific
model
The system installs but cannot configure the
device
The system installs the wrong device driver

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CREATING A DRIVER MAINTENANCE

STRATEGY
When a new driver is released by a
manufacturer,
administrators must decide:
If and when updates should be installed
How the updates should be installed

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TO UPDATE OR NOT?
Hardware manufacturers generally release
new device drivers:
To enhance performance
To implement new features
To address problems with previous driver
releases

On a server system, all new drivers should

be tested before installation. A new driver
might cause issues with existing hardware.

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USERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND DEVICE

DRIVER INSTALLATION
Updating device drivers might require the
administrator to visit every system. In large
environments this can be problematic.
Many drivers can be included in silent
installation packages or distributed via
scripts or group policy.
Windows Server 2003 includes driver
signing options and the ability to grant
selective driver installation privileges to
appropriate users.

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CONTROLLING DEVICE DRIVER ACCESS

Members of the Administrators group have
full access to load, unload, configure, and
manage devices and device drivers.
Users can install a new device if it requires
no resource configuration and if a signed
driver for that device already exists on the
system. Facilitates installing devices that
use USB or FireWire connections.
Can be a major data security (risk) issue

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DRIVER SIGNING OPTIONS

Driver signing guarantees tested drivers
Windows Hardware Quality Laboratory

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USING CONTROL PANEL

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USING THE ADD HARDWARE WIZARD

Control Panel
Add hardware
Manual install

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USING DEVICE MANAGER

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ENABLING AND DISABLING DEVICES

A device can be disabled and enabled
through Device Manager.
Disabled devices appear in Device Manager
with a red X on their icons in Device
Manager.
A disabled device cannot be accessed by
the operating system.
A disabled device can be assigned different
hardware resources when it is re-enabled.

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UNINSTALLING DEVICE DRIVERS

If the device was installed by Plug and Play,
the device driver is removed and the
hardware is deleted from Device Manager.
If the device was installed manually, the
device driver is removed but the hardware
remains in Device Manager and is marked
as a device that cannot be started, is
improperly configured, or does not have a
device driver installed.

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MANAGING DEVICE PROPERTIES

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UPDATING DRIVERS

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ROLLING BACK DRIVERS

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MANAGING HARDWARE RESOURCES

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TROUBLESHOOTING DEVICES AND

DRIVERS
Device Manager status codes
Using hardware troubleshooters
Recovering from device disaster

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DEVICE MANAGER STATUS CODES

Provides a mechanism for the operating
system to indicate the type of problem
being experienced by the device
Can be viewed in the Device Status box on
the General tab of the devices properties
Uses a numeric code to indicate the
problem

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USING HARDWARE TROUBLESHOOTERS

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RECOVERING FROM DEVICE DISASTER

Driver Rollback
Last Known Good Configuration
Safe Mode
Recovery Console

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SUMMARY
Device drivers are software components that
enable applications and operating systems to
communicate with specific hardware devices.
Plug and Play is a standard that enables
computers to detect and identify hardware
devices, and then install and configure drivers
for those devices.
Drivers for a device might be included with
Windows Server 2003, or you might need to
obtain the latest driver from the device
manufacturer.

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SUMMARY (continued)
The drivers included with Windows Server
2003 are all digitally signed, to ensure that
they have not been tampered with.
Device Manager is an MMC snap-in that lists
all hardware devices in the computer and
indicates problems with identification or
driver configuration.

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SUMMARY (continued)
Device Manager allows you to enable and
disable devices, update and roll back
drivers, manage device driver properties,
and resolve hardware resource conflicts.
Users must have administrative privileges
to install and manage hardware devices and
their drivers, although users can install Plug
and Play devices
if no additional drivers or user interaction
are required.

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SUMMARY (continued)
Many hardware manufacturers periodically release
driver updates; it is up to system administrators
to decide whether to install the updates, when,
and how.
The Last Known Good Configuration option is
useful for reverting to a previously used driver,
but only
if you have not logged on to the system after
restarting.
Safe mode loads a minimal set of drivers, enabling
you to access Device Manager and disable,
uninstall, or roll back a driver that is causing a
problem.