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Deploying a Driver to a Test Computer

Taking advantage of the Visual Studio development environment, the WDK for Windows 8 provides a test feature that enables you to build, deploy, and debug a driver on a test computer. To successfully deploy a driver to a test system using the WDK, you must first set up and configure a test computer. You can set up and configure multiple computers if you want to test your driver under different testing scenarios.

Setting up the test computer

Follow the instructions for Configuring a Computer for Driver Deployment, Testing, and Debugging.

Setting deployment properties for your driver solution

From the property pages for your driver package, you have additional control over how you want your driver deployed for testing. You can choose to deploy the driver automatically whenever you build the driver solution in each configuration.

Open the property pages for your driver package. Right-click the driver package project in Solution Explorer and select Properties.
In the property pages for the driver package, click Configuration Properties, click Driver Install, and then click Deployment.
Select the Enable deployment option. When this option is selected, you must select a test computer that you have configured, or select the name of a computer that you want to configure for testing. See Configuring a Computer for Driver Deployment, Testing, and Debugging.

When you enable deployment for your driver package project, the driver is automatically deployed to the test computer you have selected when you build your solution. You can use the Deployment property page to configure options for driver installation and deployment. See Deployment Properties for Driver Package Projects.
When you enable deployment on a test computer, you can also automatically enable and configure Driver Verifier, KMDF Verifier, or UMDF Verifier on the test computer to enhance the effectiveness of testing. To set these options for the driver package project, click Configuration Properties, click Driver Install, and then click the following property pages.

Building a driver and deploying the driver to test computer

Before you deploy your driver, make sure that you can build your driver solution. A driver solution must include the driver and driver package so that the driver can be installed on the test computer. For more information, see Creating a Driver Package and Building a Driver.
Before you deploy the driver to the test computer, you also need to sign the driver package. See Signing a Driver During Development and Testing.
Select the test computer that you have configured.
To deploy the driver, click Build Solution or Deploy Solution from the Build menu, or press F5 to build, deploy, and start debugging.

When you deploy a driver, the driver files are copied to the %Systemdrive%\drivertest\drivers folder on the test computer. If something goes wrong during deployment, you can check to see if the files are copied to the test computer. Verify that the .inf, .cat, test cert, and .sys files, and any other necessary files, are present %systemdrive%\drivertest\drivers folder.

Deploying a Driver to a Test Computer

Setting up the test computer

Setting deployment properties for your driver solution

Building a driver and deploying the driver to test computer

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