IDs and Serial Numbers for ISA Plug and Play

Updated: December 4, 2001

This article summarizes qualification issues for Plug and Play IDs as applied by the Microsoft Windows Logo Program compliance testing administered by Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL).

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  IDs and Serial Numbers for PCI Devices
  IDs for ISA Adapters
  ID Information for IHV Resellers

IDs and Serial Numbers for PCI Devices

See:PCI Device Subsystem IDs and Windows

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IDs for ISA Adapters

The test adapter must report a globally unique, vendor-specific Vendor ID for the adapter as a whole. In addition, vendor-specified Device IDs must be reported for each logical device on the test adapter. Each of these Device IDs must be unique among all devices made by that vendor.

For each logical device implemented on the test adapter, the Device ID (also referred to as the Hardware ID) must not contain the Microsoft-reserved "PNP" prefix. Instead, it must use the vendor's own unique ASCII EISA ID prefix, ensuring that each vendor's logical device has a unique ID that no other manufacturer is using. However, vendors can use IDs of the form PNPxxxx for Compatible IDs whenever their device can also use the drivers associated with that Compatible ID.

The Vendor ID (EISA Product ID) is defined by the Plug and Play ISA specification as the combined two-byte, three-character compressed ASCII EISA ID, and the two-byte, model-specific number (32 bits total). The Vendor ID reported by the adapter must not use the same three-character ASCII EISA ID prefix of any other vendor's device on the board.

For example, if the test adapter and its devices are made by the same vendor, both will use the same EISA ID prefix. But if that same vendor makes a different adapter that contains another vendor's device, that adapter's EISA ID prefix will be different from the EISA ID prefix of the device it contains.

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ID Information for IHV Resellers

WHQL grants the "Designed for Microsoft Windows" logo to specific products, each of which is individually defined by its specific combination of both hardware and software (drivers). Only the versions submitted to WHQL for testing receive the logo; the logo is not transferable to any product variants that WHQL has not seen or tested. Therefore, the following rules apply for vendors who sell their products for resale:

• If the seller's product is not changed in any way by the reseller (including the drivers used), WHQL is not concerned if the reseller uses the seller's full 32-bit Vendor ID. Indeed, the product is exactly the same.

• Vendors who make custom products for other IHVs to resell can use the seller's assigned Vendor ID as long as the reseller does not modify the product as described above. However, the full 32-bit ID for the product (ISA) or device (PCI) must still be unique among all the seller's products and models.

• If the reseller modifies, enhances, or otherwise changes the seller's implementation, the reseller must use the Vendor ID assigned to them by the governing body for that device's bus. Furthermore, if the reseller modifies or replaces any of the logical device components implemented in the seller's original product to the extent that different drivers are needed, the Plug and Play resource descriptors are changed, or the hardware algorithms are changed, then the reseller must also change the Device IDs for those devices. The new Device IDs must incorporate the assigned Vendor ID of the vendors who implement the changed parts.

The following table shows examples of changes to a multifunction, multimedia adapter and indicates whether a reseller would be required to use a Vendor ID and Device ID different than that provided with the seller's original product. In this table, the term "Vendor ID" means the EISA ID prefix for ISA adapters or the 2-byte ID assigned by the PCI SIG for PCI devices.

It is assumed that it is the reseller who is implementing the change, rather than the seller simply custom-building a product that the reseller will not touch. These examples are not exhaustive but should help vendors decide during the design stage how to build their products so they will meet the "Designed for Microsoft Windows" logo requirements.

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