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Getting Started with Windows Driver Development

Updated: October 28, 2010

File name: drv_dev_intro.docx
180 KB
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About This Download

Don Burn
Microsoft MVP, Windows Driver Kit
Windows Filesystem and Driver Consulting - windrvr.com

Getting started with Microsoft Windows device drivers can be difficult, even for experienced developers. This paper presents an overview of the debugging and testing tools that developers use to create a device driver for Windows operating systems. In particular, the paper examines ways to find and fix bugs early in development, to help you produce a high-quality device driver.

WDK MVP Don Burn shares his experience and insights about the hardware and software you need for driver development, how to get started with the WDK build environments and Build utility, and tips, techniques, and tools for all phases of development.

This information applies for the following operating systems:
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008
Windows Vista
Windows Server 2003
Windows XP
Windows 2000

What's New:
Updated with changes to the tools, build environment, and best practices from the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Windows Driver Kit (WDK) to the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Version 7.1. Techniques to obtain the best results with the Windows Driver Framework and the new testing capabilities of the WDK are emphasized.

Included in this white paper:

  • Development Environment

  • Compile-Time Checking

  • Debugging and Runtime Checking

  • Diagnostics

  • Test tools

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