Key Driver Concepts

Key Driver Concepts
of windows Device Drivers. Here are the links direct to the resource

Everyone who develops kernel-mode drivers for the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems should understand fundamental operating system concepts and features, be familiar with their effects on the design and operation of kernel-mode drivers, and keep current with the changes and enhancements introduced in each new version of Windows.

Tip: See the video presentations from Driver DevCon and other tips & tricks at Notes from Windows Development Teams.

Kernel-Mode Basics

	Checklist for 64-bit Microsoft Windows Drivers
	DMA Support in Windows Drivers
	Locks, Deadlocks, and Synchronization
	Memory Management: What Every Driver Writer Needs to Know
	Multiprocessor Considerations for Kernel-Mode Drivers
	Patching Policy for x64-Based Systems
	Recommended Functions for Kernel-Mode Drivers
	Scheduling, Thread Context, and IRQL
	User-Mode Interactions: Guidelines for Kernel-Mode Drivers
	Writing kernel-mode drivers in C++: should you or shouldn’t you?

I/O Request Packets

	Cancel Logic in Windows Drivers
	Flow of Control for Cancel-Safe IRP Queuing
	Handling IRPs: What Every Driver Writer Needs to Know
	I/O Completion/Cancellation Guidelines
	Nar Ganapathy – Going Deep: Windows, the IO Manager and Driver Model , Part I
	Nar Ganapathy – Going Deep: Windows, the IO Manager and Driver Model , Part II

Windows Driver Model (WDM)

How to Port WDM Drivers to KMDF [749 KB]

Windows Vista System Internals

	_OSC Method and PCI Express in Windows Vista
	CardBus I/O Resource Windows in Windows Vista
	Changes to User Mode Services in Windows Vista
	Impact of Session 0 Isolation on Services and Drivers in Windows Vista
	Kernel Enhancements for Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn
	Protected Processes in Windows Vista
	Software Licensing Guidance for Products that Use Process Patching and Hooking
	System Internals and Your Application: Windows Vista and “Longhorn” Server [PDC 2005; 420 KB]
	Michael Fortin – Windows Vista SuperFetch
	Nar Ganapathy: Windows Vista I/O
	Going Deep Inside Windows Vista’s Kernel Architecture (Channel 9 interview)
	Security Team Notes on Kernel Patch Protection
	Microsoft Windows Vista Security Advancements [690 KB]

Driver Development and Testing for Windows Vista

	Get the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)
	Driver Compatibility for Windows Vista
	Driver Tip: Debugging Windows Vista
	Windows Driver Kit (WDK)

Windows XP

	Kernel Enhancements for Windows XP
	Low Pool Memory and Windows XP

Plug and Play General

	Installing Drivers and Utilities without Rebooting on Windows
	Developing Great Devices for Windows PCs [832 KB]
	Presentations on the ACPI Web Site

Power Management, Devices, and Drivers

	Introduction to Plug and Play and Power Management in the Windows Driver Foundation
	OnNow Device Power Management
	Windows Kernel Plug and Play/Power Management [Online chat; March 4, 2004]

WMI and Driver Instrumentation

	Sample Drivers for the Kernel-Mode Driver Framework
	Static Driver Verifier Facts
	WMI and Windows Drivers

See Also

	Toaster Sample Drivers in the Driver Development Kit
	Archived White Papers
	Windows Driver Foundation