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News for Windows Hardware and Driver Developers
New Debugging KMDF Driver Videos The Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF) not only simplifies writing kernel-mode drivers but also provides good support for debugging and diagnosing driver issues. We are happy to release a new series of three videos on the topic. This series of video demonstrations by Kumar Rajeev shows how to debug KMDF drivers. The goal is to familiarize you with KMDF debugger extensions and provide information and tips on using KMDF commands. The demonstrations are given at an advanced technical level, so you should already be familiar with the Windows kernel debugger and with creating and using code with the Kernel-Mode Driver Framework. You can see all the videos at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/kmdf.mspx. Performance Testing Guide for Windows A key goal for Windows 7 is to improve performance in common customer scenarios. To increase system responsiveness and performance, Windows 7 adapts over time to user behavior and takes advantage of the computer's idle cycles to perform background tasks. Although Microsoft focused on making "in-box" background tasks efficient, these tasks can nevertheless create challenges for those who want to test performance in a controlled environment. This paper provides information about running performance tests on Windows. In particular, it explains how the system adjusts its behavior and how the system services and settings affect performance measurements. By understanding these details, you can ensure consistent results and address issues during testing. This paper is intended for hardware and software industry professionals, information technology (IT) professionals, and enthusiasts who want to understand how to measure performance on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It has been updated for Windows 7 and includes changes for new Windows features, more detailed methodology, and reorganization ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/Win7Perf.mspx). Windows On/Off Transition Performance Analysis This paper explains the Windows on/off transitions in detail, highlights performance vulnerabilities within each transition, and shows how to identify and analyze these issues by using the Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT). The guidance in this paper can help significantly reduce on/off transition times. Intended to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), independent software vendors (ISVs), independent hardware vendors (IHVs), and systems analysts improve system response times, this paper has been updated for Windows 7 with a new appendix that includes XPerf walkthroughs ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/On-Off_Transition.mspx). USB ContainerIDs in Windows 7 This paper provides information about USB ContainerIDs for the Windows 7 operating system. It includes guidelines for device manufacturers to program their multifunction USB devices so that they can be correctly detected by Windows. This information applies to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/connect/usb/USB-ContainerIDs.mspx). Hardware Design for Windows 7 A reminder that on the Hardware Design for Windows 7 Web page, we have collected in one location the current technical information about Windows 7 for hardware engineers and driver developers that is available on WHDC. We continue to update this page as new technical papers and resources become available. For a look at the Hardware Design for Windows 7 page, see http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/hwdesign/HWdesign_Win7.mspx.
What's New in Blogs for Hardware and Driver Developers
Windows Portable Devices Team Blog The Windows Portable Devices Team Blog is running three series of postings dedicated to Windows Portable Device (WPD) technology in Windows 7. Each series will run over the course of four to six weeks, with a new posting published each week. The first series began August 7, 2009, with a posting on New Features for Windows 7. The second series of postings will be dedicated to advanced device and driver development topics, and the third series will follow with topics on advanced application development. If you have comments or questions, please use the Comments field on the blog page. If you would like to request additional topics, please indicate the topic details in the Comments section as well. The Windows Portable Devices Team Blog home page is http://blogs.msdn.com/wpdblog/.
New Things Happening with the WDK
Windows Driver Kit 7.0.0 Is Available In case you missed the announcement in this newsletter last month, the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 7.0.0 is available. The WDK contains the latest release of files, tools, and documents used to develop drivers for Windows. This release applies for Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003. Updates to WDK 7.0.0 include the following: - Debugging Tools for Windows - Latest header files - 1,400 new API reference topics - 826 new Driver Design Guide topics - 1,100 documentation bugs and work items completed Get the WDK: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/DevTools/WDK/WDKpkg.mspx. Get the WDK documents only: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa972908.aspx. For more details about WDK 7.0.0, see the online version of the WDK Release Notes ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/wdk/RelNotesW7.mspx).
Windows Logo Program Tools and News
Early Bird Special for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Submissions Ends This Month This is a reminder that the $100 early bird fee for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 logo program submissions expires September 30, 2009. Windows Logo Kit 1.5 Release Plans
The Windows Logo Program would like to inform our partners that we plan to release Windows Logo Kit (WLK) 1.5 on November 25, 2009.
WLK 1.5 will be a required kit for logo submissions on and after February 1, 2010. Partners can choose to use either WLK 1.4 or WLK 1.5 for logo submissions from November 25, 2009 to February 1, 2010. WLK 1.4 will expire on February 1, 2010.
Please note that we will no longer provide hotfixes (QFEs) for WLK 1.4 after WLK 1.5 is released on November 25, 2009.
New Winqual FAQ Now Available on WHDC We have posted a new FAQ about Windows Quality Online Services (Winqual). This newly updated FAQ addresses the 25 most frequently asked questions related to the Winqual site and the Windows Logo Program submission process. For further details, see the Windows Hardware Developer Central (WHDC) Web site ( http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlogo/Logofaq.mspx).
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