Top Story WHDC Is Live on MSDN The old Windows Hardware Developer Central (WHDC) website is now live as the new Windows Hardware Developer Center (WHDC) on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). Check out the new site and update your favorites: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/default 
URLs for the old WHDC will automatically redirect to the new content location on MSDN, so you will not lose the location of WHDC pages you have bookmarked or saved to your favorites. Read on to learn more about the new WHDC!
News for Hardware and Driver Developers Service Pack 1 Released for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 In addition to delivering ongoing updates, many of which have been made available previously through Windows Update, this release includes client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory, which are two new virtualization features enabled in this service pack. Deployment and installation resources: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/gg635126.aspx
WHDC Gets New Look and Navigation As part of the move to MSDN, WHDC has adopted the design and navigation scheme of MSDN. This new look and navigation will be an adjustment for regular visitors to the old WHDC, but we hope you will come to view this redesign as an improvement that helps get you quickly and efficiently to the content you need. Following are highlights of this new navigation: - Top-of-page navigation tabs. The new WHDC navigation is based on top-of-page tabs. Each of these tabs is associated with a webpage that provides content and links to further content within the site. Each top-level tab page is described below.
- Home. Features new "get started" pages that provide entry points into the deep content on WHDC. This page also provides links to the most popular tasks and content on WHDC, and links to the most recently published content on the site.
- Learn. Highlights featured content that is refreshed regularly, get-started information, and features and technology areas that are covered on WHDC. This tab also reveals a second tier of tabs that you can use to navigate deeper into the site: What's New, Get Started, Systems, Devices, Drivers, and Logo Program.
- Downloads. Gathers links to kits and tools for Windows-based driver and hardware development.
- Community. Provides connections into the network of resources for developers of Windows-based hardware, including events, blogs, newsletters, videos, forums, chats, and industry training resources.
- Reference. Links to the Windows Development node of the MSDN Library, which includes documentation in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) and Windows Logo Kit (WLK). To return to WHDC from the Library, use your browser's Back button.
- Second-level navigation under Learn. These tabs align with the table of contents navigation on the old WHDC and take you deeper into the content of the site.
- "Portal page" navigation. Most of the second-level navigation tabs under the Learn tab open pages that contain additional navigation links. We call these pages "portal pages". Navigation links on portal pages take the form of boldface links within the body of the page with descriptive paragraphs beneath. Clicking any of these links takes you deeper into the content associated with that technology area. The illustration below shows a portion of the Devices portal page. The boldface blue headings are navigation links.
- Breadcrumbs. A common component of many webpages, breadcrumbs run across the top of all WHDC pages. This series of page titles shows you where you are within the organizational hierarchy of the WHDC site. Clicking any of the links in a breadcrumb takes you to that location within the site structure.
- Feedback. We encourage your feedback on the new WHDC. To provide feedback, click one of the Rate stars that appear in the top-right corner of every page and then enter your feedback about the page. The WHDC team reviews all feedback and takes action whenever appropriate. The more detail you can provide in your feedback, the more likely we can take action.
- Advertisements. As part of the MSDN platform, WHDC now has advertisements on its pages.
Recently Published on WHDC Start Developing Hardware for Windows This new set of pages guides you to content and resources for partnering with Microsoft, designing hardware for Windows, developing a Windows driver, testing hardware and drivers, qualifying for a Windows logo, and monitoring and maintaining hardware and drivers. Read more: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg507680
What's New in Blogs for Hardware and Driver Developers "Increase VMBus buffer sizes to increase network throughput to guest VMs" in the "Windows Server Performance Team Blog" Under load, the default buffer size used the by the virtual switch may provide inadequate buffer and result in packet loss. We recommend increasing the VM bus receive buffer from 1Mb to 2Mb. Traffic jams happen every day, all across the world. Too many vehicles competing for the same stretch of road, gated by flow control devices like stop signs and traffic lights, conspire to ensnare drivers in a vicious web of metal and plastic and cell phones. In the technology world, networking traffic is notoriously plagued by traffic jams, resulting in all sorts of havoc, including delayed web pages, slow email downloads, robotic VOIP and choppy YouTube videos. (Oh, the humanity!) Read more: http//blogs.technet.com/b/winserverperformance/archive/2010/02/02/increase-vmbus-buffer-sizes-to-increase-network-throughput-to-guest-vms.aspx
"The Cases of the Blue Screens: Finding Clues in a Crash Dump and on the Web" by Mark Russinovich in "Mark's Blog" My last couple of posts have looked at the lighter side of blue screens by showing you how to customize their colors. Windows kernel mode code reliability has gotten better and better every release such that many never experience the infamous BSOD. But if you have had one (one that you didn't purposefully trigger with Notmyfault, that is), as I explain in my Case of the Unexplained presentations, spending a few minutes to investigate might save you the inconvenience and possible data loss caused by future occurrences of the same crash. In this post I first review the basics of crash dump analysis. In many cases, this simple analysis leads to a buggy driver for which there's a newer version available on the web, but sometimes the analysis is ambiguous. I'll share two examples administrators sent me where a Web search with the right key words lead them to a solution. Read more: http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2011/01/29/3374563.aspx
Windows Logo Program News Announcing the Windows Logo Kit 1.6 Release The Windows Logo Kit (WLK) 1.6 has been released! It is available through the Microsoft Connect website: https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=668. WLK 1.6 will become a required kit for logo submissions effective June 1, 2011. Until that date, partners can choose to use either WLK 1.5 or WLK 1.6 for logo submissions. WLK 1.5 expires on May 31, 2011 at 11:59:59 P.M. Pacific Standard Time. Obtaining a logo for Windows XP can only be done using WLK 1.5. However, partners can obtain a driver signature for Windows XP by submitting through the "Unclassified" program in WLK 1.6. Drivers submitted through the Windows XP Unclassified category are eligible to go on Windows Update. For more information, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg585613.aspx. Partners are required to use Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to test their submissions five months after the RTM of the service pack.
Update: Windows Vista Software Logo Programs Closing The Certified for Windows Vista Software Logo Program and Works with Windows Vista Software Logo Program will stop accepting new submissions for certification on April 1, 2011. Any Windows Vista submissions left pending in the Winqual system will be terminated on May 2, 2011. Any application that has achieved the Certified for Windows Vista Software Logo or the Works with Windows Vista Software Logo status prior to May 2, 2011 can continue to use the appropriate artwork in the product and its packaging for the life of the product per the terms set forth in the licensing agreements. With the closing of the Windows Vista Software Logo Programs, the Windows 7 Software Logo Program becomes the sole Windows client software logo certification program. For more information on the Windows 7 Software Logo Program, please visit our MSDN site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd203105.aspx.
Winqual Account Holders Must Link Account to a Windows Live ID As of February 11, the Winqual website supports Windows Live IDs. To use the site, you must link your existing Winqual account to your Windows Live ID. The following best practices for Live ID usage on Winqual ensure a consistent experience across MSDN, Connect, and Winqual: - When possible, use your work email address for the Live ID you use to sign in to Winqual. This will streamline the user information when you set up your Winqual account.
- If you use a Live ID with the Microsoft Connect or MSDN sites, use the same Live ID for Winqual. This will allow you to move seamlessly among these sites, without the need to sign in again.
If you already have a Winqual account (Winqual username/password), use the migration link to migrate your Winqual account to Live ID authentication. This will ensure that the permissions and settings you have through your Winqual account will persist after the migration. From then on, you must use your Live ID to sign in; you will no longer use Winqual credentials to sign in. Note: A single Winqual account can have only one Live ID. You can sign up for a Live ID by going to www.Live.com, or by clicking the Sign In link on the Winqual site after the February release. Winqual recommends that users have their own Live ID and Winqual account.
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