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MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS

Chapter 11. MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS. OVERVIEW. Understand the relationship between hardware devices and drivers Install a device driver Use Device Manager to view and manage hardware devices and their device drivers Troubleshoot device driver problems. UNDERSTANDING DEVICE DRIVERS.

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MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS

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  1. Chapter 11 MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS

  2. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS OVERVIEW • Understand the relationship between hardware devices and drivers • Install a device driver • Use Device Manager to view and manage hardware devices and their device drivers • Troubleshoot device driver problems

  3. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS UNDERSTANDING DEVICE DRIVERS What is a device driver? • Software routines that implement device-specific functions for generic input/output operations. • Communication interface between the operating system and the hardware device. • Defines and processes device commands.

  4. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DEVICE DRIVER FUNCTIONS • A device driver exposes device-specific routines to device-independent functions in the operating system. • A device driver allows you to manipulate the physical properties of hardware devices. • A device driver can provide functionality through two separate driver components • A high-level driver • Interact with application and operating system • A low-level driver • Direct hardware interface

  5. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DEVICES AND DRIVERS • Some drivers (standard keyboard, mouse) are generic, so a single driver can be used with hundreds of compatible devices. • Other drivers are very specific and work only with a specific model of device. • Generic drivers require less frequent updating and therefore present fewer challenges to the administrator. • Device driver may not be available or unsupported.

  6. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DEVICE DRIVERS AND HARDWARE RESOURCES • I/O address (port) • Data mailslot • DMA • Transfer without processor support • 8 channels • Memory address • Additional BIOS routines

  7. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DEVICE DRIVERS AND HARDWARE RESOURCES • Device manager • View • IRQs • Hidden devices • NIC • Action • Update driver • Disable • Uninstall • Scan for changes

  8. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS CONFIGURING HARDWARE RESOURCES Issues with manual configuration: • Limited device resource settings • Resource depletion • Device conflicts

  9. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS PLUG AND PLAY (PnP) • Introduced in 1995 (aka Plug and Pray) • Detects new hardware • Installs the appropriate device driver • Determines what hardware resources the device requires • Scans the system for available hardware resources • Selects appropriate resource settings for the device • Configures both the device and the device driver that will use the selected resources

  10. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS Non-PnP COMPLIANT OR STANDARD DEVICE Manual device driver installation and configuration: • The system fails to detect the new device • The system detects the device but cannot identify • The system cannot identify the specific model • The system installs but cannot configure the device • The system installs the wrong device driver

  11. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS CREATING A DRIVER MAINTENANCE STRATEGY When a new driver is released by a manufacturer,administrators must decide: • If and when updates should be installed • How the updates should be installed

  12. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS TO UPDATE OR NOT? • Hardware manufacturers generally release new device drivers: • To enhance performance • To implement new features • To address problems with previous driver releases • On a server system, all new drivers should be tested before installation. A new driver might cause issues with existing hardware.

  13. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS USERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND DEVICE DRIVER INSTALLATION • Updating device drivers might require the administrator to visit every system. In large environments this can be problematic. • Many drivers can be included in “silent” installation packages or distributed via scripts or group policy. • Windows Server 2003 includes driver signing options and the ability to grant selective driver installation privileges to appropriate users.

  14. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS CONTROLLING DEVICE DRIVER ACCESS • Members of the Administrators group have full access to load, unload, configure, and manage devices and device drivers. • Users can install a new device if it requires no resource configuration and if a signed driver for that device already exists on the system. Facilitates installing devices that use USB or FireWire connections. • Can be a major data security (risk) issue

  15. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DRIVER SIGNING OPTIONS • Driver signing guarantees tested drivers • Windows Hardware Quality Laboratory

  16. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS USING CONTROL PANEL

  17. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS USING THE ADD HARDWARE WIZARD • Control Panel • Add hardware • Manual install

  18. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS USING DEVICE MANAGER

  19. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS ENABLING AND DISABLING DEVICES • A device can be disabled and enabled through Device Manager. • Disabled devices appear in Device Manager with a red X on their icons in Device Manager. • A disabled device cannot be accessed by the operating system. • A disabled device can be assigned different hardware resources when it is re-enabled.

  20. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS UNINSTALLING DEVICE DRIVERS • If the device was installed by Plug and Play, the device driver is removed and the hardware is deleted from Device Manager. • If the device was installed manually, the device driver is removed but the hardware remains in Device Manager and is marked as a device that cannot be started, is improperly configured, or does not have a device driver installed.

  21. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS MANAGING DEVICE PROPERTIES

  22. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS UPDATING DRIVERS

  23. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS ROLLING BACK DRIVERS

  24. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS MANAGING HARDWARE RESOURCES

  25. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS TROUBLESHOOTING DEVICES AND DRIVERS • Device Manager status codes • Using hardware troubleshooters • Recovering from device disaster

  26. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS DEVICE MANAGER STATUS CODES • Provides a mechanism for the operating system to indicate the type of problem being experienced by the device • Can be viewed in the Device Status box on the General tab of the device’s properties • Uses a numeric code to indicate the problem

  27. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS USING HARDWARE TROUBLESHOOTERS

  28. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS RECOVERING FROM DEVICE DISASTER • Driver Rollback • Last Known Good Configuration • Safe Mode • Recovery Console

  29. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS SUMMARY • Device drivers are software components that enable applications and operating systems to communicate with specific hardware devices. • Plug and Play is a standard that enables computers to detect and identify hardware devices, and then install and configure drivers for those devices. • Drivers for a device might be included with Windows Server 2003, or you might need to obtain the latest driver from the device manufacturer.

  30. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS SUMMARY (continued) • The drivers included with Windows Server 2003 are all digitally signed, to ensure that they have not been tampered with. • Device Manager is an MMC snap-in that lists all hardware devices in the computer and indicates problems with identification or driver configuration.

  31. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS SUMMARY (continued) • Device Manager allows you to enable and disable devices, update and roll back drivers, manage device driver properties, and resolve hardware resource conflicts. • Users must have administrative privileges to install and manage hardware devices and their drivers, although users can install Plug and Play devices if no additional drivers or user interaction are required.

  32. Chapter 11: MANAGING DEVICE DRIVERS SUMMARY (continued) • Many hardware manufacturers periodically release driver updates; it is up to system administrators to decide whether to install the updates, when, and how. • The Last Known Good Configuration option is useful for reverting to a previously used driver, but only if you have not logged on to the system after restarting. • Safe mode loads a minimal set of drivers, enabling you to access Device Manager and disable, uninstall, or roll back a driver that is causing a problem.

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