Driver packages

A driver package is a collection of software components that enable a Windows device to work properly. If you want to create a new device, you should follow industry hardware standards. Following standards makes your development process easier and cheaper. You might also find test suites and generic driver packages for standard devices, so you might not need to provide your own driver package.

Every device on a Windows system needs a driver package. Windows provides some generic driver packages for some types of devices. For devices not supported by Windows, the device vendor provides a custom driver package. The vendor could also create a custom driver package to provide enhanced functionality for a device already supported by Windows.

This section explains the components you need to include in your driver package.

In this section

• Components of a Driver Package
• Sample Device Installation Files