Share via

Windows HCK Release Notes for Windows 8

  • Article

On this page

Major changes

  • New Certification Program

  • New HCK Infrastructure

  • Supported operating systems

  • Content details

Known issues

  • Kit infrastructure known issues

  • Test known issues

  • Documentation known issues

Major changes

New Certification Program

For Windows 8, the Windows Logo Program has been replaced by the Windows Certification Program. The Windows Certification Program has a new model based on the features that your device supports. Product types have been defined with a list of required features. The product types replace the old Logo programs. For more information, see Windows Hardware Certification.

New HCK Infrastructure

For Windows 8, the Windows Logo Kit has been replaced by the Windows Hardware Certification Kit (HCK). The HCK has the same infrastructure as the Logo Kit—Driver Test Manager (DTM)—but has an entirely new user interface (UI):

  • HCK Studio is the new UI for creating projects, running tests, and creating submissions.

  • A new Object Model API has been exposed to allow customers to create supported automation.

For more information, see Windows Hardware Certification Kit (HCK).

Supported operating systems

The HCK Infrastructure can only be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 x64. However, only SQL Server 2008 R2 x86 is supported, not SQL Server 2008 R2 x64. If SQL Server isn't already installed, the HCK installation installs the necessary SQL Server version. If a full version of SQL Server is required, install SQL Server 2008 R2 x86.

The HCK can be used to test the following operating systems:

  • Windows 8 x86 and x64

  • Windows RT (ARM-based)

  • Windows Server 2012 x64

  • Windows 7 x86 and x64

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 x64

  • Windows Vista x86 and x64 (Certification not supported—drivers can be submitted for signing only)

  • Windows Server 2008 x86 and x64 (Certification not supported—drivers can be submitted for signing only)

  • Windows XP x86 and x64 (Certification not supported—drivers can be submitted for signing only)

  • Windows Server 2003 x86 and x64 (Certification not supported—drivers can be submitted for signing only)

Content details

For Windows 8, many new tests have been added, both to provide testing for new requirements and to improve test coverage for legacy requirements. Some of the tests that were used in the Windows Logo Kit (WLK) are in the HCK; however, those tests may not be required for all of the same operating system versions in the HCK. Some tests in the WLK have been deprecated and don't appear in the HCK.

To download a spreadsheet that contains the product types, features, requirements, and tests in the HCK, see Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements and Policies.

Known issues

Kit infrastructure known issues

  • On x86 and x64 clients, UEFI Secure Boot must be disabled before installing the HCK Client software. This is necessary to allow HCK Client installer to enable TESTSIGNING mode. UEFI Secure Boot should only be enabled while running Secure Boot tests.

  • HCK Controller, Studio, and Manager aren't supported in Virtual PC or any third-party hypervisor environment.

  • We only support running tests from the HCK Studio (new) UI. Running tests from the HCK Manager (legacy) UI isn't supported, except where we instruct you to do so for troubleshooting, or in the Studio Help file for Config jobs.

  • We recommended that you install the kit on a clean installation of the operating system. Installing over a previous installation of the kit isn't supported.

  • Installation logs are written to the %TEMP% folder. This folder is normally deleted for Remote Desktop sessions. We recommend installing the HCK Controller and HCK Studio at the console rather than through Remote Desktop. Or, you can use Temporary Folders policy settings to prevent the install logs from being deleted.

  • HCKStudio.exe fails to connect to the controller on a computer with 1 GB of RAM. We recommend installing the kit on a computer with 2 GB or more of RAM. Or, you might be able to run Studio from a separate computer, instead of using the default Studio installation on the Controller.

  • HCK Controller installation may fail if the system contains SQL components from a previous installation. We recommend installing the HCK Controller on a fresh install of Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.

  • The Client installer installs Windows Installer 4.5 as needed on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. This install requires a reboot before the Client software installation can continue.

  • We no longer allow the Client and Studio to be installed on the same system. We still install the Studio by default with every Controller install.

    Note

    Even though there's a block in place, you shouldn't attempt to install the Client and Studio on the same system. Doing so may result with an inability to uninstall either Client or Studio.

  • When you create a device certification project, select a device before you select a computer from the Systems view. The first time that a job is run on a project, a pre-requirement job is run on the client called "Windows Logo Kit – Prepare client for submission". The UI doesn't reflect the status of this job, which can take 5–10 minutes to run. You can track progress by using the HCK Manager app in the Job Monitor.

  • Signtool can't be used to sign an .hckx file. The HCK Studio UI or Object Model is the only way to sign an .hckx file. The Studio UI is able to query the personal certificate store for code-signing certificates, or it can use a non-password–protected certificate file. To sign an .hckx file using a certificate contained in a password-protected file, the Object Model must be used. It's easily automated via PowerShell.

Test known issues

  • Parity with WLK 1.6 tests isn't a design goal of HCK. It doesn't include every test or feature that was in WLK 1.6.

  • DXVA and HMFT tests require at least 75 GB of free space. Currently, about 50 GB of content is cached to the clients before running DXVA and HMFT tests. If there isn't enough free space, the tests fail. Connect an external hard drive with 75 GB or more of free space to the computer(s). In HCK Manager, schedule job(s) $\DXVA\Copy DXVA Content to Machine and/or $WDK Tests\HMFT\Copy HMFT Content to Machine on each client. In the schedule UI, modify the ContentDrive value to point to the drive letter of your external drive (for example, d:). Then schedule the job(s) on the clients. After the jobs run successfully, you can schedule the tests through the HCK Studio.

  • Near Field Proximity Unpublish and Unsubscribe testing. The HCK server, as it should, starts test execution on both computers simultaneously. The Side A computer displays "bring into proximity" and "remove from proximity" prompts. This computer waits for 5 seconds to be sure that the message isn't received. The Side B computer waits 10 seconds for the DeviceDeparted event. On certain platforms, this can sometimes result in Side A succeeding, but Side B failing to receive the DeviceDeparted event within the 10-second period. Workaround: When prompted to "bring into proximity", the test operator should bring the devices into range, then, within 1 second, remove the devices from proximity to each other, before the Side A computer displays the "remove" prompt.

  • Memory corruption occurs on ARM-based systems during the Portable Device tests if AppVerifier is running on any process. Workaround: Don't install AppVerifier when you run the PortableDevice HCK tests on ARM-based systems.

  • When testing Storage Devices, we strongly recommend that you complete all Device Fundamentals tests before starting Storage tests. Storage tests reconfigure test devices and leave them in a state that conflicts with the Configuration Requirements of Device Fundamentals tests.

  • Running WLAN BVT tests requires an infrastructural change on the NDISTEST setup. Both physical Access Points (APs) used in the setup must be WPS-capable. WPS capability is required by the tests to dynamically configure both APs to the desired state. Also, before running the WFD performance tests, both APs need to be manually configured to different non-social channels—that is, any channel except 1, 6, or 11—for example, AP1 on Channel 3 and AP2 on Channel 8. Other tests aren't affected by this manual channel selection.

  • Some HCK tests require multiple computers. Multi-machine tests have a logical machine set (LMS) that defines machine roles and the minimum and maximum number of machines per role that are required for the test. HCK Studio enables you to populate the LMS for a test run, but always schedules the minimum number of computers for each role. For example, if a test has a role that can have 1–64 computers, and you assign 8 computers to this role, HCK will use only 1 of these computers in the test. The following tests are affected by this issue:

    • Win8 LoadGen Server Stress - Run First - Set Machine Policies

    • Win8 LoadGen Server Stress - Run Last - Reset Machine Policies

    To work around this issue, open Job Explorer in HCK Manager. On the Feature tab, select System\Configuration. Right-click the job Windows Logo Kit - Prepare client for submission, and then select Schedule. On the Machines tab, select the Machine Pool from the list, then check each computer that you want included in test.

  • When UEFI Secure Boot is enabled, tests that enable debugging or execute PreOS firmware tests fail with error 0xc0430002 STATUS_SECUREBOOT_POLICY_VIOLATION. Disable Secure Boot for all WHCK tests except:

    • All Secure Boot tests.

    • BitLocker TPM and Recovery Password tests for ARM-based devices with Secure Boot.

  • Windows 8 defaults to booting to the Windows Store UI. Desktop apps launched by WTT run in the background. This is usually benign, but it can cause false failures in some tests. You can manually switch each computer to the desktop before running those tests.

  • Narrator button manual test. When performing the Narrator button manual test, the dialog box sometimes fails to dismiss after Narrator launches. If this happens, press Windows logo key+Volume up again. Both Narrator and the dialog box should dismiss in response, which passes the test.

Documentation known issues

We update documentation, especially test documentation, as needed. For the latest information, see HCK User's Guide.