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Creating Graphics INF Files

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NT-based operating system display and video miniport drivers must be installed using an INF file. The Driver Development Kit (DDK) provides a tool called geninf.exe that lets you generate an INF file for your display and video miniport drivers.

Note   The geninf.exe tool is not available in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK), which replaces the DDK.

When geninf.exe is run, it displays a number of dialogs that prompt you for information, such as the company name and the names of the display drivers and video miniport driver. Geninf.exe then generates an INF file from this information.

Note   The file generated by geninf.exe might not be a fully valid INF file. Geninf.exe produces an INF file that will likely need custom registry settings added for each device described in the INF file.

If your miniport driver maps more than 8 MB of device memory, you should manually edit the INF file to include the section and appropriate entries described in INF GeneralConfigData Section.

When you run geninf.exe, select "Display" when prompted to choose the device class. An INF file marked as Class=Display will be interpreted by the system-supplied display class installer during driver installation. This ensures that all registry entries associated with a video driver are properly initialized.

An INF file of the class Display can install only the following files on the system:

  • A single miniport driver

  • A single display driver

  • Control panel extension DLLs

No other types of driver or application files can be installed from an INF file of class Display.

Limitations of geninf.exe

You cannot use geninf.exe to generate:

  • An INF file that supports more than one architecture.

  • An INF file that supports Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT version 4.0 or previous.

  • A mirror driver INF file. Use the INF file provided with the mirror sample driver as a template. See Mirror Driver INF File for more details.

  • A monitor INF file. Use the INF named monsamp.inf as a template. See Monitor INF File Sections for more details.

These sample INF files are both shipped with the Windows Driver Kit (WDK).

See Creating an INF File and INF File Sections and Directives for detailed information when updating a sample INF file.