INF DefaultInstall Section

NoteВ В If you are building a universal or mobile driver package, this section is valid only if it has an architecture decoration, for example [DefaultInstall.NTAMD64] . Alternatively, use the INF Manufacturer Section. Using both DefaultInstall and Manufacturer sections in your INF will cause Universal INF validation failures and can lead to inconsistent installation behaviors. See Using a Universal INF File.

An INF file’s DefaultInstall section is accessed if a user selects the «Install» menu item after selecting and holding (or right-clicking) on the INF file name.

Entries

CopyFiles=@filename | file-list-section[,file-list-section] .
This optional directive either specifies one named file to be copied from the source medium to the destination, or references one or more INF-writer-defined sections that specify files to be transferred from the source media to the destination.

The DefaultDestDir entry in the DestinationDirs section of the INF specifies the destination for any single file to be copied. The SourceDisksNames and SourceDisksFiles sections, or an additional INF specified in the LayoutFile entry of this INF’s Version section, provide the location on the distribution media of the driver files.

CopyINF=filename1.inf[,filename2.inf].
(Windows XP and later versions of Windows.) This directive causes specified INF files to be copied to the target system.

AddReg=add-registry-section[,add-registry-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections in which new subkeys, possibly with initial value entries, are specified to be written into the registry or in which the value entries of existing keys are modified.

Include=filename1.inf[,filename2.inf].
This optional entry specifies one or more additional system-supplied INF files that contain sections needed to install this device and/or driver. If this entry is specified, usually so is a Needs entry.

For example, the system INF files for device drivers that depend on the system’s kernel-streaming support specify this entry as follows:

For more information about the Include entry and restrictions on its use, see Specifying the Source and Target Locations for Device Files.

Needs=inf-section-name[,inf-section-name].
This optional entry specifies sections within system-supplied INF files that must be processed during the installation of this device. Typically, such a named section is a DDInstall (or DDInstall.xxx) section within one of the INF files that are listed in an Include entry. However, it can be any section that is referenced within such a DDInstall or DDInstall.xxx section of the included INF.

For example, the INF files for device drivers that have the preceding Include entry specify this entry as follows:

Needs entries cannot be nested. (For more information about the Needs entry and restrictions on its use, see Specifying the Source and Target Locations for Device Files).

Delfiles=file-list-section[,file-list-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections listing files on the target to be deleted.

Renfiles=file-list-section[,file-list-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections listing files to be renamed on the destination before device-relevant source files are copied to the target computer.

DelReg=del-registry-section[,del-registry-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections in which keys and/or value entries are specified to be removed from the registry during installation of the devices.

Typically, this directive is used to handle upgrades when an INF must clean up old registry entries from a previous installation of this device. An HKR specification in such a delete-registry section designates the ..Class\SetupClassGUID\device-instance-id registry path of the user-accessible driver. This type of HKR specification is also referred to as a. «software key».

BitReg=bit-registry-section[,bit-registry-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections in which existing registry value entries of type REG_BINARY are modified. For more information, see INF AddReg Directive.

An HKR specification in such a bit-registry section designates the ..Class\SetupClassGUID\device-instance-id registry path of the user-accessible driver. This type of HKR specification is also referred to as a. «software key».

ProfileItems=profile-items-section[,profile-items-section].
This directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections that describe items to be added to, or removed from, the Start menu.

UpdateInis=update-ini-section[,update-ini-section].
This rarely used directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections, specifying a source INI file from which a particular section or line within such a section is to be read into a destination INI file of the same name during installation. Optionally, line-by-line modifications to an existing INI file on the destination from a specified source INI file of the same name can be specified in the update-ini section.

UpdateIniFields=update-inifields-section[,update-inifields-section].
This rarely used directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections in which modifications within the lines of a device-specific INI file are specified.

Ini2Reg=ini-to-registry-section[,ini-to-registry-section].
This rarely used directive references one or more INF-writer-defined sections in which sections or lines from a device-specific INI file, supplied on the source media, are to be moved into the registry.

RegisterDlls=register-dll-section[,register-dll-section].
This directive references one or more INF sections used to specify files that are OLE controls and require self-registration.

UnregisterDlls=unregister-dll-section[,unregister-dll-section].
This directive references one or more INF sections used to specify files that are OLE controls and require self-unregistration (self-removal).

Remarks

DefaultInstall sections must not be used for device installations. Use DefaultInstall sections only for the installation of class filter drivers, class co-installers, file system filters, and kernel driver services that are not associated with a device node (devnode).

NoteВ В The INF file of a driver package must not contain an INF DefaultInstall section if the driver package is to be digitally signed. For more information about signing driver packages, see Driver Signing.

Providing a DefaultInstall section is optional. If an INF file does not include a DefaultInstall section, selecting «Install» after selecting and holding (or right-clicking) on the file name causes an error message to be displayed.

NoteВ В Unlike a DDInstall section, a DefaultInstall section cannot contain DriverVer or LogConfig directives.

To install a DefaultInstall section from a device installation application, use the following call to InstallHinfSection:

For more information about InstallHinfSection, see the Microsoft Windows SDK documentation.

For more information about how to use the system-defined .nt, .ntx86, .ntia64, .ntamd64, .ntarm, and .ntarm64 extensions, see Creating INF Files for Multiple Platforms and Operating Systems.

Examples

The following example shows a typical DefaultInstall section:

In this example, the DefaultInstall section is executed if a user selects «Install» after selecting and holding (or right-clicking) on the INF file name.

Creating an INF File for a File System Driver

The Windows Setup and Device Installer Services, known collectively as SetupAPI, provide the functions that control Windows setup and driver installation. The installation process is controlled by INF files.

A file system driver’s INF file provides instructions that SetupAPI uses to install the driver. The INF file is a text file that specifies the files that must be present for your driver to run and the source and destination directories for the driver files. An INF file also contains driver configuration information that SetupAPI stores in the registry, such as the driver’s start type and load order group.

For more information about INF files and how they are created, see Creating an INF File and INF File Sections and Directives. For general information about signing drivers, see Driver Signing.

You can create a single INF file to install your driver on multiple versions of the Windows operating system. For more information about creating such an INF file, see Creating INF Files for Multiple Platforms and Operating Systems and Creating International INF Files.

Starting with 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, all kernel-mode components, including non-PnP (Plug and Play) drivers such as file system drivers (file system, legacy filter, and minifilter drivers), must be signed in order to load and execute. For these versions of the Windows operating system, the following list contains information that is relevant to file system drivers.

INF files for non-PnP drivers, including file system drivers, are not required to contain [Manufacturer] or [Models] sections.

The SignTool command-line tool, located in the \bin\SelfSign directory of the WDK installation directory, can be used to directly «embed sign» a driver SYS executable file. For performance reasons, boot-start drivers must contain an embedded signature.

Given an INF file, the Inf2Cat command-line tool can be used to create a catalog (.cat) file for a driver package. Only catalog files can receive WHQL logo signatures.

With Administrator privileges, an unsigned driver can still be installed on x64-based systems starting with Windows Vista. However, the driver will fail to load (and thus execute) because it is unsigned.

For detailed information about the driving signing process, including the driving signing process for 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, see Kernel-Mode Code Signing Walkthrough.

All kernel-mode components, including custom kernel-mode development tools, must be signed. For more information, see Signing Drivers during Development and Test (Windows Vista and Later).

INF files cannot be used to read information from the registry or to launch a user-mode application.

After creating an INF file, you will typically write the source code for your setup application. The setup application calls user-mode setup functions to access the information in the INF file and perform installation operations.

To construct your own file system driver INF file, use the following information as a guide. You can use the InfVerif tool to check the syntax of your INF file.

An INF file for a file system driver generally contains the following sections.

DestinationDirs (optional but recommended)

Version Section (required)

The Version section specifies the driver version information, as shown in the following code example.

The following table shows the values that file system filter drivers should specify in the Version section.

Entry	Value
Signature	«$WINDOWS NT$»
Provider	In your own INF file, you should specify a provider other than Microsoft.
DriverVer	See INF DriverVer directive
CatalogFile	Leave this entry blank. In the future, it will contain the name of a WHQL-supplied catalog file for signed drivers.

DestinationDirs Section (optional but recommended)

The DestinationDirs section specifies the directories where the file system driver files will be copied.

In this section and in the ServiceInstall section, you can specify well-known system directories by using system-defined numeric values. For a list of these values, see INF DestinationDirs Section. In the following code example, the value «12» refers to the Drivers directory (%windir%\system32\drivers).

SourceDisksNames Section (required)

The SourceDisksNames section specifies the distribution media to be used.

In the following code example, the SourceDisksNames section lists a single distribution media for the file system driver. The unique identifier for the media is 1. The name of the media is specified by the %Disk1% token, which is defined in the Strings section of the INF file.

SourceDisksFiles Section (required)

The SourceDisksFiles section specifies the location and names of the files to be copied.

In the following code example, the SourceDisksFiles section lists the file to be copied for the file system driver and specifies that the files can be found on the media whose unique identifier is 1 (This identifier is defined in the SourceDisksNames section of the INF file.)

DefaultInstall Section (required)

In the DefaultInstall section, a CopyFiles directive copies the file system driver’s driver files to the destination that is specified in the DestinationDirs section.

The CopyFiles directive should not refer to the catalog file or the INF file itself; SetupAPI copies these files automatically.

You can create a single INF file to install your driver on multiple versions of the Windows operating system. This type of INF file is created by creating additional DefaultInstall, DefaultInstall.Services, DefaultUninstall, and DefaultUninstall.Services sections for each operating system version. Each section is labeled with a decoration (for example, .ntx86, .ntia64, or .nt) that specifies the operating system version to which it applies. For more information about creating this type of INF file, see Creating INF Files for Multiple Platforms and Operating Systems.

In the following code example, the CopyFiles directive copies the files that are listed in the ExampleFileSystem.DriverFiles section of the INF file.

DefaultInstall.Services Section (required)

The DefaultInstall.Services section contains an AddService directive that controls how and when the services of a particular driver are loaded.

In the following code example, the AddService directive adds the file system service to the operating system. The %ServiceName% token contains the service name string, which is defined in the Strings section of the INF file. ExampleFileSystem.Service is the name of the file system driver’s ServiceInstall section.

ServiceInstall Section (required)

The ServiceInstall section adds subkeys or value names to the registry and sets values. The name of the ServiceInstall section must appear in an AddService directive in the DefaultInstall.Services section.

The following code example shows the ServiceInstall section for the file system driver.

The DisplayName entry specifies the name for the service. In the preceding example, the service name string is specified by the %ServiceName% token, which is defined in the Strings section of the INF file.

The Description entry specifies a string that describes the service. In the preceding example, this string is specified by the %ServiceDesc% token, which is defined in the Strings section of the INF file.

The ServiceBinary entry specifies the path to the executable file for the service. In the preceding example, the value 12 refers to the Drivers directory (%windir%\system32\drivers).

The ServiceType entry specifies the type of service. The following table lists the possible values for ServiceType and their corresponding service types.

Value	Description
0x00000001	SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER (Device driver service)
0x00000002	SERVICE_FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER (File system or file system filter driver service)
0x00000010	SERVICE_WIN32_OWN_PROCESS (Microsoft Win32 service that runs in its own process)
0x00000020	SERVICE_WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS (Win32 service that shares a process)

The ServiceType entry should always be set to SERVICE_FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER for a file system driver.

The StartType entry specifies when to start the service. The following table lists the possible values for StartType and their corresponding start types.

Value	Description
0x00000000	SERVICE_BOOT_START
0x00000001	SERVICE_SYSTEM_START
0x00000002	SERVICE_AUTO_START
0x00000003	SERVICE_DEMAND_START
0x00000004	SERVICE_DISABLED

For detailed descriptions of these start types to determine which one is appropriate for your file system driver, see What Determines When a Driver Is Loaded.

Starting with x64-based Windows Vista systems, the binary image file of a boot-start driver (a driver that has a start type of SERVICE_BOOT_START) must contain an embedded signature. This requirement ensures optimal system boot performance. For more information, see Kernel-Mode Code Signing Walkthrough.

For information about how the StartType and LoadOrderGroup entries determine when the driver is loaded, see What Determines When a Driver Is Loaded.

The ErrorControl entry specifies the action to be taken if the service fails to start during system startup. The following table lists the possible values for ErrorControl and their corresponding error control values.

Value	Description
0x00000000	SERVICE_ERROR_IGNORE (Log the error and continue system startup.)
0x00000001	SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL (Log the error, display a message to the user, and continue system startup.)
0x00000002	SERVICE_ERROR_SEVERE (Switch to the registry’s LastKnownGood control set and continue system startup.
0x00000003	SERVICE_ERROR_CRITICAL (If system startup is not using the registry’s LastKnownGood control set, switch to LastKnownGood and try again. If startup still fails, run a bug-check routine. Only the drivers that are needed for the system to startup should specify this value in their INF files.)

The LoadOrderGroup entry must always be set to «File System» for a file system driver. This is different from what is specified for a file system filter driver or file system minifilter driver where the LoadOrderGroup entry is set to one of the file system filter load order groups. For more information about the load order groups that are used for file system filter drivers and file system minifilter drivers, see Load Order Groups for File System Filter Drivers and Load Order Groups and Altitudes for Minifilter Drivers.

The AddReg directive refers to one or more INF writer-defined AddRegistry sections that contain any information to be stored in the registry for the newly installed service.

NoteВ В If the INF file will also be used for upgrading the driver after the initial install, the entries that are contained in the AddRegistry section should specify the 0x00000002 (FLG_ADDREG_NOCLOBBER) flag. Specifying this flag preserves the registry entries in HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services when subsequent files are installed. For example:

DefaultUninstall Section (optional)

The DefaultUninstall section is optional but recommended if your driver can be uninstalled. It contains DelFiles and DelReg directives to remove files and registry entries.

In the following code example, the DelFiles directive removes the files that are listed in the ExampleFileSystem.DriverFiles section of the INF file.

The DelReg directive refers to one or more INF writer-defined DelRegistry sections that contain any information to be removed from the registry for the service that is being uninstalled.

DefaultUninstall.Services Section (optional)

The DefaultUninstall.Services section is optional but recommended if your driver can be uninstalled. It contains DelService directives to remove the file system driver’s services.

In the following code example, the DelService directive removes the file system driver’s service from the operating system.

The DelService directive should always specify the 0x200 (SPSVCINST_STOPSERVICE) flag to stop the service before it is deleted.

There are certain classes of file system products that cannot be completely uninstalled. In this situation, it is acceptable to just uninstall the components of the product that can be uninstalled and leave installed the components of the product that cannot be uninstalled. An example of such a product is the Microsoft Single Instance Store (SIS) feature.

Strings Section (required)

The Strings section defines each %strkey% token that is used in the INF file.

For example, the file system driver defines the following strings in its INF file.

You can create a single international INF file by creating additional locale-specific Strings.LanguageID sections in the INF file. For more information about international INF files, see Creating International INF Files.