HOWTO: Specify Static DevLoaders and Device Drivers in an .inf

SUMMARY

A Windows 95 .inf file may need to specify static DevLoaders and Device Drivers. You must precede the name of any static DevLoader with an asterisk when you specify it. You cannot use an extension. For example, to specify Configuration Manager as a DevLoader, the AddReg section would include the following line:

   HKR,,DevLoader,,*CONFIGMG
				

The .inf file format that is used to load a device's PnP virtual device driver (VxD) is dependent on the DevLoader previously specified. When you use Configuration Manager as the DevLoader, the AddReg entry for a device's dynamically loadable VxD would be:

   HKR,,DeviceDriver,,MYDEVICE.VXD
				

However, when you use Configuration Manager as the DevLoader and specify a static PnP VxD for a device, you must again precede the name with an asterisk and omit the extension. If MYDEVICE.VXD is a static VxD, the .inf entry would then be:

   HKR,,DeviceDriver,,*MYDEVICE
				

DevLoaders other than Configuration Manager may have different .inf driver name format requirements.