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Trying to Analyze a Realtek Audio driver install
This thread is a continued discussion from another thread Latest Realtek HD Audio Driver Version post #1904 (Didn't want to hijack original thread)
Agreed. But seeing how and which driver is selected is a start. Will try and walk through in this thread as best i know. Understanding Windows drivers is a black art. I say my knowledge is a light shade of grey :) Will explain what I know (or think I know ) as best I've come to understand things.
As I see it, everything is driven by Hardware ids. (There are also Compatible IDs that matter but will say Hardware Ids to refer to both for convenience unless a distinction need be made)
Fyi for anyone reading… every driver includes an INF file (file with an .inf extension). This is a text based file you can open with Notepad. It tells windows what devices, OS and PC architectures the driver supports. It also has instructions telling windows what driver files to install, directories they belong in, how to modify the registry, define and start services, etc. It’s all text, but is still cryptic when you see it.
If you look at the Realtek audio driver download on your PC you'll find the INF and driver files split between 2 folders WIN32 and WIN64. (I've seen a single INF file can be written to support either 32 or 64 bit or can be written to support both). The folders contain both the INFs and all the drivers files needed for all the driver installs as defined by all the INFs
Typically when a device is installed its Windows that looks at the different driver INF files and Windows chooses what it thinks is best for your PC hardware. However, Ifound when you run Setup for the Realtek audio driver, it's Realtek that makes that choice.
@CountMike
Of course, simplest way to tell which Realtek HD audio driver was chosen and installed among all the possibilities is right clicking the device->Properties->Details. Scroll down and select inf name. File will be named oem.nnn. (When Windows installs the driver, the original INF file gets renamed to oem.nnn. To map oem.nnn back to the original INF filename, enter from a command prompt
Once you have the original INF name, you can compare it to all the other INF driver files in the Realtek audio driver download and see what files are common across INFs and what files are unique to an INF driver install.Code:dism /online /get-drivers
Other things that can help understand is the Device Manger trace file ( C:\WINDOWS\inf\setupapi.dev.log ) and the Devcon tool but more about those later.
/* EDIT */
So CountMike, have a look and post the original INF filename used in your case. Also, in Device Manager on Details tab, scroll through the items and you should see one named something like Matching Device ID. Post that too
Last edited by ComputerGeek; 03 Jan 2017 at 20:53.