Device driver uninstallation application???

[Zhen]

Hi,

1. Where can I find some guidelines for how to write a device-driver
"uninstallation" program? I can hardly find any in both DDK documentation
and sample code. Are there any APIs to use instead of deleting those
registry keys one-by-one?

2. I want to use SetupUninstallOEMInf function to uninstall my device
driver, however there is no such API for Windows 2000. So what does
SetupUninstallOEMInf actually do?

3. In DDK documentation, it is said: "Do not delete the installed driver
files from the system during the uninstall operation, even if the hardware
has been removed". Then what am I gonna do to clean up the previous driver
installation?

Thanks,

Zhen

 

[Marc Reinig]

Have you looked at the DEVCON sample in the DDK? Devcon remove might be
helpful.

Marc Reinig
System Solutions

 

[HoJo]

Is it OK to go into the registry and delete unwanted
drivers? What "keys" do you delete?
Thanks...HoJo

 

[Mark Roddy]

Have you looked at the DEVCON sample in the DDK? Devcon remove might be
helpful.

Marc Reinig
System Solutions

NT wants to keep a history of your device and its associated
driver(s). Consequently the provided uninstall facility deliberately
does NOT do a complete uninstall. This is by intention. This should
only be an issue if you want to test clean installs, which is a good
idea to have as a test point. Otherwise, let the device management
facility do its thing. The associated clutter is Microsoft's problem,
not yours.

There are two ways to completely uninstall a device (for testing clean
installs.) 1) use disk clone software like ghost and make yourself a
baseline installation of your test system that does not include your
device or driver. 2) see this message:
http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=...fe=off&[email protected]
for a suggestion from Don Burn regarding a manual method for clean
uninstall.




=====================
Mark Roddy
Windows .NET/XP/2000 Consulting
Hollis Technology Solutions 603-321-1032
www.hollistech.com

 

[Eugene Lin [MSFT]]

Hi Zhen-

I'd like to understand why you want to write a device-driver uninstallation
program. What requirements do you have, and where did you get them from?

As Mark pointed out (thanks Mark!), Windows intentionally does not delete
all driver files when a driver is uninstalled. However we are looking at
what kind of cleanup customers need and want your input.

-Euge