Using the Win32 DDK with Visual C++

• Microsoft Visual C++ 32-bit Edition, version 1.0

SUMMARY

Visual C++ comes with a Help file titled "Moving to Visual C++," which includes a section on building device drivers using Visual C++. The information in this section is correct; however, it is not complete. There is another issue that needs to be addressed if you are using the initial release of the Win32 DDK: the checksum.

MORE INFORMATION

The following information is taken from the Help file "Moving to Visual C++":

   Q. How do I build device drivers with Visual C++?

   A. Although Visual C++ does not supply all of the libraries,
      headers, and tools needed to create device drivers for Windows
      NT, you can still use many Visual C++ components.

      1. Update the command-line tools included with the DDK with
         the versions provided with Visual C++.

         Note: Not all of the tools provided in the DDK (such as
         MASM) are supplied with Visual C++, so be careful when
         deleting files.

      2. Make appropriate changes to the source files and makefile.

         See:
          - How do I migrate my Win32 SDK source files to Visual C++?
          - How do I use my Win32 SDK makefiles with Visual C++?

      3. Use the BUILD or NMAKE utility to build the device driver.

To set the checksum in the header file of the executable file, use "link /release" or "editbin /release". The documentation for editbin (EDITBIN.WRI), includes the following description of "/release":

   This option sets the checksum in the header of an executable file.

   The operating system requires the checksum for certain files such
   as device drivers. It is recommended that you set the checksum for
   release versions of your programs to ensure compatibility with
   future operating systems.