Device Drivers and Installation for Graphics Adapters

This section summarizes the requirements for graphics adapters. The specifications in this section are required for all PC 98 systems.

For additional related requirements for multiple-monitor support, see the “Multiple-Adapter and Multiple-Monitor Support” section earlier in this chapter.

51. Device drivers and installation meet PC 98 requirements
Required

The manufacturer does not need to supply a driver for a device if the device passes PC 98 compliance testing using a driver provided with the operating system. If the manufacturer supplies a driver, then the requirements for device drivers and installation are defined in the “Basic PC 98” chapter in Part 1 of this guide. The basic requirements include driver support for unattended installation and Help file support if special driver parameters are used.

Note: For Windows, the display driver (.DRV) component that is loaded and called by the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) is a Win16 module.

52. Driver does not bypass any Microsoft-provided system components
Required

The driver must not bypass or patch any Microsoft-provided system components. For Windows, this includes Gdi.exe, Kernel.exe, User.exe, Dibeng.dll, Mmsystem.dll, Ddraw.dll, D3d*.dll, and so on.

For Windows NT, this requirement applies for all files normally installed in the System32 directory, including but not limited to Win32k.sys, Ntoskrnl.exe, Gdi32.dll, User32.dll, and Mcdsrv32.dll.

53. Applications provided with device meet Win32 requirements
Required

Any Windows-based applications provided with the device must meet Microsoft requirements for software compatibility as defined in the Win32 SDK.

54. Driver supports dynamic color bit-depth change
Required

The graphics adapter must operate properly and must not fail when asked by the operating system to change the color depth.