Types of INF File Sections

All the types of sections that can be in an INF file and the purpose of each type of section is listed in the following table.

Type of INF File Section

Purpose

Comment

INF file header.

The standard header for all INF files.

The INF file header items are contained in the folder labelled NEWINF.INF in the illustration above. The syntax and meaning of the INF file header items is defined in the "Reference" topic under the section name Version.

ClassInstall section

Installs a new class for a device in the Class section of the registry on a Windows 95 machine.

Disk Names section

Identifies and names the disk(s) that are the source of files that are copied to the hard disk during installation. Also names the files that are on each of the installation disk(s).

The syntax and meaning of items that are contained in a Disk Names section are documented in the "Reference" topic under the topics SourceDisksNames section and SourceDisksFiles section.

Manufacturer

Identifies the manufacturer of one or more devices defined in the INF file, describes the device(s), and identifies the Install section that contains the script for installing each device.

Install sections

Identifies the other sections in the INF file that describe the resource requirements of a device and which add entries to the registry, copy files, etc.

CopyFiles sections

Names the files copied from the source disk(s) to the destination directories during device installation.

Infedit puts the destination directory information into a DestinationDirs section.

Rename Files sections

Names the files to be renamed when they are copied from the source disk(s) to the destination directories during device installation. Also gives the new filenames on the destination directories.

Infedit puts the destination directory information into a DestinationDirs section.

DelFiles sections

Names the files to be deleted from destination directories during device installation.

Used, for example, to delete obsolete versions of device drivers. Infedit puts the destination directory information into a DestinationDirs section.

Add Registry sections

Adds subkeys or value names to the registry, optionally setting values.

Delete Registry sections

Deletes subkeys or value names from the registry.

Log Config sections

Defines device configuration details such as IRQs, memory address ranges, I/O address ranges, and/or DMA channels.

Update Autoexec.bat sections

Manipulates lines in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Update Config.sys sections

Manipulates lines in the CONFIG.SYS file.

Ini File to Registry sections

Moves lines or sections from an INI file to the registry, creating or replacing an entry under a specific key in the registry.

Update Ini File sections

Replaces, adds, and deletes entries in an INI file.

Update Ini Fields sections

Replaces, adds, and deletes fields in the value of a given entry in an INI file.

Strings section

Defines one or more names that represent a string of displayable characters.

HW section

A special case of an Install section. The only type of section that allows entries to be made to the Hardware branch of the registry.

Build an HW section using the Miscellaneous Sections folder of the Infedit user interface. See the "Reference" section for the items that appear in an HW section and their syntax.

NoResDup section

Provides a method for the installing devices that use no resources.

If needed, can be built as part of a Device subsection of a Manufacturer section.

PosDup section

Provides a method for identifying devices that may appear to be separate devices but are in fact the same device.

If needed, can be built as part of a Device subsection of a Manufacturer section.