Device information (INF) files provide the information that the Windows 95 operating system needs to install the software and information to support a given hardware device. Independent hardware vendors who develop Windows 95 device drivers must also create INF files to explicitly define the resources and files required to support each class of device.
Device information (INF) files provide the information that Windows 95 needs to install a given device and its associated software. IHVs who wish to install their devices and software using the Windows 95 built in installation support must create an INF to describe the device and its installation requirements.
Every INF is a collection of sections which describe a device, the resources required by that device and the installation procedure. Windows 95 New Device Wizard builds its list of installable devices by searching through the INFs. The Device Manager also displays information which originates in the INF. Every hardware INF follows the general organization described below.
| Section name | Description |
|---|---|
| Version | Contains a simple header that identifies the INF and the class of device this INF supports. |
| Class | Defines a new class for this device. This section is optional only as long as the class is already defined |
| Manufacturer and Manufacturer Name | Lists all the individual manufacturers of the devices identified in this file and lists all the devices built by that manufacturer. These entries are displayed directly to the user and used to generate the appropriate registry entries. There must always be at least one manufacturer. |
| Install | Describes the device driver and physical attributes of the hardware device. It also identifies the names of all the Installation sections that contain information and instructions for installing this device. |
| Strings | Defines all localizable strings used in the INF file. |
| Miscellaneous Control Sections | Specifies how a device is handled by the Windows 95 user interface. |
If you have a Win3.1 compatible driver which you are not planning to upgrade for plug and play, it is still a good idea to update the INF file so the system can inform the user of possible resource conflicts during installation.
Note For details on how to create a Windows 95 INF file, refer to the Plug and Play documentation.Video Capture Driver Messages