Managing driver packages

When a device is manufactured, the manufacturer is obliged to adhere to industry hardware standards. That implies that the manufacturer is obliged to provide the device driver along with the device. A device driver is a set of files that represent the so-called driver package. It is device-specific and enables Windows 10 to communicate with the device:

• Driverfiles aredynamic-link library (DLL) files with the .sys filename extension. The .sys file is a system file that provides the I/O interface for a device. Every time a device driver is installed, Windows 10 copies the .sys file to C:\Windows\System32\drivers.

• Installation files supply a device setup information (.inf) file and a driver catalog (.cat) file. The .inf file is a plain-text file that contains the information that Windows 10 uses to install a device driver. Every time a device driver is installed, Windows 10 copies the .inf file to C:\Windows\INF. By contrast, the .cat file is a catalog file that contains...