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Intel Publishes Its First Modern Windows Driver for PCs (pcworld.com)

Posted by msmash on from the moving-forward dept.

Intel has published its first Modern Windows Driver for several of its modern integrated GPUs, representing a new way for graphics drivers to be pushed to your PC -- and something to keep an eye on until the new driver infrastructure settles in. From a report: Modern Windows Drivers, also known as Universal Windows Drivers, are a new feature of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update that takes advantage of the UWP infrastructure within Windows 10. As Microsoft explains it, a Modern Windows Driver is a "single driver package that runs across multiple different device types, from embedded systems to tablets and desktop PCs." The first Intel driver to take advantage of this is labeled UWD 25.20.100.6444. Microsoft doesn't intend for you to do anything different to obtain the new Modern drivers. If you own a prebuilt PC, the PC maker will continue to be the first place you should check for updated drivers, according to an Intel FAQ. That's because the universal driver includes a base driver, plus optional component packages and an optional hardware support app. The latter two are written by the system builder or OEM, while the former is written by the GPU maker itself.

10 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. God damn Store by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These fuckers better be available for download separate from the Store.

    --
    http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
    1. Re:God damn Store by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Why? What in the summary makes it sound like you actually *want* these drivers? I envisage a 1.5GB download full of useless crap to do some basic thing.

      Plus you just know it's going to be forced down your throat with a Windows Update anyway.

    2. Re:God damn Store by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 2

      Universal drivers are distributed through Windows Update

      https://docs.microsoft.com/en-...

      Or you could read the fucking article and see that there is a download link on Intel's website.

      https://downloadcenter.intel.c...

      Oh no Microsoft is doing something, time to shit your pants in terror!

  2. No, just no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No, I don't want your bloated driver code that you had to make run on all these different systems. I want the driver that was designed to be efficient on the hardware and OS that I installed.

    Bleh.

    1. Re:No, just no... by ctilsie242 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I just want a driver install package that only installs the files for the architecture it is running on. For example, if I'm on amd64, I don't need drivers taking up space for Sun3, MIPS, POWER, SPARC32, and ARM.

  3. More ways to screw up your system by smooth+wombat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    On a regular basis, when the "updates" and "patches" are pushed out, we invariably have people whose drivers have been replaced by these supposedly universal drivers.

    Then we have to go back and put in the original drivers we use in our images to get them up and running.

    I wonder how many end users will be afflicted by this bug and not have any clue how to correct things?

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1. Re:More ways to screw up your system by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 4, Funny

      we invariably have people whose drivers have been replaced by these supposedly universal drivers.

      Wow, sounds like you've had a lot of problems in the last 4-5 days of these universal drivers existing. It sounds like it feels like years to you!

  4. Modern by peppepz · · Score: 2

    According to Intel, you can only use the executable installer provided by Intel or your PC maker. If you use the “INF/Have disk installation” or any other method of installing drivers, Intel warns that that could cause “minor to catastrophic issues or system instability.” That’s because it bypasses Intel’s own installation method.

    Yup, here comes modernity.

  5. Windows S mode by mccalli · · Score: 2

    Sounds related to making sure Windows S devices can be kept up to date. I'm thinking of devices in the Surface Go class (I don't know if that has an Intel GPU or not, but you get the idea - that kind of a device).

  6. Remember the USB 1.0 standard by randomErr · · Score: 4, Informative

    The original USB 1.0 standard had written into it the ability to have a universal driver system. When plugged in the device would upload a drive payload in a Java applet to allow at least partial operation until a platform specific drive could be found. For security reasons and the fact Java wasn't installed everywhere that was quickly dropped from the USB standard. Microsoft is just replicating that idea but in .NET instead of Java.

    --
    You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?