Installing Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK) for Microsoft Windows Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) on Windows XP Pro SP2 Part 1

This step-by-step document also contains how to install the Debugging Tools for Windows and Symbols Package.

Machine specification used in this scenario.

1.      Operating System   : Windows Xp Pro SP2

2.      RAM                     : 2 GB DDR2

3.      HDD                      : ++ GB

4.      Display                   : MB ATI PCI Express

5.      Processor               : Intel Core 2 Duo GHz

6.      Purpose                  : Installing the IDE to build Windows device driver or to hack the Windows kernel

Installing the DDK

First of all we need to download the ISO from Microsoft or you can buy the CD as well. The current version is Windows Server SP1 that covers Windows , Windows XP and Windows Server family. This DDK has been superseded by the Windows Driver Kit (WDK). We will try to install the WDK later. While the DDK can be downloaded openly, you need to register for free and participate in the respective Microsoft community to download WDK. Microsoft said that the WDK should be used for the following reasons:

1. Use the Windows Vista build environments in the WDK to build drivers that use new features or functionality available only in Windows Vista.
2. Use the Windows Server build environments in the WDK to build drivers that use new features or functionality available only in Windows Server
3. Use the Windows XP build environments in the WDK to build drivers that do not use new functionality available only in Windows Vista or only in Windows Server and that are targeted for either Windows XP or Windows Server and Windows XP. The Windows XP build environments in the WDK contain minor updates to the Windows DDK that shipped with Windows XP SP1 and with Windows XP.
4. Use the Windows build environments in the WDK to build drivers designed to run on Windows Vista, Windows Server , Windows XP, or Windows The Windows build environment in the WDK includes updated headers and libraries for Windows Service Pack 4 (SP4).

If you download the ISO, you need to burn it on the CD to make it useable. If needed, you can rename the .ISO extension to .IMG. If you want to get an idea how to install/extract the .IMG/.ISO files, go to this link

Then we are ready to install the DDK. Insert the previously burned ISO CD into the CD-ROM drive the Autorun will be launched. You may want to read the following Getting Started page after a very short splash screen else just explore the CD through Windows explorer and run the bharathealthcares.com.

Figure 1: The Getting Started page for DDK

Figure 2: Launching the bharathealthcares.com file

Just click the Next button.

Figure 3: The Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit, DDK installation welcome page

Read the License Agreement and select the I Agree radio button and then click the Next button.

Figure 4: Agreeing the License Agreement

Change the destination directory if needed. Here we just accept the default path given. Click the Next button.

Figure 5: Setting the installation path

We select all the DDK component groups. You can select just what you want to use, others can be re-installed. Click the Next button. The required disk space is shown on the bottom-right, so make sure you have enough disk space.

Figure 6: Selecting the DDK component groups

Click the Next button if there are no more changes else click the Back button.

Figure 7: The DDK installation confirmation page

The DDK installation begins. Any error such as unreadable or corrupted file will be prompted during this process. Sit down and relax.

Figure 8: The Windows DDK installation begins

Figure 9: The Windows DDK installation in progress

The DDK installation is complete. Click the Finish button.

Figure The Windows DDK installation is complete

You can see the created short cut on the Start → All Programs as shown below.

Figure The Windows DDK start menu short cut

Well, now we are ready to build and test Windows device driver programs. However the DDK just provide the environment for building the device driver such as the header files and libraries for the targeted platform. We may need other tools such as source code editor, and try getting the idea from Windows device driver developer.

Installing the Debuggers

Debugging Tools for Windows features WinDbg, a powerful debugger with a graphical interface that can debug both user-mode and kernel-mode code. Other than WinDbg, the Debugging Tools for Windows also includes:

• KD                  - Command-line kernel debugger.
• NTSD             - Command-line user-mode debugger.
• CDB                - Command-line user-mode debugger (variant of NTSD).

and many additional tools. The documentation in Debugging Tools for Windows describes the use of these debuggers and includes tips for user-mode and kernel-mode debugging. Debugging Tools for Windows is available in three different versions:

1. A bit version (setup_xexe).
2. A native Intel Itanium version (setup_iaexe), and
3. A native x64 version (setup_amdexe).

The bit version is appropriate for most users. If you are planning on debugging a user-mode application on an Itanium-based processor, you should install the Itanium version of the debuggers. If you are planning on debugging a user-mode application on an x64 processor, you should select the x64 version of the debuggers. The Itanium and x64 debuggers can be installed only on bit versions of Windows. These debugging tools require approximately 25 MB of hard disk space.

To obtain the most current version of Debugging Tools for Windows, visit the Microsoft Debugging Tools Web site. If it is not convenient to visit this site, you can install Debugging Tools for Windows directly from this CD. However we found only the 32 bit, 64 bit and look likes 64 bit for AMD processor in the CD. There is no 'Itanium' version.

However, when referring to the Windows DDK documentation, when a build environment title contains the term "64 bit," this refers to the Intel Itanium architecture. When a build environment title contains the term "AMD64," this refers to the xbased architecture (for example, the Advanced Micro Devices AMD64 processor). So, in this case the setup_iaexe/dbg_iamsi is the Itanium version.

Since the version of Debugging Tools for Windows on this CD may not be the most recent version, it is recommended that you only use these local setup files if you cannot access the Web site. The setup files can be found under the debuggers folder in the CD as shown below. Launch an appropriate setup file. In our case the 32 bit Debugging Tools for Windows already installed together when we install Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) else you need to run the setup_xexe and follow the instructions.

Figure The Debugging Tools for Windows setup files under the debuggers directory

Assuming that you already completed the Debugging Tools for Windows installation, the short cut menu should be seen as shown below. Try running the WinDbg by selecting the WinDbg menu.

Figure The Debugging Tools for Windows short cut menu

Figure The naked WinDbg application in action