In case you hadn't heard, all kernel drivers on Vista x64 need to be signed in order to be loaded. In many ways this is a good thing - helping to restrict priviliged access to the OS. In addition going from 32 bits to 64 bits allows modern 64 bit processors to make use of more registers, as well as more memory. This can benefit even 32 bit applications.
So what can you do if you don't have signed drivers? Well I found some XP64 drivers for my Terratec Cinergy 2400i DVB-T TV tuner card. But they weren't signed. This means having to press F8 on each & every bootup to bypass signature verification.
But there's another way. To help developers test their drivers, Vista can be put into "test" mode. Whilst drivers till need to be signed, they can be signed by any certificate, including a home-grown one.
So I headed off to MS site to read the article on how to do this. I followed the instructions to install the tools, gen my own certificate, import, sign the driver, and use bcdedit to permanently load into test mode.
And it works! My TV tuner card now comes up automatically on every boot. Ok so I'll disable this mode once I have manufacturer drivers, but it's a good short term workaround.
Enjoy. I can elaborate if anyone's interested.........
Friday, November 24, 2006
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2 comments:
I don't have any equipment to test Vista x64. Sounds like test mode's not that horrible. How different is it from normal? It's not like safe mode, is it?
The only difference I am aware of is
a) "test mode" text displayed on top of the background in each corner of the screen
b) Drivers can be signed by ANY certificate authority - ie you can make your own certificate up, and don't need an equifax class 3 one.
However I would hope test mode is a temporary measure only.
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