Have you ever noticed how many drivers on your system are dated June 21st, 2006? If not, pop open device manager and take a look at some of your devices which don't use a driver directly from the manufacturer. Slashdot posted a link to the inimitable Raymond Chen who explains exactly why so many of your drivers bear that date. The short version is that this is a workaround which prevents newer Microsoft drivers from overwriting manufacturer's drivers by ensuring the date stamp on the Microsoft driver will never have a more recent date. This is especially important for laptop users as even the simple chipset drivers will be supplied by the manufacturer. For instance this processor is old, but not that old!
"When the system looks for a driver to use for a particular piece of hardware, it ranks them according to various criteria. If a driver provides a perfect match to the hardware ID, then it becomes a top candidate. And if more than one driver provides a perfect match, then the one with the most recent timestamp is chosen."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Malware that skulks in memory, invisibly collecting sysadmins' passwords @ The Register
- SK Hynix joins bid for Toshiba flash business @ DigiTimes
- HP’s Elite Slice is a cool possible future for the desktop @ Ars Technica
- Tosh's new workhorse drive: Not too desktop, not too enterprise @ The Register
- Apple is storing your 'deleted' Safari search history in iCloud @ The Inquirer
- Samsung battery factory bursts into flame in touching Note 7 tribute @ The Register
- DR Brings Movie Cinematography into the Home @ Hardware Secrets
Even thought I always knew
Even thought I always knew the exact reason why this was done, I always hated that.
Whoa whoa whoa, just because
Whoa whoa whoa, just because I bought my Thinkpad in 2011 doesnt make my i5-2520m old.
Microsoft should trademark
Microsoft should trademark the term “workaround” as it seems their software is built on workarounds.
At least now we know it’s not
At least now we know it’s not to commemorate the naming of Pluto’s moons, Nix & Hydra.
Time to make a meme out of
Time to make a meme out of this