Windows 7 - Windows 7 RTM Driver Kit

With the releasing to manufacturing of Windows 7 on July 22nd, 2009, Microsoft has started updating all the resources adjacent to the operating system also to the RTM milestone. It is the case of Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0. Developers are now able to grab an updated version of Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0 specifically tailored to the gold development build of Windows 7. Starting with the first half of August 2008, software developers have available the resources necessary to build drivers for Windows 7 RTM
Build 7600, but also for previous releases of the Windows client and server operating systems.

“The Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Version 7.0.0 contains the tools, code samples, documentation, compilers, headers and libraries with which software developers create drivers for Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003. This development kit does not contain device drivers for your personal computer,” reads an excerpt from the overview for Windows Driver Kit Version 7.0.0.

But in addition to the WDK, Microsoft has also updated the documentation made available for developers in order to better leverage the resource. While WDK for Windows 7 RTM has been live for a few weeks, the updated documentation was only offered to devs on August 14th, 2009. The Windows Driver Kit documentation is currently available for download and integration with Windows 7.

“Hopefully you've already downloaded the new Windows 7 version of the WDK, which has all the latest Windows 7 headers, libraries, samples, and test applications, “ said Mark Lawler [MSFT], WDK programming writer. “We've also released an even later version of the documentation. It has additional topics that we wrote after the rest of the Windows 7 WDK was frozen. A few examples: Device and Driver Installation: Device Metadata Packages (three new topics); Display: Installing Display Drivers Optimized for Windows 7 and Later; Network: Wake-on-Wireless LAN.”