Managing the driver load order in Windows can be crucial for ensuring that your system operates smoothly and efficiently. This article will guide you through understanding and managing the driver load order in Windows, providing practical examples and commands to help you along the way.

Understanding Driver Load Order

In Windows, the driver load order determines the sequence in which drivers are loaded during the boot process. Proper management of this order is essential to avoid conflicts and ensure that dependent drivers are loaded in the correct sequence. The load order is influenced by the driver type and the group to which it belongs.

Driver Types and Groups

1. Boot-start drivers: These are loaded by the Windows loader before the operating system kernel is initialized.
2. System-start drivers: These are loaded by the kernel during the initialization process.
3. Auto-start drivers: These are loaded automatically by the Service Control Manager (SCM) after the kernel initialization.

Managing Driver Load Order

To manage the driver load order, you can use the Windows Registry Editor and the Service Control Manager. Below are the steps and examples to help you manage the load order effectively.

Using the Windows Registry Editor

1. Open the Registry Editor:

   • Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to the Driver Load Order Key:

   • Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ServiceGroupOrder.

3. Modify the Load Order:

   • Double-click on the List value to open the Edit Multi-String dialog.
   • Modify the list to change the order of the driver groups as needed.
   • Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Example: Changing the Load Order of a Specific Driver

Suppose you have a driver named MyDriver that you want to load before another driver named OtherDriver. You can achieve this by modifying the Group and Tag values in the registry.

1. Open the Registry Editor:

   • Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to the Driver's Registry Key:

   • Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MyDriver.

3. Set the Group and Tag Values:

   • Double-click on the Group value and set it to a group that loads early, such as Base.
   • If the Tag value does not exist, create a new DWORD value named Tag and set its value to a lower number than the Tag value of OtherDriver.

Using the Service Control Manager

You can also use the Service Control Manager to change the start type of drivers.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:

   • Press Win + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. Change the Start Type of a Driver:

   • Use the sc config command to change the start type of MyDriver.

   sc config MyDriver start= boot

   This command sets the start type of MyDriver to boot, ensuring it loads early in the boot process.

Examples

Example 1: Viewing the Current Driver Load Order

You can view the current driver load order using the sc query command.

sc query type= driver

This command lists all drivers and their current states.

Example 2: Setting a Driver to Load at System Start

To set a driver named ExampleDriver to load at system start, use the following command:

sc config ExampleDriver start= system

Conclusion

Managing the driver load order in Windows is essential for maintaining system stability and performance. By using the Windows Registry Editor and the Service Control Manager, you can effectively control the sequence in which drivers are loaded, ensuring that all dependencies are met and conflicts are avoided.