• Microsoft Generic Keyboard Driver
• Windows 10 Generic Keyboard Driver Download
• Windows Generic Keyboard Driver

Note

This topic is for developers who are creating drivers for keyboard and mouse HID clients. If you are looking to fix a mouse or keyboard, see:

This topic discusses keyboard and mouse HID client drivers. Keyboards and mice represent the first set of HID clients that were standardized in the HID Usage tables and implemented in Windows operating systems.

Keyboard and mouse HID client drivers are implemented in the form of HID Mapper Drivers. A HID mapper driver is a kernel-mode WDM filter driver that provides a bidirectional interface for I/O requests between a non-HID Class driver and the HID class driver. The mapper driver maps the I/O requests and data protocols of one to the other.

Windows provides system-supplied HID mapper drivers for HID keyboard, and HID mice devices.

Architecture and overview

Microsoft Generic Keyboard Driver

The following figure illustrates the system-supplied driver stacks for USB keyboard and mouse/touchpad devices.

The figure above includes the following components:

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• KBDHID.sys – HID client mapper driver for keyboards. Converts HID usages into scancodes to interface with the existing keyboard class driver.
• MOUHID.sys – HID client mapper driver for mice/touchpads. Converts HID usages into mouse commands (X/Y, buttons, wheel) to interface with the existing keyboard class driver.
• KBDCLASS.sys – The keyboard class driver maintains functionality for all keyboards and keypads on the system in a secure manner.
• MOUCLASS.sys – The mouse class driver maintains functionality for all mice / touchpads on the system. The driver does support both absolute and relative pointing devices. This is not the driver for touchscreens as that is managed by a different driver in Windows.
• HIDCLASS.sys - The HID class driver. The HID Class driver is the glue between KBDHID.sys and MOUHID.sys HID clients and various transports (USB, Bluetooth, etc).

The system builds the driver stack as follows:

• The transport stack creates a physical device object (PDO) for each HID device attached and loads the appropriate HID transport driver which in turn loads the HID Class Driver.
• The HID class driver creates a PDO for each keyboard or mouse TLC. Complex HID devices (more than 1 TLC) are exposed as multiple PDOs created by HID class driver. For example, a keyboard with an integrated mouse might have one collection for the standard keyboard controls and a different collection for the mouse.
• The keyboard or mouse hid client mapper drivers are loaded on the appropriate FDO.
• The HID mapper drivers create FDOs for keyboard and mouse, and load the class drivers.

Important notes:

• Vendor drivers are not required for keyboards and mice that are compliant with the supported HID Usages and top level collections.
• Vendors may optionally provide filter drivers in the HID stack to alter/enhance the functionality of these specific TLC.
• Vendors should create separate TLCs, that are vendor specific, to exchange vendor proprietary data between their hid client and the device. Avoid using filter drivers unless critical.
• The system opens all keyboard and mouse collections for its exclusive use.
• The system prevents disable/enabling a keyboard.
• The system provides support for horizontal/vertical wheels with smooth scrolling capabilities.

Driver Guidance

Microsoft provides the following guidance for IHVs writing drivers:

1. Driver developers are allowed to add additional drivers in the form of a filter driver or a new HID Client driver. The criteria are described below:

   1. Filters Drivers: Driver developers should ensure that their value-add driver is a filter driver and does not replace (or be used in place of) existing Windows HID drivers in the input stack.

      • Filter drivers are allowed in the following scenarios:
        • As an upper filter to kbdhid/mouhid
        • As an upper filter to kbdclass/mouclass
      • Filter drivers are not recommended as a filter between HIDCLASS and HID Transport minidriver

   2. Function Drivers: Alternatively vendors can create a function driver (instead of a filter driver) but only for vendor specific HID PDOs (with a user mode service if necessary).

      Function drivers are allowed in the following scenarios:

      • Only load on the specific vendor’s hardware

   3. Transport Drivers: Windows team does not recommend creating additional HID Transport minidriver as they are complex drivers to write/maintain. If a partner is creating a new HID Transport minidriver, especially on SoC systems, we recommend a detailed architectural review to understand the reasoning and ensure that the driver is developed correctly.

2. Driver developers should leverage driver Frameworks (KMDF or UMDF) and not rely on WDM for their filter drivers.

3. Driver developers should reduce the number of kernel-user transitions between their service and the driver stack.

4. Driver developers should ensure ability to wake the system via both keyboard and touchpad functionality (adjustable by the end user (device manager) or the PC manufacturer). In addition on SoC systems, these devices must be able to wake themselves from a lower powered state while the system is in a working S0 state.

5. Driver developers should ensure that their hardware is power managed efficiently.

   • Device can go into its lowest power state when the device is idle.
   • Device is in the lowest power state when the system is in a low power state (for example, standby (S3) or connected standby).

Keyboard layout

A keyboard layout fully describes a keyboard's input characteristics for Microsoft Windows 2000 and later versions. For example, a keyboard layout specifies the language, keyboard type and version, modifiers, scan codes, and so on.

See the following for information about keyboard layouts:

• Keyboard header file, kdb.h, in the Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK), which documents general information about keyboard layouts.

• Sample keyboard layouts.

To visualize the layout of a specific keyboard, see Windows Keyboard Layouts.

For additional details around the keyboard layout, visit Control PanelClock, Language, and RegionLanguage.

Supported buttons and wheels on mice

The following table identifies the features supported across different client versions of the Windows operating system.

Activating buttons 4-5 and wheel on PS/2 mice

The method used by Windows to activate the new 4&5-button + wheel mode is an extension of the method used to activate the third button and the wheel in IntelliMouse-compatible mice:

• First, the mouse is set to the 3-button wheel mode, which is accomplished by setting the report rate consecutively to 200 reports/second, then to 100 reports/second, then to 80 reports/second, and then reading the ID from the mouse. The mouse should report an ID of 3 when this sequence is completed.
• Next, the mouse is set to the 5-button wheel mode, which is accomplished by setting the report rate consecutively to 200 reports/second, then to 200 reports/second again, then to 80 reports/second, and then reading the ID from the mouse. Once this sequence is completed, a 5-button wheel mouse should report an ID of 4 (whereas an IntelliMouse-compatible 3-button wheel mouse would still report an ID of 3).

Note that this is applicable to PS/2 mice only and is not applicable to HID mice (HID mice must report accurate usages in their report descriptor).

Standard PS/2-compatible mouse data packet format (2 Buttons)

Note

Windows mouse drivers do not check the overflow bits. In case of overflow, the mouse should simply send the maximal signed displacement value.

Standard PS/2-compatible mouse data packet format (3 Buttons + VerticalWheel)

Standard PS/2-compatible mouse data packet format (5 Buttons + VerticalWheel)

Important

Notice that the Z/wheel data for a 5-button wheel mouse has been reduced to four bits instead of the 8 bits used in the IntelliMouse-compatible 3-button wheel mode. This reduction is made possible by the fact that the wheel typically cannot generate values beyond the range +7/-8 during any given interrupt period. Windows mouse drivers will sign extend the four Z/wheel data bits when the mouse is in the 5-button wheel mode, and the full Z/wheel data byte when the mouse operates in the 3-button wheel mode.

Buttons 4 & 5 on are mapped to WM_APPCOMMAND messages and correspond to App_Back and App_Forward.

Devices not requiring vendor drivers

Vendor drivers are not required for the following devices:

• Devices that comply with the HID Standard.
• Keyboard, mouse, or game port devices operated by the system-supplied non-HIDClass drivers.

Kbfiltr sample

Kbfiltr is designed to be used with Kbdclass, the system class driver for keyboard devices and I8042prt, the function driver for a PS/2-style keyboard. Kbfiltr demonstrates how to filter I/O requests and how to add callback routines that modify the operation of Kbdclass and I8042prt.

For more information about Kbfiltr operation, see the following:

• The ntddkbd.h WDK header file.

• The sample Kbfiltr source code.

Kbfiltr IOCTLs

IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_KEYBOARD

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_KEYBOARD request does the following:

• Adds an initialization callback routine to the I8042prt keyboard initialization routine.
• Adds an ISR callback routine to the I8042prt keyboard ISR.

The initialization and ISR callbacks are optional and are provided by an upper-level filter driver for a PS/2-style keyboard device.

After I8042prt receives an IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_CONNECT request, it sends a synchronous IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_KEYBOARD request to the top of the keyboard device stack.

After Kbfiltr receives the hook keyboard request, Kbfiltr filters the request in the following way:

• Saves the upper-level information passed to Kbfiltr, which includes the context of an upper-level device object, a pointer to an initialization callback, and a pointer to an ISR callback.
• Replaces the upper-level information with its own.
• Saves the context of I8042prt and pointers to callbacks that the Kbfiltr ISR callback can use.

IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_CONNECT

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_CONNECT request connects the Kbdclass service to the keyboard device. Kbdclass sends this request down the keyboard device stack before it opens the keyboard device.

After Kbfiltr received the keyboard connect request, Kbfiltr filters the connect request in the following way:

• Saves a copy of Kbdclass's CONNECT_DATA (Kbdclass) structure that is passed to the filter driver by Kbdclass.
• Substitutes its own connect information for the class driver connect information.
• Sends the IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_CONNECT request down the device stack.

If the request is not successful, Kbfiltr completes the request with an appropriate error status.

Kbfiltr provides a template for a filter service callback routine that can supplement the operation of KeyboardClassServiceCallback, the Kbdclass class service callback routine. The filter service callback can filter the input data that is transferred from the device input buffer to the class data queue.

IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_DISCONNECT

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_KEYBOARD_DISCONNECT request is completed with a status of STATUS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED. Note that a Plug and Play keyboard can be added or removed by the Plug and Play manager.

For all other device control requests, Kbfiltr skips the current IRP stack and sends the request down the device stack without further processing.

Callback routines implemented by Kbfiltr

KbFilter_InitializationRoutine

See PI8042_KEYBOARD_INITIALIZATION_ROUTINE

The KbFilter_InitializationRoutine is not needed if the I8042prt default initialization of a keyboard is sufficient.

I8042prt calls KbFilter_InitializationRoutine when it initializes the keyboard. Default keyboard initialization includes the following operations:

• reset the keyboard
• set the typematic rate and delay
• set the light-emitting diodes (LED)

KbFilter_IsrHook

See PI8042_KEYBOARD_ISR. This callback is not needed if the default operation of I8042prt is sufficient.

The I8042prt keyboard ISR calls KbFilter_IsrHook after it validates the interrupt and reads the scan code.

KbFilter_IsrHook runs in kernel mode at the IRQL of the I8042prt keyboard.

KbFilter_ServiceCallback

See PSERVICE_CALLBACK_ROUTINE.

The ISR dispatch completion routine of the function driver calls KbFilter_ServiceCallback, which then calls the keyboard class driver's implementation of PSERVICE_CALLBACK_ROUTINE. A vendor can implement a filter service callback to modify the input data that is transferred from the device's input buffer to the class data queue. For example, the callback can delete, transform, or insert data.

Moufiltr sample

Moufiltr is designed to be used with Mouclass, the system class driver for mouse devices used with Windows 2000 and later versions, and I8042prt, the function driver for a PS/2-style mouse used with Windows 2000 and later. Moufiltr demonstrates how to filter I/O requests and add callback routines that modify the operation of Mouclass and I8042prt.

For more information about Moufiltr operation, see the following:

• The ntddmou.h WDK header file.

• The sample Moufiltr source code.

Windows 10 Generic Keyboard Driver Download

Moufiltr control codes

IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_MOUSE

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_MOUSE request adds an ISR callback routine to the I8042prt mouse ISR. The ISR callback is optional and is provided by an upper-level mouse filter driver.

I8042prt sends this request after it receives an IOCTL_INTERNAL_MOUSE_CONNECT request. I8042prt sends a synchronous IOCTL_INTERNAL_I8042_HOOK_MOUSE request to the top of the mouse device stack.

After Moufiltr receives the hook mouse request, it filters the request in the following way:

• Saves the upper-level information passed to Moufiltr, which includes the context of an upper-level device object and a pointer to an ISR callback.
• Replaces the upper-level information with its own.
• Saves the context of I8042prt and pointers to callbacks that the Moufiltr ISR callbacks can use.

Moufiltr Callback Routines

IOCTL_INTERNAL_MOUSE_CONNECT

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_MOUSE_CONNECT request connects Mouclass service to a mouse device.

IOCTL_INTERNAL_MOUSE_DISCONNECT

The IOCTL_INTERNAL_MOUSE_DISCONNECT request is completed by Moufiltr with an error status of STATUS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED.

For all other requests, Moufiltr skips the current IRP stack and sends the request down the device stack without further processing.

Callback routines

MouFilter_IsrHook

See PI8042_MOUSE_ISR.

A MouFilter_IsrHook callback is not needed if the default operation of I8042prt is sufficient.

The I8042prt mouse ISR calls MouFilter_IsrHook after it validates the interrupt.

To reset a mouse, I8042prt goes through a sequence of operational substates, each one of which is identified by an MOUSE_RESET_SUBSTATE enumeration value. For more information about how I8042prt resets a mouse and the corresponding mouse reset substates, see the documentation of MOUSE_RESET_SUBSTATE in ntdd8042.h.

MouFilter_IsrHook runs in kernel mode at the IRQL of the I8042prt mouse ISR.

MouFilter_ServiceCallback

See PSERVICE_CALLBACK_ROUTINE

The ISR DPC of I8042prt calls MouFilter_ServiceCallback, which then calls MouseClassServiceCallback. A filter service callback can be configured to modify the input data that is transferred from the device's input buffer to the class data queue. For example, the callback can delete, transform, or insert data.

Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Windows Computer Solutions • Proven solutions

Sometimes on Windows 10, the sound and sound components can just stop working. If this is what you are experiencing, you should know that you are not alone. One audio problem has been more persistent than others for Windows 10 users. They report that the sound on their devices simply stops working and when they use the troubleshooter to try and find a solution, they keep getting the error, 'Generic Audio Driver Detected'.

One of the biggest frustrations about this problem is that it can be very persistent and it is also quite difficult to diagnose. In this article, we are going to be looking at some of the solutions you can try to fix this and other sound issues with your computer.

Part 1: What Does Generic Audio Driver Detected Mean?

The 'Generic Audio Driver Detected' issue is simply an error message that Windows Troubleshooter will display when your computer is having issues with the sound or audio system. When you see this error popup when you are trying to troubleshoot Windows audio errors, it indicates that the sound devices are not responding as they should to your computer's commands.

Part 2: How to Troubleshoot Generic Audio Driver Detected in Windows 10

In this section we will be talking about some of the troubleshooting solutions you can try when you see this error pop up.

First of all, Let's start with a video we curated for you, which covers the most common reasons that cause generic audio drive detected issue, and how to fix them accordingly.

Hopefully the video has solved your generic audio service detected issue, but if not, no worries, below are some other solutions we prepared for you:

Method 1: Check the Status of Your Audio Services

You may also see the 'Generic Audio Driver Detected' error message when the audio services are disabled. Therefore the first thing you want to do before attempting to find any more invasive solution is to check the status of your audio services. Follow these simple steps to do it;

Step 1: Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue box

Step 2: Type in 'services.msc' and then click 'OK'

Step 3: In the services window that opens, scroll down to locate 'Windows Audio' and 'Windows Audio Endpoint Builder' and check if their status is marked as 'Running'. If not, right-click on each one of them and select 'Start'

Step 4: Double click on both services and ensure that the Startup type is 'Automatic'

Step 5: Click 'OK' and then close the services window. Check if the audio services are working correctly.

Method 2: Update Your Audio Drivers

Outdated or missing audio driver can also cause all sorts of errors with the audio services on your computer. Follow these simple steps to update the drivers;

Step 1: Open the run dialogue box again. You can use the Windows Key + R to do it

Step 2: Type in 'devmgmt.msc' and then click 'OK'

Step 3: In the 'Device Manager' window, click on 'Sound, Video and Game Controllers' to expand it and then select the outdated driver.

Step 4: Right-click on it and then select 'Update Driver'

Step 5: When the update is complete, restart the computer and hopefully the problem should be gone.

Method 3: Reinstall Your Audio Driver

If updating the driver doesn't fix the problem, the best course of action would be to reinstall the driver. Follow these simple steps to do it;

Step 1: Click on the search icon on the taskbar and then type 'device manager'. Click on the first match that appears.

Step 2: Select the driver in device manager, right-click on it and choose 'Uninstall Device'. Do the same for all other faulty drivers.

Step 3: When the drivers are completely uninstalled, restart the PC.

Step 4: Now go back to 'Device Manager' and right-click on the name of your PC at the top. Select 'Scan for hardware changes' and wait for the drivers to be reinstalled.

Method 4: Turn Off Audio Enhancements

Audio enhancements are meant to improve the way sound cards work, but sometimes they can interfere with the proper function of the audio services, causing issues like this one. Here's how to turn them off;

Step 1: Open the run dialogue box once again and type in 'Control'

Step 2: Search for 'Sound' in the control panel. Right-click on the default sound device in the Sound window and select 'Properties'

Step 3: In the properties window that appears, click on the 'Enhancements' tab and then check the box marked 'Disable all Sound effects'. Click 'OK'

By the way, you can also learn to fix audio not working issue.

Part 3: Recover Lost Data from Windows with Recoverit

As you may already know, another really common problem for most Windows device users is data loss. And while there may be very many data recovery solutions in the market, many are hard to use and even ineffective. If data loss is a problem that has been plaguing you, we want to introduce you to a data recovery program that is as effective as it is easy to use. This data recovery program is Recoverit Data Recovery which allows users to recover up to 100MB of lost or deleted data for free.

Some of its other notable features include the following;

Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best File Recovery Software

• It can recover data from just about any storage device including your PC hard drive and external storage devices like USB drives and SD Cards.
• It recognizes and recovers up to 1000 different file formats including videos, images, audio, documents, and many more.
• It can also recover data under different situations; it can recover data due to a crashed system, a virus attack, or any other cause.

To use Recoverit to recover the missing data on your device, follow these simple steps;

Step 1: Launch Recoverit on your Computer

Windows Generic Keyboard Driver

Begin by downloading and installing the program onto your computer. To launch it after a successful installation, locate the program's icon on your computer's desktop and double-click on it.

Step 2: Select a Location

Once the program is open, the first thing you need to do is select the drive with the data that you need to recover. In the main window, you should see a list of all the drives available on your computer.

Click on the specific drive with the missing data to select it and then click on 'Start' to continue.

Step 3: Scan the Selected Location

Recoverit will immediately begin scanning the selected drive for the missing data. The scanning process can take a while depending on the size of the selected drive.

You can press the 'Pause' or 'Stop' button to discontinue the scan if you see the files you are looking for.

Step 4: Preview and Recover

The program will display all the files in the next window. To preview a specific file, click on it and a thumbnail will appear on the right panel.

Once you click on 'Preview' a preview window will open, allowing you to preview the file.

You can then click on 'Recover' to save the previewed file.

The solutions above should come in handy whenever you are facing issues with sound or audio on your device. Let us know in the comments section below if you were able to fix this problem or share with us any other issue you may be facing and we'll do our best to help.

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