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Hello Nathan. Thank you for the feedback!
- Our platform is designed to automatically identify all applicable updates that are newer than what is currently installed on your devices, which typically eliminates the need for manual correlation with the Update Catalog. Can you share more about what information you are hoping to get from the Windows Update catalog about the driver that is installed?
- While there is significant overlap, the Update Catalog and Windows Update are not identical repositories. Publishers have the discretion to choose where they list their updates, which means some updates may appear in one and not the other. This choice can be influenced by factors such as the intended audience or specific update strategies. Thus, it's possible for an update to be distributed through Windows Update without being listed in the Catalog.
- In dealing with driver updates via Windows Update, you can employ standard troubleshooting methods to address installation and deployment issues. These techniques include reviewing update logs, rolling back recent updates, or using the built-in troubleshooter. If you're encountering specific problems, contacting the hardware manufacturer is a recommended step, although the initial support levels may not have detailed distribution information. Additionally, submitting detailed incident through the Windows Feedback Hub is the best way to engage our engineering teams for support.
Here is a recent example. Why would Windows Update have choosen a driver from 2016 over the 2022 version, the latest found by searching for the Hardware ID "VID_0BDA&PID_8153" it says it used? Please note, I had to make some assumptions to link to those drivers, as I have found no primary key or link between systems.
2023/11/29 09:11:24.1753684 30632 26636 Handler Device id = usb\vid_0bda&pid_8153
2023/11/29 09:11:24.1753707 30632 26636 Handler DriverPingback=1|1|USB\VID_0BDA&PID_8153&REV_3310|2016-03-09|11.4.211.2022|0xff0001|0x180600a|0|Realtek|Realtek|Realtek(R) USB Ethernet Controller|USB\VID_0BDA&PID_8153
2023/11/29 09:11:24.2714190 30632 26636 Handler QueryDriver result for {3C7BA486-8D4B-5094-9022-D3238BFBF90F}usb\vid_0bda&pid_8153: Problem code 0, Problem status 0
2023/11/29 09:11:24.2714270 30632 26636 Handler Driver Install of {59B0D79A-91FC-4477-88A5-C7F375B114D3} on usb\vid_0bda&pid_8153 succeeded
At this moment, my ethernet randomly stops functioning with no obvious signs of trouble. Everything says connected and healthy. No logs entries saying otherwise or what changed. It can ping local host, however it cannot ping the gateway. Luckily this is on Windows 11, where the network troubleshooter does not require local admin. Restarting the interface gets it running again, for some random number of minutes.
>Why would Windows Update have choosen a driver from https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/ScopedViewInline.aspx?updateid=c5ed893b-7196-4a04-8318-dfcd9ab324bb over the https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/ScopedViewInline.aspx?updateid=24904656-f227-4de9-90f7-c369a45e59ee version, the latest found by searching for the Hardware ID "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=VID_0BDA%26PID_8153" it says it used?
treestryder, almost certainly because of CHIDs (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/dashboard/using-chids). In short, the OEM/IHV label the drivers they submit with a CHID that identifies the device model that driver is approved for. Once a device has a driver with a matching CHID it will not update to a newer driver that does not have a matching CHID. So in your example I'm willing to bet solid money that the 2016 version was published with a matching CHID for that device and the 2022 version was not. The rub is that, today, it's non-trivial for an end user to get the CHID of a given device and impossible to get the CHID of the driver.
Which is why I agree that it'd be useful to be able to have a driver/update identifier that can more easily be related to an update in the catalog (if the OEM/IHV published it there).BryanDam ,
Do OEM/IHVs receive feedback about their driver installs and problems? For example, does Realtek know this PC is forced to use an old driver? Does the Windows 11 Troubleshooter (which does not require admin rights) inform Realtek each time the adapter is reset to make it work?
>Do OEM/IHVs receive feedback about their driver installs and problems?
Yes, they receive fairly comprehensive telemetry about their drivers. Though this is primarily a factor during the driver rollout as this telemetry form part of the quality gates.
>For example, does Realtek know this PC is forced to use an old driver?
On an individual PC level? Probably not as their probably not paying attention to the telemetry for a driver released in 2016. Though again, when they submit drivers they submit them with CHIDS to target specific models. So yes, in theory, they should be able to determine what the latest drivers for model X are. If you have a newish model getting really old drivers, I'd contact the OEM/IHV and ask them what's up.
> Does the Windows 11 Troubleshooter (which does not require admin rights) inform Realtek each time the adapter is reset to make it work?
That I truly do not know. I would expect them to have telemetry on graphic resets (they have a _lot_ of telemetry) but I don't think that'd be tied to the troubleshooter.
- Thank you!
