CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>VxD - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-sticky-header-enabled vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"fe5d9d44-c79e-4963-a1ff-ca2f02b43280","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"VxD","wgTitle":"VxD","wgCurRevisionId":1284609016,"wgRevisionId":1284609016,"wgArticleId":222633,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["CS1 German-language sources (de)","Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","Articles needing additional references from September 2014","All articles needing additional references","Use dmy dates from July 2019","Microsoft application programming interfaces","Device drivers","Windows components"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"VxD","wgRelevantArticleId":222633,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":8000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q976308","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false}; RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.quicksurveys.init","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.23"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="VxD - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="auth.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-VxD rootpage-VxD skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" title="Main menu" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="n-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages"><span>Special pages</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=VxD" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=VxD" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=VxD" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=VxD" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Name_and_design" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Name_and_design"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Name and design</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Name_and_design-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Obsolescence" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Obsolescence"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Obsolescence</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Obsolescence-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">VxD</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 10 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-10" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">10 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BB%AE%E6%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%83%90%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B9%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%90" title="仮想デバイスドライバ – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="仮想デバイスドライバ" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/VxD" title="VxD – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="VxD" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q976308#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/VxD" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:VxD" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/VxD"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/VxD"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/VxD" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/VxD" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&oldid=1284609016" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=VxD&id=1284609016&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FVxD"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FVxD"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=VxD&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q976308" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Device driver model used in Microsoft Windows/386</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/60px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/120px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/VxD" title="Special:EditPage/VxD">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22VxD%22">"VxD"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22VxD%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22VxD%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22VxD%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22VxD%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22VxD%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">September 2014</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p> <b>VxD</b> is the <a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">device driver</a> model used in <a href="/wiki/Windows/386" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows/386">Microsoft Windows/386</a> 2.x, the 386 enhanced mode of <a href="/wiki/Windows_3.1x" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows 3.1x">Windows 3.x</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_9x" title="Windows 9x">Windows 9x</a>, and to some extent also by the <a href="/wiki/Novell_DOS_7" class="mw-redirect" title="Novell DOS 7">Novell DOS 7</a>, <a href="/wiki/OpenDOS_7.01" class="mw-redirect" title="OpenDOS 7.01">OpenDOS 7.01</a>, and <a href="/wiki/DR-DOS_7.02" class="mw-redirect" title="DR-DOS 7.02">DR-DOS 7.02</a> (and higher) multitasker (<code>TASKMGR</code>).<sup id="cite_ref-Paul_1997_NWDOSTIP_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Paul_1997_NWDOSTIP-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> VxDs have access to the <a href="/wiki/Memory" title="Memory">memory</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Kernel_(operating_system)" title="Kernel (operating system)">kernel</a> and all running <a href="/wiki/Process_(computing)" title="Process (computing)">processes</a>, as well as raw access to the hardware. Starting with <a href="/wiki/Windows_98" title="Windows 98">Windows 98</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_Driver_Model" title="Windows Driver Model">Windows Driver Model</a> was the recommended driver model to write drivers for, with the VxD driver model still being supported for <a href="/wiki/Backward_compatibility" title="Backward compatibility">backward compatibility</a>, until <a href="/wiki/Windows_Me" title="Windows Me">Windows Me</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Name_and_design">Name and design</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Name and design"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The name "VxD" is an abbreviation for "virtual xxx driver", where "xxx" is some class of hardware device. It derives from the fact that most drivers had filenames of the form <code>vxxxd.386</code> in <a href="/wiki/Windows_3.1x" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows 3.1x">Windows 3.x</a>. Some examples are vjoyd.386 (joystick) and vmm.386 (<a href="/wiki/Memory_management" title="Memory management">memory manager</a>). VxDs under Windows 3.x usually have the <a href="/wiki/Filename_extension" title="Filename extension">filename extension</a> <code>.386</code>, while those under Windows 9x have <code>.vxd</code>. Windows 9x VxDs are in <a href="/wiki/Linear_Executable" title="Linear Executable">Linear Executable</a> format. VxDs written for Windows 3.x can be used under Windows 9x but not vice versa. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Prior to the advent of Windows, <a href="/wiki/DOS" title="DOS">DOS</a> applications would either communicate directly with the various pieces of hardware (responding to <a href="/wiki/Interrupt" title="Interrupt">interrupts</a>, reading and writing <a href="/wiki/Device_memory" class="mw-redirect" title="Device memory">device memory</a> etc.) or go through a DOS <a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">device driver</a>. As DOS was not multitasking, each application would have exclusive and complete control over the hardware while running. Though <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Windows" title="Microsoft Windows">Windows</a> applications don't often communicate directly with hardware, it was the only way for Windows drivers; and still is in the <a href="/wiki/Real_mode" title="Real mode">real</a> and standard modes of Windows 3.x. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Windows/386" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows/386">Windows/386</a> and onward allowed multiple DOS applications to execute concurrently by executing each within its own <a href="/wiki/Virtual_DOS_machine" title="Virtual DOS machine">virtual machine</a>. To share physical resources among these virtual machines, Microsoft introduced virtual device drivers. These drivers solved issues relating to conflicting usage of physical resources by intercepting calls to the hardware. Instead of a <a href="/wiki/Input/output#Port-mapped_I/O" title="Input/output">machine port</a> representing an actual device, it would represent a "virtual" device, which could be managed by the operating system. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Obsolescence">Obsolescence</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Obsolescence"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Although Windows 98 introduced the <a href="/wiki/Windows_Driver_Model" title="Windows Driver Model">Windows Driver Model</a> (WDM), VxD device drivers can be used under Windows 98 and Windows Me. Using VxD drivers instead of WDM drivers in Windows 9x may result in advanced <a href="/wiki/Advanced_Configuration_and_Power_Interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Advanced Configuration and Power Interface">ACPI</a> states like <a href="/wiki/Hibernation_(computing)" title="Hibernation (computing)">hibernation</a> being unavailable. </p><p>VxDs are not usable in <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT" title="Windows NT">Windows NT</a> or its descendants. Windows NT-based operating systems from <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT_3.1" title="Windows NT 3.1">3.1</a> to <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT_4.0" title="Windows NT 4.0">4.0</a> must use drivers written specifically for them. These drivers are otherwise known as the <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT#Major_features" title="Windows NT">Windows NT Driver Model</a>. Starting with <a href="/wiki/Windows_2000" title="Windows 2000">Windows 2000</a>, Windows NT-based operating systems have adopted the Windows Driver Model from Windows 98. </p><p>VxDs should not be confused with the similarly named <a href="/wiki/NTVDM" class="mw-redirect" title="NTVDM">NTVDM</a>-specific 'VDDs' (Virtual Device Drivers), which provide a method of emulating direct I/O under a Windows NT "<a href="/wiki/Cmd.exe" title="Cmd.exe">DOS Box</a>". NTVDM VDDs run as regular, <a href="/wiki/32-bit" class="mw-redirect" title="32-bit">32-bit</a>, <a href="/wiki/User-mode" class="mw-redirect" title="User-mode">user-mode</a> <a href="/wiki/Dynamic-link_library" title="Dynamic-link library">DLLs</a>, and must rely on the <a href="/wiki/Win32_API" class="mw-redirect" title="Win32 API">Win32 API</a> (or another WDM driver) to emulate the desired I/O on behalf of the <a href="/wiki/16-bit" class="mw-redirect" title="16-bit">16-bit</a> program. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/VXD_(CONFIG.SYS_directive)" class="mw-redirect" title="VXD (CONFIG.SYS directive)">VXD (CONFIG.SYS directive)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Driver_Model" title="Windows Driver Model">Windows Driver Model</a> (WDM)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Architecture_of_Windows_9x" title="Architecture of Windows 9x">Architecture of Windows 9x</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Paul_1997_NWDOSTIP-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Paul_1997_NWDOSTIP_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFPaul1997" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Paul, Matthias R. (1997-07-30). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.antonis.de/dos/dos-tuts/mpdostip/html/nwdostip.htm"><i>NWDOS-TIPs — Tips & Tricks rund um Novell DOS 7, mit Blick auf undokumentierte Details, Bugs und Workarounds</i></a>. MPDOSTIP, Release 157 (in German) (3rd ed.). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170910194752/http://www.antonis.de/dos/dos-tuts/mpdostip/html/nwdostip.htm">Archived</a> from the original on 2017-09-10<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2014-09-06</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=NWDOS-TIPs+%26mdash%3B+Tips+%26+Tricks+rund+um+Novell+DOS+7%2C+mit+Blick+auf+undokumentierte+Details%2C+Bugs+und+Workarounds&rft.series=MPDOSTIP%2C+Release+157&rft.edition=3rd&rft.date=1997-07-30&rft.aulast=Paul&rft.aufirst=Matthias+R.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.antonis.de%2Fdos%2Fdos-tuts%2Fmpdostip%2Fhtml%2Fnwdostip.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span> (NB. NWDOSTIP.TXT is a comprehensive work on <a href="/wiki/Novell_DOS_7" class="mw-redirect" title="Novell DOS 7">Novell DOS 7</a> and <a href="/wiki/OpenDOS_7.01" class="mw-redirect" title="OpenDOS 7.01">OpenDOS 7.01</a>, including the description of many undocumented features and internals. It is part of the author's yet larger MPDOSTIP.ZIP collection maintained up to 2001 and distributed on many sites at the time. The provided link points to a HTML-converted older version of the NWDOSTIP.TXT file.)</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=VxD&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSchulman1994" class="citation book cs1">Schulman, Andrew (November 1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/unauthorizedwind00schu"><i>Unauthorized Windows 95 - Developer's Resource Kit</i></a> (1st ed.). Foster City, California, USA: <a href="/wiki/John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc." class="mw-redirect" title="John Wiley & Sons, Inc.">John Wiley & Sons, Inc.</a> <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56884-305-4" title="Special:BookSources/1-56884-305-4"><bdi>1-56884-305-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Unauthorized+Windows+95+-+Developer%27s+Resource+Kit&rft.place=Foster+City%2C+California%2C+USA&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons%2C+Inc.&rft.date=1994-11&rft.isbn=1-56884-305-4&rft.aulast=Schulman&rft.aufirst=Andrew&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Funauthorizedwind00schu&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSchulmanBrownMaxeyMichels1994" class="citation book cs1">Schulman, Andrew; <a href="/wiki/Ralf_D._Brown" class="mw-redirect" title="Ralf D. Brown">Brown, Ralf D.</a>; Maxey, David; Michels, Raymond J.; Kyle, Jim (1994) [November 1993]. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/undocumenteddosp00andr_0"><i>Undocumented DOS: A programmer's guide to reserved MS-DOS functions and data structures - expanded to include MS-DOS 6, Novell DOS and Windows 3.1</i></a> (2nd ed.). Reading, Massachusetts: <a href="/wiki/Addison_Wesley" class="mw-redirect" title="Addison Wesley">Addison Wesley</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-201-63287-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-201-63287-X"><bdi>0-201-63287-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Undocumented+DOS%3A+A+programmer%27s+guide+to+reserved+MS-DOS+functions+and+data+structures+-+expanded+to+include+MS-DOS+6%2C+Novell+DOS+and+Windows+3.1&rft.place=Reading%2C+Massachusetts&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Addison+Wesley&rft.date=1994&rft.isbn=0-201-63287-X&rft.aulast=Schulman&rft.aufirst=Andrew&rft.au=Brown%2C+Ralf+D.&rft.au=Maxey%2C+David&rft.au=Michels%2C+Raymond+J.&rft.au=Kyle%2C+Jim&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fundocumenteddosp00andr_0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span> (xviii+856+vi pages, 3.5"-floppy) Errata: <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190417215556/http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/ralf/pub/books/UndocumentedDOS/errata.ud2">[1]</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190417212906/https://www.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/programming/Undocumented_DOS/#errata-2nd-edition">[2]</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=MLZQAAAAMAAJ"><i>Programmer's Guide to Microsoft Windows 95: Key Topics on Programming for Windows from the Microsoft Windows Development Team</i></a>. Technical Reference (1st ed.). Redmond, Washington, USA: <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Press" title="Microsoft Press">Microsoft Press</a>. 1995-07-01. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-55615-834-3" title="Special:BookSources/1-55615-834-3"><bdi>1-55615-834-3</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2016-05-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Programmer%27s+Guide+to+Microsoft+Windows+95%3A+Key+Topics+on+Programming+for+Windows+from+the+Microsoft+Windows+Development+Team&rft.place=Redmond%2C+Washington%2C+USA&rft.series=Technical+Reference&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=Microsoft+Press&rft.date=1995-07-01&rft.isbn=1-55615-834-3&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DMLZQAAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFOney1995" class="citation book cs1">Oney, Walter (1995). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/systemsprogrammi00oney"><i>Systems Programming for Windows 95</i></a> (1st ed.). Redmond, Washington, USA: <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Press" title="Microsoft Press">Microsoft Press</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-55615-949-8" title="Special:BookSources/1-55615-949-8"><bdi>1-55615-949-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Systems+Programming+for+Windows+95&rft.place=Redmond%2C+Washington%2C+USA&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=Microsoft+Press&rft.date=1995&rft.isbn=1-55615-949-8&rft.aulast=Oney&rft.aufirst=Walter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fsystemsprogrammi00oney&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPietrek1995" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Matt_Pietrek" title="Matt Pietrek">Pietrek, Matt</a> (November 1995). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=E9Q7KAAACAAJ"><i>Windows 95 System Programming Secrets</i></a>. The Secrets Series (1st ed.). <a href="/wiki/John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc." class="mw-redirect" title="John Wiley & Sons, Inc.">John Wiley & Sons, Inc.</a> <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56884-318-6" title="Special:BookSources/1-56884-318-6"><bdi>1-56884-318-6</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2016-05-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Windows+95+System+Programming+Secrets&rft.series=The+Secrets+Series&rft.edition=1st&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons%2C+Inc.&rft.date=1995-11&rft.isbn=1-56884-318-6&rft.aulast=Pietrek&rft.aufirst=Matt&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DE9Q7KAAACAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFHazzah1997" class="citation book cs1">Hazzah, Karen (1997). <i>Writing Windows VxDs and Device Drivers - Programming Secrets for Virtual Device Drivers</i> (2nd printing, 2nd ed.). Lawrence, Kansas, USA: <a href="/wiki/Miller_Freeman,_Inc." title="Miller Freeman, Inc.">Miller Freeman, Inc.</a> <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87930-438-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-87930-438-3"><bdi>0-87930-438-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Writing+Windows+VxDs+and+Device+Drivers+-+Programming+Secrets+for+Virtual+Device+Drivers&rft.place=Lawrence%2C+Kansas%2C+USA&rft.edition=2nd+printing%2C+2nd&rft.pub=Miller+Freeman%2C+Inc.&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=0-87930-438-3&rft.aulast=Hazzah&rft.aufirst=Karen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AVxD" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Microsoft_APIs_and_frameworks486" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Microsoft_APIs" title="Template:Microsoft APIs"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Microsoft_APIs" title="Template talk:Microsoft APIs"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Microsoft_APIs" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Microsoft APIs"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Microsoft_APIs_and_frameworks486" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_Windows_application_programming_interfaces_and_frameworks" title="List of Microsoft Windows application programming interfaces and frameworks">Microsoft APIs and frameworks</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Graphics and UI</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager" title="Desktop Window Manager">Desktop Window Manager</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Direct2D" title="Direct2D">Direct2D</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Direct3D" title="Direct3D">Direct3D</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/D3DX" title="D3DX">D3D (extensions)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graphics_Device_Interface" title="Graphics Device Interface">GDI / GDI+</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Presentation_Foundation" title="Windows Presentation Foundation">WPF</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight" title="Microsoft Silverlight">Silverlight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_UI_Library" title="Windows UI Library">WinUI</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Color_System" title="Windows Color System">Windows Color System</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Image_Acquisition" title="Windows Image Acquisition">Windows Image Acquisition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Imaging_Component" title="Windows Imaging Component">Windows Imaging Component</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectX_Graphics_Infrastructure" title="DirectX Graphics Infrastructure">DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Advanced_Rasterization_Platform" title="Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform">Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/WinG" title="WinG">WinG</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Audio</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DirectMusic" title="DirectMusic">DirectMusic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectSound" title="DirectSound">DirectSound</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cross-platform_Audio_Creation_Tool" title="Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool">XACT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Speech_API" title="Microsoft Speech API">Speech API</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/XAudio2" title="XAudio2">XAudio2</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Multimedia</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DirectX" title="DirectX">DirectX</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DirectX_Media_Objects" class="mw-redirect" title="DirectX Media Objects">Media Objects</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectX_Video_Acceleration" title="DirectX Video Acceleration">Video Acceleration</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xinput" class="mw-redirect" title="Xinput">Xinput</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectInput" title="DirectInput">DirectInput</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectShow" title="DirectShow">DirectShow</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Managed_DirectX" title="Managed DirectX">Managed DirectX</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Media_Foundation" title="Media Foundation">Media Foundation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_XNA" title="Microsoft XNA">XNA</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Media" title="Windows Media">Windows Media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Video_for_Windows" title="Video for Windows">Video for Windows</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Web</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Trident_(software)" title="Trident (software)">MSHTML</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/JScript" title="JScript">JScript</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/VBScript" title="VBScript">VBScript</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Browser_Helper_Object" title="Browser Helper Object">BHO</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/XMLHttpRequest" title="XMLHttpRequest">XDR</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Gadgets" title="Microsoft Gadgets">SideBar Gadgets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/TypeScript" title="TypeScript">TypeScript</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Data access</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Data_Access_Components" title="Microsoft Data Access Components">Data Access Components (MDAC)</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ActiveX_Data_Objects" title="ActiveX Data Objects">ADO</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ADO.NET" title="ADO.NET">ADO.NET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ODBC" class="mw-redirect" title="ODBC">ODBC</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/OLE_DB" title="OLE DB">OLE DB</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extensible_Storage_Engine" title="Extensible Storage Engine">Extensible Storage Engine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Entity_Framework" title="Entity Framework">Entity Framework</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Sync_Framework" title="Microsoft Sync Framework">Sync Framework</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Access_Database_Engine" title="Access Database Engine">Access Database Engine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MSXML" title="MSXML">MSXML</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open_Packaging_Conventions" title="Open Packaging Conventions">OPC</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Networking</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winsock" title="Winsock">Winsock</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Layered_Service_Provider" title="Layered Service Provider">LSP</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Vista_networking_technologies#Winsock_Kernel" title="Windows Vista networking technologies">Winsock Kernel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Filtering_Platform" title="Windows Filtering Platform">Filtering Platform</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_Driver_Interface_Specification" title="Network Driver Interface Specification">NDIS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Rally" title="Windows Rally">Windows Rally</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Background_Intelligent_Transfer_Service" title="Background Intelligent Transfer Service">BITS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Vista_networking_technologies#Peer-to-peer_communication" title="Windows Vista networking technologies">P2P API</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Message_Queuing" title="Microsoft Message Queuing">MSMQ</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DirectPlay" title="DirectPlay">DirectPlay</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Communication</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/MAPI" title="MAPI">Messaging API</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telephony_Application_Programming_Interface" title="Telephony Application Programming Interface">Telephony API</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Communication_Foundation" title="Windows Communication Foundation">WCF</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Administration and<br />management</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Win32_console" class="mw-redirect" title="Win32 console">Win32 console</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Script_Host" title="Windows Script Host">Windows Script Host</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Management_Instrumentation" title="Windows Management Instrumentation">WMI (extensions)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/PowerShell" title="PowerShell">PowerShell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Task_Scheduler" title="Windows Task Scheduler">Task Scheduler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Vista_I/O_technologies#Offline_Files" title="Windows Vista I/O technologies">Offline Files</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shadow_Copy" title="Shadow Copy">Shadow Copy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Installer" title="Windows Installer">Windows Installer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Error_Reporting" title="Windows Error Reporting">Error Reporting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Event_Viewer#Windows_Event_Log" title="Event Viewer">Event Log</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_Log_File_System" title="Common Log File System">Common Log File System</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/Component-based_software_engineering" title="Component-based software engineering">Component model</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Component_Object_Model" title="Component Object Model">COM</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Component_Object_Model#COM+" title="Component Object Model">COM+</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ActiveX" title="ActiveX">ActiveX</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Distributed_Component_Object_Model" title="Distributed Component Object Model">Distributed Component Object Model</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/.NET_Framework" title=".NET Framework">.NET Framework</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/Library_(computing)" title="Library (computing)">Libraries</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Framework_Class_Library" title="Framework Class Library">Framework Class Library</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Foundation_Class_Library" title="Microsoft Foundation Class Library">Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Active_Template_Library" title="Active Template Library">Active Template Library (ATL)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Template_Library" title="Windows Template Library">Windows Template Library (WTL)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">Device drivers</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Driver_Model" title="Windows Driver Model">WDM</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Driver_Frameworks" title="Windows Driver Frameworks">WDF</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kernel-Mode_Driver_Framework" title="Kernel-Mode Driver Framework">KMDF</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/User-Mode_Driver_Framework" title="User-Mode Driver Framework">UMDF</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Display_Driver_Model" title="Windows Display Driver Model">WDDM</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_Driver_Interface_Specification" title="Network Driver Interface Specification">NDIS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Universal_Audio_Architecture" title="Universal Audio Architecture">UAA</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">VxD</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Security</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_CryptoAPI" title="Microsoft CryptoAPI">Crypto API</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/CAPICOM" title="CAPICOM">CAPICOM</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_CardSpace" title="Windows CardSpace">Windows CardSpace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Data_Protection_API" title="Data Protection API">Data Protection API</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Security_Support_Provider_Interface" title="Security Support Provider Interface">Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/.NET_Framework" title=".NET Framework">.NET</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ASP.NET" title="ASP.NET">ASP.NET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ADO.NET" title="ADO.NET">ADO.NET</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/.NET_Remoting" title=".NET Remoting">Remoting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Silverlight" title="Microsoft Silverlight">Silverlight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Task_Parallel_Library" class="mw-redirect" title="Task Parallel Library">TPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Communication_Foundation" title="Windows Communication Foundation">WCF</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_CardSpace" title="Windows CardSpace">WCS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Presentation_Foundation" title="Windows Presentation Foundation">WPF</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Workflow_Foundation" title="Windows Workflow Foundation">WF</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/Software_Factory_(Microsoft_.NET)" class="mw-redirect" title="Software Factory (Microsoft .NET)">Software factories</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Enterprise_Library" title="Microsoft Enterprise Library">Enterprise Library</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Customer_Care_Framework" title="Microsoft Customer Care Framework">CCF</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em"><a href="/wiki/Inter-process_communication" title="Inter-process communication">IPC</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_RPC" title="Microsoft RPC">MSRPC</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dynamic_Data_Exchange" title="Dynamic Data Exchange">Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/.NET_Remoting" title=".NET Remoting">Remoting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Windows_Communication_Foundation" title="Windows Communication Foundation">WCF</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Accessibility</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Active_Accessibility" title="Microsoft Active Accessibility">Active Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microsoft_UI_Automation" title="Microsoft UI Automation">UI Automation</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.2em">Text and multilingual<br />support</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DirectWrite" title="DirectWrite">DirectWrite</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Text_Services_Framework" title="Text Services Framework">Text Services Framework</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Text_Object_Model" title="Text Object Model">Text Object Model</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Input_method" title="Input method">Input method editor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Language_Interface_Pack" title="Language Interface Pack">Language Interface Pack</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Multilingual_User_Interface" title="Multilingual User Interface">Multilingual User Interface</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uniscribe" title="Uniscribe">Uniscribe</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://auth.wikimedia.org/loginwiki/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VxD&oldid=1284609016">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VxD&oldid=1284609016</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Microsoft_application_programming_interfaces" title="Category:Microsoft application programming interfaces">Microsoft application programming interfaces</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Device_drivers" title="Category:Device drivers">Device drivers</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Windows_components" title="Category:Windows components">Windows components</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_German-language_sources_(de)" title="Category:CS1 German-language sources (de)">CS1 German-language sources (de)</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_September_2014" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from September 2014">Articles needing additional references from September 2014</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_July_2019" title="Category:Use dmy dates from July 2019">Use dmy dates from July 2019</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 8 April 2025, at 17:42<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VxD&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://www.wikimedia.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia.svg" width="25" height="25" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" lang="en" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><picture><source media="(min-width: 500px)" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" width="88" height="31"><img src="/w/resources/assets/mediawiki_compact.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" lang="en" width="25" height="25" loading="lazy"></picture></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-header-container vector-sticky-header-container"> <div id="vector-sticky-header" class="vector-sticky-header"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-start"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-start vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" aria-hidden="true"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-sticky-header-search-toggle" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.vector-sticky-search-form.icon"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </div> <div role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box"> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="vector-sticky-search-form" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia"> <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-sticky-header-toc vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">VxD</span></div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-end" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icons"> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-talk-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="talk-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbles mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbles"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-subject-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="subject-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-article mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-article"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-history-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>10 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mw-portlet mw-portlet-dock-bottom emptyPortlet" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul> </ul> </div> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-6f7c94ff49-qpch2","wgBackendResponseTime":121,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.267","walltime":"0.360","ppvisitednodes":{"value":886,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":51488,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":810,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":3,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":28320,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"timingprofile":["100.00% 308.977 1 -total"," 28.17% 87.027 7 Template:Cite_book"," 24.37% 75.287 1 Template:Reflist"," 22.80% 70.450 1 Template:Microsoft_APIs"," 21.53% 66.534 1 Template:Navbox"," 21.26% 65.701 1 Template:Moreref"," 19.64% 60.697 1 Template:Short_description"," 19.03% 58.803 1 Template:Ambox"," 10.38% 32.078 2 Template:Pagetype"," 6.12% 18.912 4 Template:Main_other"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.174","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5631785,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-db8d5574c-wzzv6","timestamp":"20250408174328","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"VxD","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/VxD","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q976308","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q976308","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2003-05-06T22:34:22Z","dateModified":"2025-04-08T17:42:39Z","headline":"device driver model used in Microsoft Windows\/386"}</script> </body> </html>