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I'm in a real mess now. I have a 32bit driver for my Frontech 2215 e-cam . I have searched the internet was unable to find a 64bit driver even in the manufacturer's site. Hope someone could come up with a solution.
I'm ready to go to any extent of complexities, if required to make one.
SSaikia_JtheRocker
Posted 2012-04-22T09:10:59.360
Reputation: 217
6
Not possible, for so many reasons. At the very least it requires a re-compile, for which you'll need the driver source code (which I'm guessing Frontech has not made public). And it'll likely require a lot of other changes as well. Driver ports are rarely trivial.
You need that 64-bit driver, or it won't work. From Microsoft FAQ on 32-bit and 64-bit
If I'm running a 64-bit version of Windows, do I need 64-bit drivers for my devices?
Yes, all hardware devices need 64-bit drivers to work on a 64-bit version of Windows. Drivers designed for 32-bit versions of Windows won't work on computers running 64-bit versions of Windows.
If you are unsure whether there is a 64-bit driver available for your device, see Update a driver for hardware that isn't working properly or go to the device manufacturer's website.
You can also go online to the Windows Vista Compatibility Center, or get information about drivers by going to the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor website.
ckhan
Posted 2012-04-22T09:10:59.360
Reputation: 5 689
3"Driver ports are rarely trivial" is an understatement. There is a shortage of good device driver programmers. – surfasb – 2012-04-22T20:23:27.220
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Most people say it's not possible however, it may be possible but, it is probably not going to be easy, may not be legal, could slow down your computer and may even cause programs or the computer itself to crash. If you still want to try then here are some arduous avenues that you could take to accomplish your goal.
32-bit vs. 64-bit
The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is that 64-bit processors can handle more data at once than a 32-bit processor. However, do note that compatibility settings may be necessary.
Possibility 1 - Recompile the driver
In theory, if you can dissemble the driver to see how it works and then re-write the driver to be functional in a 64-bit environment. However, this solution may not be legal or easy to do. This would also be harder the more complex the driver is.
Possibility 2 - Emulation
I am no expert on the internal workings of 32-bit and 64-bit drivers however, If you can emulate an entire 32-bit computer on a 64-bit computer then it should be possible.
In theory, you would need to either find or build a wrapper for the 32-bit driver. This driver would be a 64-bit driver and would act as a miniature emulator for the 32-bit driver to exist in.
However, the bigger question in this case is how fast does the driver needs to operate. The reason why this is important is because if you did manage to convert the data, it may take longer for the driver to operate and if a driver requires a certain amount of speed to operate, it could cause programs and possibly your computer to crash if your computer isn't designed to deal with slow drivers.
The plus side to this method is that you would be able to avoid legal issues that may come from decompiling the driver.
Installing Unsigned Drivers:
In order to install your driver unsigned, you will have to enter into a special mode to Disable driver signature enforcement or through a different method. Here is a link to a tutorial on how to do that:
https://www.supportrix.com/kb/how-to-install-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-10/
Please be cautious when installing unsigned drivers
End Note
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how much time are you willing to spend to make a driver to function and if it is worth the risk. And so far, I have been unable to find any such drivers online.
merlin
Posted 2012-04-22T09:10:59.360
Reputation: 11
@Ramhound please excuse my question but, how would you be unable to look at a driver's internal workings? I don't see how you could prevent people from decompiling a program unless if windows gave the driver manufacturer a key or the company sent a key through the internet. Drivers are software and though you may not be able to change the device's hardware(without physical alteration) software can always be viewed as long as the system allows it even if what is seen isn't legible to a human. – merlin – 2020-01-29T00:00:15.037
@Ramhound So the reason you can't do this because the certificate can't be re-encoded to 64 bit is because you would need the original sign key to re-encode the program? Sorry, that I don't have allot of knowledge in this field but to install it on your own computer, couldn't you sign it yourself? Then use the original signature to communicate with the device if the device requires verification of the signature? – merlin – 2020-01-29T20:51:05.743
@Ramhound But you can still install them. Isn't that the cause with most products? It would be very difficult if every manufacturer had to get a signature with every os maker. Also, I don't see how a self-signed driver would have any problems installing. You could even disable sign checking for driver installation. – merlin – 2020-02-01T05:53:23.320
@Ramhound I didn't say that I wasn't a windows expert but that I am not to antiquated with the inner workings(code) of a driver. – merlin – 2020-02-07T22:06:55.103
@Ramhound I am sorry, I just find what you are saying to be confusing. I don't see how having to install your custom driver by a special reboot would prevent you from using your driver. Are you saying that the driver will not function in this special mode? https://www.supportrix.com/kb/how-to-install-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-10/ allows you to install the drivers.
– merlin – 2020-02-07T22:12:02.1830
Just very belatedly seen this. I'm no device driver expert but in some circumstances it clearly is possible.
I have a Minolta film scanner for which there is no 64 bit driver, and it's an expensive piece of kit. I found the following page:
http://sabatino.name/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-windows7-new-driver
which basically says: install old driver, then update with new INF file.
To my surprise it worked perfectly - and the .SYS files had all come from the old 32 bit XP installer.
So, yes, sometimes you can, and it probably all depends what those .SYS files get up to and how they were written. Exactly what you need to do to convert the old .INF file to the new is complex - fortunately he provided one in this case. If one diffs the files they are not similar at all.
Nick W
Posted 2012-04-22T09:10:59.360
Reputation: 1
1There is no actual driver for the Minolta scanner. It's just using built-in Windows USB drivers, which are all 64-bit. All you actually did was download an updated .inf file, which Minolta should have provided in the first place. So you didn't actually get a 32-bit driver to install and work. Doing so is quite impossible, I assure you. – Carey Gregory – 2015-06-13T20:11:23.167
There's no easy way to do this. You can force Windows to use the 32-bit driver, and it may actually work, but if it doesn't, then you basically have to write your own driver. It's simpler to just sell the webcam to someone who has a 32-bit OS and go buy yourself a more recent webcam that supports Windows 7 x64. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T09:39:25.173
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You can force Windows to use the 32-bit driveris not possible. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-04-22T09:41:29.647It definitely is possible. There are even driver installers that do this unintentionally. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T10:00:50.047
@Moab: Not sure what kind of support you need. MS isn't going to post instructions on how since it's not recommended, but anyone who understands how device manager installs drivers or has looked into a .inf file should be able to understand how you could force Windows to install invalid drivers. If you have both the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of a particular device driver on your computer, open up their .inf files and compare them. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how one could get x64 Windows to use the 32-bit driver's cab and cat files. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:17:34.923
Mind you, I'm not saying the drivers will actually work. The only anecdotal account I've come across are of unsuccessful attempts. E.g. a guy who successfully copied his 32-bit maudio drivers over to 64-bit Windows only to have his computer BSOD when the system attempted to play audio. But that's at least proof that you can force Windows to use inappropriate drivers.
– Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:19:58.947@Moab: They are still quite common (in fact, I'm pretty sure all Windows drivers have to come with .inf files regardless of how they're distributed). The .inf is just the install file telling Windows the product/hardware/vendor/compatibility IDs, which catalog and cab files to use, and what files to copy, etc. And I never said anything about converting drivers. Re-read the statement that Tom quoted. In fact, re-read my original comment where I suggested he simply buy a newer webcam and stated my opinion that this approach was a dead-end. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:32:25.280
@Moab: Christ... Re-read the comment. He asked about converting 32-bit drivers to 64-bit drivers. I explained this was a dead end and explained that the best thing to do is to buy a new webcam. How is this comment false or off-topic? And if you download a driver package that is a self-extracting archive, then you may not see the .inf, but it's still there. Go to
C:\Windows\infand you will see an .inf file for every device driver you have installed. – Lèse majesté – 2012-04-22T15:57:05.173@Moab: actually, most (if not all) drivers still have an .inf file in my experience, although it is usually hidden inside a packaged installer. You need the .inf file if you want to install a driver as part of an unattended Windows installation, for example; so far, I've never been unable to do so. – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:27:33.947
@Moab: in the particular case of Dell drivers, usually they unpack to C:\dell\drivers\Rnnnnnn; if you search this folder for an .inf file, you'll almost certainly find one. (Once extraction is complete, you can just cancel the actual installation. You don't even need to be on a machine with the hardware in question.) – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:33:33.270
(Of course, I agree entirely that there's zero chance of a 32-bit driver working on a 64-bit system.) – Harry Johnston – 2012-04-23T05:35:28.463