Driver glossary
Confused by a driver format, certification label, or setup file? Look up standard terminology used in Windows device management.
About this glossary
Entries explain labels found in Device Manager, Windows Update, firmware screens, and release notes. Each definition describes what a term means, where it appears, and which layer of a computer it belongs to.
Acronyms can describe a file format, hardware interface, Windows protection, or recovery feature. The detailed pages provide that context and explain boundaries such as the distinction between software capability and physical hardware capability.
Concept groups
Identification: hardware, vendor, device, and setup-file identifiers explain how Windows associates a physical component with a compatible package.
Graphics: display recovery, driver models, video memory, graphics interfaces, and certification describe different parts of the rendering stack.
Platform: firmware, storage interfaces, disk arrays, and secure startup determine what hardware Windows can discover and trust.
ACPI
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface, the platform description and power standard.
BIOS
Basic Input/Output System, the traditional term for PC platform firmware.
Bluetooth
A family of short-range radio standards and device profiles.
BSOD
A Windows bug-check screen produced after an unrecoverable kernel condition.
CAB File
A Microsoft Cabinet archive used to compress and group files.
Chipset
Platform controllers connecting the processor with buses, storage, and peripherals.
Clean Install
An informal label for replacement with little retained configuration.
Codec
Hardware or software that encodes or decodes media in a defined format.
DCH
Declarative, Componentized, Hardware Support App, a modern Windows driver-package model.
DDU
Display Driver Uninstaller, a third-party graphics-package removal utility.
DEV ID
The PCI Device ID field that identifies a vendor-defined device or function.
Device Manager
The Windows interface that displays Plug and Play devices and driver associations.
DirectX
Microsoft APIs for graphics, media, audio, and related Windows workloads.
DisplayLink
USB graphics technology using host compression and an adapter display chip.
DMA
Direct Memory Access, device transfer to or from memory without CPU byte copying.
DPC Latency
Delay associated with Windows Deferred Procedure Call processing.
Filter Driver
A driver that observes or modifies requests in another device stack.
Firmware
Software that runs on an embedded controller or platform below the host OS.
FreeSync
AMD branding for variable refresh rate display technologies.
G-Sync
NVIDIA branding for variable refresh rate display technologies.
Generic Driver
Standardized device-class support without model-specific features.
Hardware ID
A structured identifier Windows uses to associate a device with an INF package.
ICM Profile
An Image Color Management file describing a device’s color response.
INF File
A Setup Information file that declares package installation and hardware support.
IRQ
Interrupt Request, a mechanism for hardware to request processor attention.
Kernel Mode
The highly privileged execution context used by the operating-system kernel.
MAC Address
A link-layer identifier used by network interfaces.
NPU
Neural Processing Unit, specialized hardware for machine-learning inference.
NVMe
Non-Volatile Memory Express, a storage protocol designed for PCIe SSDs.
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer, the company integrating a complete system or product.
Overclocking
Operating hardware beyond its manufacturer-guaranteed specification.
PCIe
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, a high-speed serial expansion bus.
PnP
Plug and Play, the Windows device discovery and package-selection architecture.
RAID
Redundant Array of Independent Disks, a multi-device storage organization method.
Registry
The hierarchical configuration database used by Windows.
Resizable BAR
A PCIe capability for mapping a larger GPU-memory region to the CPU.
Rollback
Selection of an earlier retained software or firmware state.
S.M.A.R.T.
Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology for storage health data.
Safe Mode
A diagnostic Windows startup configuration with minimal drivers and services.
SATA
Serial ATA, a host interface for storage devices.
Secure Boot
A UEFI trust process that verifies boot components before execution.
Signature Enforcement
Windows policy that verifies trust and integrity before kernel code loads.
Slipstream
Integration of updates or packages into operating-system installation media.
Spooler
The Windows service that queues and coordinates print jobs.
SYS File
A Windows system binary extension commonly used by kernel drivers.
TDR
Timeout Detection and Recovery, Windows graphics hang detection and reset behavior.
Thunderbolt
A high-bandwidth interconnect tunneling PCIe and DisplayPort.
TPM
Trusted Platform Module, a protected cryptographic and measurement component.
UEFI
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, the modern PC firmware standard.
User Mode
The restricted and isolated execution context used by applications.
VEN ID
The PCI Vendor ID field that identifies a hardware vendor.
VRAM
Video random-access memory used by a GPU for rendering data.
Vulkan
A cross-platform low-overhead graphics and compute API.
WDDM
Windows Display Driver Model, the Windows graphics-driver architecture.
WHQL
Windows Hardware Quality Labs, Microsoft’s certification program for drivers.
WLAN
Wireless Local Area Network, generally a network based on IEEE 802.11.
xHCI
eXtensible Host Controller Interface, the standard interface for modern USB controllers.
XMP
Extreme Memory Profile, Intel’s format for manufacturer-defined memory settings.