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Can anyone tell me why some installed drivers (ones that are usually installed with software that they use) show up in the device manager and others do not?

Does this have to do with kernel mode drivers and user mode? I made sure the check box to show hidden drivers was clicked and it still doesn't show these drivers.

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  • Can you give a concrete example? Sep 18, 2013 at 21:53
  • Well I have downloaded a few different versions of VNC software and only one of them has their mirror drivers showing up in the device manager. When going to Windows/System32 I can see the others are installed. Sep 18, 2013 at 21:54
  • Probably because those drivers aren't physical or they don't enforce a physical level separation. Hamachi, Tungle and Garena (if I recall correctly) do install a specific driver but I'm not sure if it was on Device Manager. My version of Device Manager states that it only lists "hardware devices", so again it seems one of your VNC programs needs to use specific functions only obtainable through a driver. Sep 18, 2013 at 22:42
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    To add to @DoktoroReichard, just because they are copied to System32 doesn't mean they are in use. Following your example, those versions of VNC are probably copying it because the installer told them to, but when it comes down to using a driver, they'll probably use any version of it installed. Excellent question nonetheless.
    – MDMoore313
    Sep 18, 2013 at 23:44

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