Using Windows Error Reporting

When a device driver or device install fails for any reason, the user is prompted to send information to Microsoft using WER, where Microsoft, ISVs, and IHVs can analyze the information and provide updated drivers if needed. When a user makes a report, an entry is created on the WER site, logging the problem. Data is collected for the following types of device installation failures:

• Device errors Errors with distinct Device Manager codes.
• Import errors Problems staging device drivers.
• Install errors Reported when a driver has successfully staged but fails to install when the device is connected to the system.
• Driver not found Reported when a matching driver package cannot be located.
• Driver protection errors WRP processing errors: driver is flagged as protected but fails to meet criteria.
• Generic driver found Reported when a specific driver for a device is not available and Windows Vista installs a generic driver.
• Windows Update errors When a user encounters one of these errors and elects to report it, additional data is collected. The data gathered depends on the nature of the problem.

In each case, WER tracks the following information:

• Number of users (hits) who have seen the same problem in the last 30 days
• Number of hits per locale (English, German, French, and so on)
• Number of hits by operating system version
• Total number of hits
• Bugs filed on this problem

Developers use the information gathered to track high-profile driver requests and petition manufacturers to provide drivers through either Windows Update or the WER interface itself. Both internal Microsoft employees and manufacturers have access to WER data and the Winqual site found at https://winqual.microsoft.com. If a driver becomes available, it can be added to the response portion of the WER interface. After users elect to report the data, they are prompted to fill out a survey. (Note that if the IHV or ISV creates a response for the given error, the user can see the response without filling out a survey.) This response may be edited to provide a link to the driver on the third-party Web site, which should decrease the number of support calls requesting drivers for devices.

Note By default, Windows 7 sends a Windows error report when a generic driver is installed on a device. You can use Group Policy to modify this behavior. See the section titled "Managing Device Installation Behavior" earlier in this tutorial for more information.