There are moments in this industry when you can feel the ecosystem lean in. This week in Taipei was one of them. For two days at WinHEC 2026 (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) — Microsoft’s fi...

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Microsoft just held its first WinHEC since 2018–yes, this surprised me, too–and it has a big announcement: The Driver Quality Initiative (DQI). The post Microsoft Announces Driver Quality Initiative for Windows appeared first on Thurrott.com.

There are moments in this industry when you can feel the ecosystem lean in. This week in Taipei was one of them. For two days at WinHEC 2026 (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) — Microsoft’s fi...

Richard, Leo, and Paul discuss Release Preview builds, Taskbar changes, WinHEC, more Windows 11 fixes, AI, Xbox and gaming, and more. The post Windows Weekly 984: For Entertainment Purposes Only appeared first on Thurrott.com.

WinHEC Online Blog: One place to stay current on the Driver Quality Initiative, understand what is changing across Windows, and know what it means for you. One place to follow the work At WinHEC 2026,...

One place to follow the work At WinHEC 2026, we made a commitment with the hardware ecosystem: raise the bar on Windows driver quality, together. The Driver...

Microsoft a enfin corrigé le bug des pilotes qui vidaient la batterie des PC Windows 11 en silence, sans crash ni alerte.

Na konferenci WinHEC 2026 (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) MicroSoft oznámil, že zvyšuje požadavky na kvalitu ovladačů hardwaru od OEM výrobců. Ty totiž stojí za problémy Windows se spotřebou energie, přechody mezi napájecími režimy, vyčerpáváním baterie uspaných notebooků, propady výkonu, „drhnutím“ systému, kolísajícími latencemi, problémy se zvukem a podobně. Dosud, aby byl ovladač uznán jako vyhovující, stačilo, že během testování nezpůsobil katastrofální havárii systému vedoucí k BSOD. Což konečně, po více než 20 letech, bylo vyhodnoceno jako zcela nedostatečné. Nově bude vyžadováno, aby kromě technické stability ovladače vykazovaly korektní chování z hlediska zátěže systému jak výpočetní tak energetické, neblokovaly přechody mezi napájecími režimy, a v dalších ohledech. V případě potřeby budou prováděny automatické rollbacky ovladačů. Nezbývá než podotknout, že je to sice milé, ale před 20 lety by to bylo lepší. Osobně bych byl pro, aby výrobcům v krajním případě hrozilo i odebrání certifikace kompatibility se systémem a vyřazení dotčeného hardwaru ze seznamu HCL.

YouTube video by WalkingCat

It sucks when a failing battery or a slow PC lets you down at crucial moments—and Windows 11 in particular has repeatedly struggled with such issues. Microsoft now officially acknowledges that these problems appear to be linked to faulty drivers. As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft has addressed this long-standing issue. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2026, the company officially announced that it would be overhauling its evaluation of third-party software from the ground up to prevent such errors in future. As such, drivers will no longer be penalized solely for causing system failures, but now also for impairing everyday user experiences. Until now, the decisive criterion was whether a driver caused crashes, not whether it affected performance or battery life. For that, Microsoft has relied mainly on telemetry data from Windows Error Reporting (WER), so if a driver didn’t cause any total failures but did contain other errors, it was still classified as “stable.” ## A blind spot that persisted for years According to Windows Latest, this “blind spot” has been a blemish on Windows for years, affecting not only Windows 11 but also older versions of the operating system. Even so, it’s striking that problems with graphics, audio, and other drivers keep occurring in Windows 11. Microsoft often identified faulty drivers too late, which caused many issues to persist over several updates. Such issues include: * High latency * Audio glitches (such as crackling, popping, or choppiness) * Graphics errors (such as dropped frames in games) * Micro-stuttering ## How Microsoft is tackling the problem Microsoft is tackling high battery consumption caused by faulty drivers by adjusting battery usage in standby mode. Previously, modern Windows laptops could automatically switch to hibernation mode and only consume power for the most essential functions. However, a single faulty driver could prevent the PC from entering this mode, causing it to continue consuming more power than expected. In the worst case scenario, this could lead to the laptop’s battery being completely drained before you even notice. The new driver evaluation process is designed to prevent this problem. The aim is to test in advance what impact a driver might have on power consumption and heat generation. Microsoft also intends to scrutinize drivers more closely in terms of performance to ensure that stability and functionality aren’t compromised. To this end, Microsoft is calling for early collaboration and is taking a much stricter stance on the approval of third-party drivers. In addition, Microsoft wants to ensure that faulty drivers no longer go undetected through an automatic driver rollback feature via Windows Update. Older drivers that don’t meet Microsoft’s quality standards will also be rigorously weeded out and blocked. **Further reading:** Windows Update isn’t always to blame for problems after patching your PC _**By the way:** If you’re using Windows 11 Home, you’re missing out on the many benefits of Windows 11 Pro. To learn more, see our comparison of Windows 11 Home and Pro. If you want to upgrade, snag it for cheap in the PCWorld Software Store: now just $59 instead of $99._

Windows 11 soll stabiler werden – Intel und AMD ziehen mit.Microsoft hat auf der WinHEC 2026 eine neue Initiative vorgestellt, die das Ende der gefürchteten Bluescreens einläuten könnte. Die Driver Quality Initiative (DQI) verändert grundlegend, wie das Betriebssystem mit Hardware kommuniziert. Intel und AMD gehören zu den ersten Partnern, die die neuen Standards übernehmen.Intel liefert […] The post Windows 11: Microsofts neue Treiber-Initiative soll Bluescreens beenden appeared first on BornCity.

Der Konzern will mit neuen Qualitätsstandards Batterielaufzeit und Kühlung verbessern.Microsoft hat auf der WinHEC 2026 eine umfassende Strategie vorgestellt, um die Auswirkungen von Hardware-Treibern auf die Systemeffizienz zu minimieren. Die neue Driver Quality Initiative (DQI) soll bewerten und regulieren, wie Drittanbieter-Treiber mit Windows 11 interagieren. Der Zeitpunkt ist kein Zufall: Der Konzern bereitet sich auf […] The post Microsoft startet Treiber-Offensive für Windows 11 appeared first on BornCity.

Neue Qualitätsinitiative soll Abstürze verhindern und veraltete Treiber endlich ausmerzen.Microsoft hat auf der WinHEC 2026 eine grundlegende Neustrukturierung seines Treiber-Managements für Windows 11 vorgestellt. Der Konzern reagiert damit auf jahrelange Kritik an instabiler Hardware-Software und dem berüchtigten Problem, dass Windows Update neu installierte Grafiktreiber durch ältere OEM-Versionen ersetzt. Die Strategie ruht auf zwei Säulen: der […] The post Microsoft krempelt Windows-11-Treibermanagement um appeared first on BornCity.

Im Zentrum stehen eine neue Treiber-Qualitätsinitiative (DQI) und automatisierte Wiederherstellungssysteme, die auf der WinHEC 2026 vorgestellt wurden. Die Maßnahmen zielen darauf ab, langjährige Nutzerprobleme wie Systeminstabilität, Überhitzung und Akkuverbrauch zu beheben.AnzeigeWindows 11 macht Probleme? Diese 5 Fehler können Sie ab sofort selbst beheben. Kein IT-Techniker nötig – ein kostenloser Report zeigt, wie es geht. Gratis-Ratgeber […] The post Microsoft krempelt Windows-Treiber um: Neue Qualitätsoffensive für Windows 11 appeared first on BornCity.

Neues Framework soll Systemabstürze verhindern und die Hardware-Leistung verbessern.Microsoft hat auf der WinHEC 2026 ein neues System zur automatischen Treiberverwaltung vorgestellt. Die „Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery“ (CIDR) kann fehlerhafte Treiber-Updates eigenständig zurücknehmen – ohne Zutun von Nutzern oder Herstellern. Ein bedeutender Schritt für mehr Systemstabilität, den vor allem Unternehmen seit Langem fordern.AnzeigeWindows 11 macht Probleme? Diese […] The post Microsoft führt automatische Treiber-Wiederherstellung für Windows 11 ein appeared first on BornCity.

There are moments in this industry when you can feel the ecosystem lean in. This week in Taipei was one of them. For two days at WinHEC 2026 (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) — Microsoft’s fi...

Technical blog of Sascha Corti, senior software developme...

Technical blog of Sascha Corti, senior software developme...