Drivers Libusbk

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When the computer detects the laser cutter on power up the original driver will be restored and you can use the original (LaserDRW) software again. With later versions of windows (Windows 10) you may also need to check the 'Delete the driver software for this device' box when removing the driver. Additional window in Windows 10: Step 5. The libusb-win32 drivers are installed successfully! The computer recognizes the DM42 when put in 'USB Mass Storage' mode, ring the little bell announcing connexion of ab USB device, and the 'Device Manager' shows a 'STM32 Mass Storage' line (cf image 1).

Explanation of the libusbK project, the user mode library, and its Supported Drivers

libusbK can be separated into two major components:

  • A Windows user mode USB library (libusbK.dll)
  • A Windows kernel mode USB driver (libusbK.sys)
Libusbk

libusbK.dll (libusbK user library)

libusbK.dll is a generic user mode usb library for the Microsoft Windows Operating System family. (Windows XP and up)

Windows 2000 is currently not supported by the release builds or driver installer packages but can still be achieved with manual builds and custom driver installations.

Note:
The libusbK library allows developers to target multiple drivers using the same set of api function declarations.

Supported Drivers

The following usb kernel drivers are supported by the libusbK library:

  • libusbK.sys
  • libusb0.sys
    • Using the api functions exported by the libusbK library (functions beginning with with UsbK_)
    • Using dynamically loaded functions based on the devices driver type. see USB General
  • WinUSB.sys
    • Using dynamically loaded functions based on the devices driver type. see USB General

WinUSB Compatibility Layer

The libusbK library includes a Winusb.dll compatiblity layer. This makes libusbK a drop-in replacement for an existing WinUSB application. Developers can make use of this functionality in two ways:

  • Using the WinUsb_ prefixed function which are directly exported by libusbK.dll
    • Usage of the WinUsb_ prefixed functions is intended for developers who want to switch away from the WinUSB.sys driver without modifying application code.
    • The WinUsb_ prefixed functions must not be used for devices installed with the WinUSB.sys driver.
    • The WinUsb_ prefixed functions are identical to the exported UsbK_ prefixed functions, thus must be installed with either the libusbK.sys or libusb0.sys driver.
  • Using the USB General
    • This option allows users to target any of the Supported Drivers but requires small modifications to the applications source code.

libusbK.sys (libusbK kernel driver)

libusbK.sys is a KMDF based usb device kernel driver for the Microsoft Windows Operating System family. (Windows XP and up)

Windows 2000 is currently not supported by the release builds or driver installer packages but can still be achieved with manual builds and custom driver installations.

The libusbK kernel driver uses an extended libusb-win32 (libusb0.sys) compatible driver api and provides higher-level functionality when compared to libusb0.sys.

The following user mode usb libraries support the libusbK.sys kernel driver:

  • libusbK.dll
  • libusb0.dll
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I'm pretty happy with Windows 10 as my primary development box. It can do most anything I want, run a half-dozen Linuxes, and has a shiny new open source Terminal, and has great support for Docker now.

However.

For years - YEARS I SAY - Windows has been a huge hassle when you want to flash the firmware of various devices over USB.

The term 'dfu' means Device Firmware Update and dfu-util is the Device Firmware Update Utility, natch.

Very often I'll find myself with a device like a Particle Photon, Wilderness Labs Meadow, or some STM32 device that uses the ST Bootloader.

The Mac and Linux instructions usually say something like 'plug it in and party on' but folks like myself with Windows have to set up a WinUSB Driver (libusb-win32 or libusbK) as dfu-util uses those libraries to speak to USB devices.

If you plug in a device, the vast majority of Windows users want the device to 'just work.' My non-technical parent doesn't want Generic USB drivers so they can flash the firmware on their mouse. I, however, as an aristocrat, sometimes want to do low-level stuff and flash an OS on a Microcontroller.

Today, the easiest way to swap the 'inbox' driver with WinUSB is using a utility called Zadig. Per their docs:

Zadig is a Windows application that installs generic USB drivers,
such as WinUSB, libusb-win32/libusb0.sys or libusbK, to help you access USB devices.

It can be especially useful for cases where:

  • you want to access a device using a libusb-based application
  • you want to upgrade a generic USB driver
  • you want to access a device using WinUSB

If you follow the instructions when flashing a device and don't have the right USB driver installed you'll likely get an error like this:

That's not a lot to go on. The issue is that the default 'inbox' driver that Windows uses for devices like this isn't set up for Generic USB access with libraries like 'libusb.'

Install a generic USB driver for your device - WinUSB using Zadig

Run Zadig and click Options | List All Devices.

Here you can see me finding the ST device within Zadig and replacing the driver with WinUSB. In my case the device was listened under STM32 Bootloader. Be aware that you can mess up your system if you select something like your WebCam instead of the hardware device you mean to select.

Libusbk drivers

In this state, you can see in the Device Manager that there's an 'STM Device in DFU Mode.'

Now I run Zadig and replace the driver with WinUSB. Here's the result. Note the SUCCESS and the changed Driver on the left.

Libusbk Drivers

Here the STM32 Bootloader device now exists in Universal Serial Bus Devices in Device Manager.

Now I can run dfu-util --list again. Note the before and after in the screenshot below. I run dfu-util --list and it finds nothing. I replace the bootloader with the generic WinUSB driver and run dfu-util again and it finds the devices.

At this point I can follow along and flash my devices per whatever instructions my manufacturer/project/boardmaker intends.

NOTE: When using dfu-util on Windows, I recommend you either be smart about your PATH and add dfu-util, or better yet, make sure the dfu-util.exe and libusb.dlls are local to your firmware so there's no confusion about what libraries are being used.

I'd love to see this extra step in Windows removed, but for now, I hope this write up makes it clearer and helps the lone Googler who finds this post.

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About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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