Trivia
HardAll Windows Drivers Are Dated June 21, 2006 In Order To Avoid?
Answer: Driver Conflicts
If you look at the default drivers included with Windows, you’ll immediately notice something very odd. Every single one of them is dated June 21, 2006. It doesn’t matter if the driver is for a service or product that didn’t even exist in 2006, it doesn’t matter if you installed Windows yesterday, the drivers are always dated June 21, 2006.
While you could write that off as some bizarre Windows quirk, the driver backdating is actually a clever way of ensuring that you always have the most up-to-date drivers for your computer while minimizing the risk that Windows will select the wrong driver. When Windows attempts to automatically select a driver for you (something it has gotten significantly better at over the years), it follows a simple checklist. First it looks for a driver with a perfectly matching hardware ID, then if there are two or more perfect matches, it favors the newest one, then—if by some coincidence—there are two perfectly matched drivers with identical dates, it defers to the driver version number.
So why does it matter that the default Windows drivers are backdated over a decade into the past? It ensures that Windows will always prefer newer manufacturer-provided drivers by minimizing (and usually totally eliminating) the chance that Windows will pick its generic, built-in driver over the manufacturer’s driver.
Trivia
HardWhat Is The Opposite Of Murphy’s Law?
Trivia
Very HardThe Original 4th Of July Celebratory Colors Were Not Red, White, And Blue, But?
Trivia
EasyWhat Was The First YouTube Video About?
Trivia
HardSome Species Of Which Of These Animals Can Kill Predators With Lethal Cyanide Doses?
Trivia
HardThe Phrase “Bob’s Your Uncle” Comes To Us By Way Of?
Trivia
HardPeople Suffering From Psychopathy Frequently Have Impairments in What Physical Sense?
Trivia
HardThe Sports Term “Hat Trick” Originated In?
Trivia
Very HardThe Best Selling Movie Soundtrack Of All Time Was For The Movie?
Trivia
HardWho Was Responsible For Thrusting “Area 51” Into The Public Consciousness?
Trivia
Very HardThe Highest Grossing James Bond Film, Adjusted For Inflation, Is?