Security News > 2021 > March > Windows 10 is getting OEMDRIVERS, a folder for third-party drivers
Microsoft is adding a dedicated OEMDRIVERS folder to Windows 10 that will be used to store third-party drivers.
Since Windows Vista, the operating system has included a folder called %SystemRoot%System32DriverStore that is used to hold validated drivers for the operating system.
It appears this is about to change as Windows hacker Albacore has discovered a hidden feature in the Windows 10 21H2 preview build 21343 that creates a dedicated folder for third-party drivers.
Looks like Microsoft wants to isolate 3rd party drivers on Desktop similarly to how they isolate them on 10X. No dedicated partition, but a folder will do.
This feature is called 'Writeable DriverStore,' and when enabled, will cause Windows 10 to migrate all third-party drivers to a dedicated OEMDRIVERS folder when a new version of the operating system is installed.
Once it is enabled and the new version is installed, Windows 10 will automatically migrate external drivers to the OEMDRIVERS folder.
News URL
Related news
- Windows 10 KB5041580 update released with 14 fixes, security updates (source)
- New Windows 10 22H2 beta fixes memory leaks and crashes (source)
- Windows 10 KB5041582 update released with 5 changes and fixes (source)
- Windows 10 KB5043064 update released with 6 fixes, security updates (source)
- Microsoft says it broke some Windows 10 patching – as it fixes flaws under attack (source)
- Windows 10 KB5043131 update released with 9 changes and fixes (source)