Both device drivers and operating system files in Windows have Microsoft digital signatures. Digital signature means that a specific driver or file has reached certain test requirements and has not been changed or overwritten by the installation process of other programs. The device drivers of hardware products marked "specially designed for Microsoft Windows XP" or "specially designed for Microsoft Windows Server 2003" all have Microsoft's digital signatures, indicating that the product has passed the Windows compatibility test and has not changed after the test. For more information about the logo designed for Microsoft Windows, see related topics.

Depending on how the administrator configures the computer, Windows may ignore the device drivers that are not digitally signed, issue a warning message when it detects the device drivers that are not digitally signed (the default behavior), and may prevent the installation of the device drivers that are not digitally signed.

Windows includes the following functions to ensure that device drivers and system files remain in the original digital signature state:

Windows file protection

system file checker

File signature verification

Without it. It is also possible.