P31 Composite Device

Windows device driver information for P31 Composite Device

A composite device in computing terms is a device that contains multiple interfaces that are managed independently of each other. By making use of a composite device such as the P31 Composite Device, various functions are incorporated into one device such as USB hard disk + video, mouse + keyboard and (HID + USB bulk) Input/Output device. Another benefit of using this composite device is that it is capable of easing the development of the device driver. Generally, an operating system issues a separate device driver for every interface of a composite device so a monolithic dedicated device driver is not needed for newly issued devices since it can be achieved by utilizing the existing device drivers. In the event that the operating system platform has some needed built-in device driver, they will be made available for a composite device. The drivers available for a composite device are not restricted solely to class drivers. Any device driver is applicable as long as it does not necessarily need a device class.

In Microsoft Windows operating system platforms, in the event that the P31 Composite Device and other similar devices pass 3 requirements, the OS will instantly identify it as a composite device. These requirements include multiple interfaces, single configuration and the device descriptor’s class field must be equal to 0 such as 0X00. When this device is connected to a computer system, the system will read out the device’s device descriptor and then creates a unique Device ID. The system will then scan the registry’s device database as installed by the information or .INF files. Once the system pinpoints the device ID in the record, will issue the accurate driver specified in the device record. In the event that the system cannot find a match, the system will load a generic composite parent driver. It is highly recommended you run a free registry scan for and P31 Composite Device errors before installing any driver updates.