Getting hardware GUID for video adapter in C# - c#

I'm developing a launcher application for a 3D game on Windows. The configuration "ini" file requires the user to specify the hardware GUID for the desired device, as in, the Device Identifier GUID returned by dxdiag.exe.
I'm trying to list the available adapters on the system, allow the user to select one and load that device's hardware GUID into the ini file.
I've examined many methods for attempting this. I've tried using the System.Management class, which returns the class GUID but not the specific driver GUID. I've tried using native calls to SetupAPI.h functions, which also seem to not be able to list the specific Device Identifier GUID. I've tried examining the registry, to see if the GUID resides there. No luck.
My best idea was probably using the Managed DirectX library to return the GUID I'm looking for, considering that's probably how dxdiag does it. I was able to enumerate and collect hardware information about each driver using the SharpDX Managed DirectX interface for .NET applications (I'm targeting framework 3.5), but again, I wasn't able to return the same GUID that dxdiag returns.
I'm really stuck for a solution. Help?

Managed to solve it myself.
Decided the best way to solve this was using DirectX. Imported DX libraries, changed my app to x86. The code I was looking for was:
Manager.Adapters[0].Information.DeviceIdentifier

Related

c# create media at runtime

I want to add a backup functionality to my app in the sense that the app will allow users to create a self-contained environment (data + executable + autorun.inf file) on an external device (CD, CD-ROM or USB key) so that users can retrieve (in read only mode) their stored environment at a given point in time.
I've read here about making an auto-bootable USB (which I suspect will be the same for a CD or DVD).
edit I meant "auto-executing", not "auto-bootable"!
I know about IMAPI or other approaches that are now several years old. Is there any alternative/standard approach to create media this way? I'd like a generic way to create either CD/DVD or USB devices (non-bootable).
You need to make sure to not confuse Booting and Windows Autorun.
auto-bootable USB
refers to an external USB drive from which you can boot your computer.
I doubt that's what you are looking for, given the linked Stackexchange question. The information you already found is actually what you are looking for, and the advice given there seems pretty accurate.
What you need to do is:
Create the media with your data. In case of USB sticks this is as easy as copying the data to the stick. Optical media (CD/DVD) need to be burned, and that can only be done using the Windows API, which has already be discussed here.
If you want to use the Windows autorun feature (which I would ignore*), you'll need to create a file called Autorun.ini in the root directory of your media. You already have found the required content of that file here.
* Why I would skip the autorun feature.
First of all, there's no real alternative to the Windows autorun feature.
It was controversial, at best, in earlier versions of Windows. Since USB sticks went mainstream, autorun became nothing more than an automatic virus installation feature. Soon after everyone started disabling it. Because of this recent versions of Windows seem to have dropped it or disable it by default.
An exception to this would be the Icon=diskicon.ico option, which allows you to change the icon of the drive. This might be still working, even if autorun is disabled.

Datalogic Barcode/Weight Scanner

Could anyone please give me any idea as to where to start my coding in order to get data from OPOS(Datalogic Magellan device) weighting and barcode scanning in C#?? For example, what library and what function I should be using for this case. I am clueless as I have already spent numerous of hours searching for an answer online. Not even came close online.
I don't know any api that I can use to get the weight and barcode for the usb device into my C# program.
I am currently using Datalogic scale. I tried the build-in windows reader but it didn't read in any data from the device.
First off, I used the Microsoft.PointOfService library which can directly create connection to most of the opos base machine. And make sure you have your Logical Device Name right! Very Very important. This is NOT any normal name you found in your regedit, it MUST be define manually by yourself inside the opos adk program that you installed along with the opos machine.
Then you can pass in the name as usual in your C# program.
For example: you set USB_Scale as your logical device name inside OPOS program
in C#
this.myDevice = explore.GetDevice("Scale", "USB_Scale");
Note: Make sure you set claim to 1000; It might not work if you didn't do so.
Also : this.myScale = ((Scale)explore.CreateInstance(myDevice)); <- this might help~
The rest is just straight forward.

Audio Framework for Mac and Windows

I realize I asked a question similar to this before, but the planning on what I want to do has come some way, and the parameters have become a bit different.
Basically, I'm looking for the best option for decoding and outputting audio on both Mac and Windows. Ideally, there will be no differences in needed code between the two platforms. I just want to be able to pass it a file path or HTTP URL and have it play the audio with the ability to pause, seek, etc.
It must be able to decode MP3 and AAC out of the box with no dependencies on the OS (like Phonon for Qt which is entirely dependent on the OS). Any other codecs beyond that would be a very nice bonus.
I've looked at things like libavcodec, which supposedly can decode about anything, but haven't been able to figure out how to get it to work. So far it seems that libraries I've seen are also ready for Mac and Linux or Windows and Linux but not Mac and Windows.
It does not need to be open source, but if it is needs to be usable in commercial products. I'm OK with licensing something as long as it's not too expensive and easy to use.
Finally, while C/C++ would be preferred, if there's something that would work with C#/Mono, that's OK too.
Any suggestions on something that would work for this?
I've created a C++ audio library for Mac and Windows named "Crosstalk".
Crosstalk is a C++ audio engine that allows you to create and route audio systems in real-time. The engine takes care of all the audio routing and gives you a simple platform for creating system components (E.g. "Mp3 Decoder" component connected to a "Low-Pass Filter" connected to an "Audio Device" and "File Recorder").
It's very easy to use. Here's an example of how to play an mp3 file (These components are provided with the engine):
XtSystem system;
XtMp3Decoder mp3Decoder;
XtAudioDevice audioDevice;
long md = system.addComponent(&mp3Decoder);
long ad = system.addComponent(&audioDevice);
system.connOutToIn(md,0,ad,0);
system.connOutToIn(md,1,ad,1);
mp3Decoder.loadFile("../05 Tchaikovski-Swan Lake-Scene.mp3");
mp3Decoder.play();
Included with Crosstalk is example Xcode and Visual Studio projects.
You can download Crosstalk and check out the API documentation and licensing details here: http://www.adaptaudio.com/Crosstalk
EDIT (01-12-2012):
Crosstalk has been replaced by an open-source project called "DSPatch". DSPatch is essentially an upgraded version of the routing engine behind Crosstalk that is no longer limited to only audio processing. DSPatch allows you to create and route almost any type of process chain imaginable, and free for personal AND proprietary use :)
decode MP3 and AAC out of the box
I'm not aware of any audio library that does this so easilly. The problem is the license issue regarding MP3 decoding.
I discuss some options on this post, and they are good for Windows/Mac OS X, but I'm not sure if they have C# bindings.
If you are willing to write the bindings yourself, you might be interested at libaudiodecoder:
A C++ cross platform MP3/AAC/WMA/WAV decoder.
It comes with an example that shows how to play a song on Windows/Mac through PortAudio.

Limitations of a No-Install C# Application?

I'm using SharpDevelop to create a WinForm-based C# application. After studying my target audience, I believe it is in my best interest to use a no-install application. While creating my HelloWorld! program to get to know SharpDevelop (I have just switched from VBExpress), I found that the file it outputs is a .exe without any setup process. However, I'm worried that some of the features I want won't be compatible with this format. I don't want to get deep into this app and find out users are going to have to keep the program in the same directory as 548 other random files.
Here are the features I'm concerned about:
+Save user data (XML) in AppData.
+Access internet feeds (XML and/or JSON).
+Minimize to tray on close.
Also, are there any common pitfalls with this type of deployment method?
EDIT: I understand the enduser will need the .NET framwork for C# programs. I am not worried about this.
It will execute with the same privileges.
The only thing you will want to look out for is making sure the end user has the correct .NET framework installed since you don't have an installer to do that for you. But now reading the end of your message it appears you already have that covered.
If you are concerned about the deployment technique you can test it on a non-dev machine, though the results should be the exact same.

What APIs do I need to look at to code my own windows drive letter

I was thinking of messing around with my own file system code, as a learning exercise. To start with this could be a RAM drive, or just mounted within a file on another drive. Questions:
What windows APIs would I need to program to implement my own drive letter (eg an M: with my system)
Where is the documentation for these APIs?
Can you implement them using C#?
NB:
I know there are other Ram drive implementations out there - I don't need a list of them.
I've tried googling, but found it very hard to find the right search terms.
I'm not fussy for now about which version of windows, any version is fine as I'm developing using Windows 7, but I hope that version for earlier Windows will still work
Take a look at the IFS (Installable Filesystem) Kit.
You're talking about writing a filesystem driver. The basic model is that your code gets loaded into the NT kernel and processes IRPs.
No, you can't do it in C#.
You need to look at the Windows DDK - now called "WDK" apparently. The WDK includes the Installable File Systems (IFS) kit. See here:
Installable File Systems (IFS) kit
Device drivers on Windows are written in C/C++. As far as I know there is no way to implement a file system driver in .NET. There is no CLR in kernel space.
EDIT: asveikau beat me to it...
From this answer to a similar question: how to map a software as a Drive?
Have a look at Dokan. It looks like a nice scriptable wrapper to low-level filesystem drivers. Like FUSE on Linux.
The docs page mention that you can use it to write filesystem code in C#, VB, C++ and even Ruby! Since it exposes itself as a .Net library I'm guessing you can do it in any language running on the CLR as well such as IronPython or F#.
Depending on what you need (implement a file system or just a virtual disk with existing file system) you can use one of our virtual storage products: Callback File System and CallbackDisk respectively.
The difference is that CallbackDisk emulates a disk device (so you can mount, for example, ISO image there), and Callback File System lets you build your own file system (eg. distributed, or just remotely stored)
.NET APIs are available in both products.

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