Windows 10: Found a bug in WNV.sys driver

Not sure where to report this bug, so I'll start here.


Some of my software scans for SCSI adapters in a somewhat old-fashioned way (dates back from NT4.0 era). It retrieves a list of DosDevices and then iterates through them. Each DosDevice entry is opened and a DeviceIoControl(IOCTL_SCSI_GET_ADDRESS,.....) is issued. Non-SCSI adapters are supposed to reject them. Over the years I have built a list of blacklisted entries from buggy drivers (mostly el-cheapo mice and network cards) that misbehave when receiving this call. It's been more than ten years ago since I last added a blacklist entry.


Wnv.sys version 10.0.17763.447 creates DosDevice \\.\WNVDevice and it does not like this scan one bit. It causes my software to complete normally but then hang for ten minutes or so before the command prompt returns. In that time, the software does not respond to any keybord input and the command window cannot be killed by Task Manager or any other means.


For each attempt the Windows System Event log has a warning: "The description for Event ID 54 from source 00000366 cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer."


This is on Windows 10 Pro build 1809. This may not hit many users, but the driver should properly catch unsupported IO controls.

:)

 

What is semav6msr64.sys & Mellanox Drivers?


I noticed semav6msr64.sys on my system earlier today (also via Autoruns), and eventually tracked down the program which installed it - you heard it here first! It's an Intel file, and just coincidence that SEMA Software authored a driver file with the same name.

On my system the driver was installed by the Intel Driver Update Utility Installer, which I'd installed to update my Intel drivers. Uninstalling this program after use doesn't uninstall semav6msr64.sys, presumably due either to a bug in the uninstaller or to laziness of the development team who wrote it. I don't like leaving software package remnants on my system for no good reason, so removed it as follows:

1. Create a System Restore Point in case the following steps cause any problems.
2. Uninstall Intel Driver Update Utility Installer, if it appears in the installed programs list in Control Panel.
3. Rename semav6msr64.sys to semav6msr64.sys.bk [to be deleted sometime later if no problems are encountered].
4. If, and only if, you're comfortable editing the registry, delete the following keys (otherwise just leave them, they'll have negligible effect):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_SEMAV6MSR64
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\semav6msr64

 

What is semav6msr64.sys & Mellanox Drivers?

Thanks - as I further check, I first disabled semav6msr64.sys using Autoruns then rebooted. I didn't have the first registry key but deleted the second and deleted the driver file. I now have no trace of semav6msr64.sys.

 

Taskbar bug: switching to another window -will not appear at the front


Follow either of these steps to fix the issue with the Active window hiding behind.

Method 1:
I suggest you to disable window by hovering over it with the mouse and check if it helps. To do so I suggest you to try the below given steps and check if it helps:

1. Press Windows key + X key and click on Control Panel.
2. Select or click Ease of Access.
3. Click or tap onEase of Access Centre.
4. Click on Make the Mouse Easier to Use was uncheck Activate Window by hovering over it with the mouse.
5. Check if issue is resolved.

Method 2:
I would suggest you to completely uninstall the touchpad driver and reinstall it. Kindly follow the below given steps.

1. Press “Windows key + X” and click on “Device Manager”.
2. In the list of devices, you should see the touchpad drivers.
3. Right click on the device and then select "Uninstall".
4. In the uninstall dialog, make sure you select the option to delete the driver package from the system. This causes the driver package installed earlier to be deleted.
5. In the Action menu of Device manager, select “Scan for Hardware changes” option. This will cause the device driver to be reinstalled. Once the driver is installed, close all windows and restart the computer.