[Bug]: Cannot Install Driver

[noobida]

Which OS?

Win11 Home

Which release?

Other..

Driver Version

25.7.23

Device Specifications

CPU Snapdragon(R) X 10-core X1P64100 @ 3.40 GHz (3.42 GHz)
RAM 16.0 GB (15.6 GB usable)

Describe the bug

1. When starting up:

• [ERROR] Pipe exists but cannot communicate: Pipe hasn't been connected yet.
• [WARNING] Virtual Display Driver is not detected or not responding.

2. When clicking install driver:

• [ERROR] Driver installation failed with exit code: 2
• [ERROR] devcon.exe failed.
• [OUTPUT] Device node created. Install is complete when drivers are installed...
• Updating drivers for Root\MttVDD from C:\Users\aaron\OneDrive\Desktop\VDD\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\MttVDD.inf.

3. No new display adaptor or monitor shows up on Display Settings either

Steps to reproduce

1. Create an empty folder
2. Extract ZIP from VDD Driver Control 25.7.23 install link into empty folder
3. Run VDD Control.exe
4. Click Install Driver

Expected behavior

1. Screen to flash upon clicking "install driver" and for a new display to appear in Device Manager >> Display adaptor and a new monitor to appear in Display Settings per set up tutorial

Log File

Can't find XML file

Contact Details

[maegras]

Same on VPS

WINDOWS Server 2016 Datacenter
AMD EPYC Processr
8GB RAM
Vers 25.7.23
Visual C++ 14.50.35719

[tsotnep]

Similar.
no display flashes or anything.
instead i got 'Unknown device' listed as properly installed device in 'Display adapters' (device manager).
and i get as many of that unknown devices as many times i click "Install Driver"

---

Windows Server 2016 Standard.
Intel Xeon CPU E5-2620 v3..

---

[INFO] XML configuration loaded successfully
[DEBUG] Updating menu items
[INFO] Attempting to connect to driver via named pipe...
[INFO] Attempting to connect to driver pipe (Attempt 1/5)...
[ERROR] Pipe exists but cannot communicate: Pipe hasn't been connected yet.
[INFO] Driver not connected. Using XML settings for menu items.
[DEBUG] Updating menu items
[INFO] Menu items set from XML settings.
[INFO] Settings file found at fallback location: C:\VirtualDisplayDriver\vdd_settings.xml
Virtual Driver Control Initialized.
[INFO] Attempting to connect to driver via named pipe...
[INFO] Attempting to connect to driver pipe (Attempt 1/5)...
[ERROR] Pipe exists but cannot communicate: Pipe hasn't been connected yet.
[WARNING] Virtual Display Driver is not detected or not responding.
[INFO] The driver may not be installed, or may be starting up.
[INFO] You can still configure settings - they will be applied when the driver starts.

---

[ACTION] Installing Virtual Display Driver...
[INFO] Working directory: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23
[INFO] Detected system architecture: x86
[INFO] Expected driver path: SignedDrivers\x86\VDD
[INFO] Verifying required files...
[✓] Found devcon.exe at: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\Dependencies\devcon.exe
[✓] Found driver directory: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD
[✓] Found driver INF: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\MttVDD.inf
[✓] Found driver DLL: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\MttVDD.dll
[✓] Found driver catalog: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\mttvdd.cat
[INFO] Using devcon.exe from: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\Dependencies\devcon.exe
[INFO] Installing driver from: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\MttVDD.inf
[INFO] Setting up driver configuration...
[✓] Directory already exists: C:\VirtualDisplayDriver
[✓] Copied configuration file to: C:\VirtualDisplayDriver\vdd_settings.xml
[INFO] ===== INSTALLATION SUMMARY =====
[INFO] Architecture: x86
[INFO] DevCon tool: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\Dependencies\devcon.exe
[INFO] Driver path: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD
[INFO] Config source: C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\Dependencies\vdd_settings.xml
[INFO] ================================
[INFO] Running driver installation command...
[ERROR] Driver installation failed with exit code: 2
[ERROR] devcon.exe failed.

[OUTPUT] Device node created. Install is complete when drivers are installed...
Updating drivers for Root\MttVDD from C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\VDD.Control.25.7.23\SignedDrivers\x86\VDD\MttVDD.inf.

---

[fanfan42]

Hi @noobida , I received your message. I see that you try to install the driver on ARM64 computer. I never tried this scenario and I'm not a main maintainer of this project, I just maintain the silent-install.ps1 Community Script for my personal need on my project, Linux Sub Windows. And, AFAIK, last week, I sent a PR to the project and saw many errors on the ARM64 CI.

Without any guarantee, try this modified silent-install.ps1 adapted for your ARM64 need. Maybe Nefcon will be more efficient than Devcon:

# Run this script in a powershell with administrator rights (run as administrator)
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
    # Latest stable version of NefCon installer
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [string]$NefConURL = "https://github.com/nefarius/nefcon/releases/download/v1.14.0/nefcon_v1.14.0.zip",
    
    # Latest stable version of VDD driver only
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [string]$DriverURL = "https://github.com/VirtualDrivers/Virtual-Display-Driver/releases/download/25.7.23/VirtualDisplayDriver-ARM64.Driver.Only.zip"
);

# Create temp directory
$tempDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "VDDInstall";
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $tempDir -Force | Out-Null;

# Download and unzip NefCon
Write-Host "Downloading and extracting NefCon..." -ForegroundColor Cyan;
$NefConZipPath = Join-Path $tempDir "nefcon.zip";
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $NefConURL -OutFile $NefConZipPath -UseBasicParsing -ErrorAction Stop;
Expand-Archive -Path $NefConZipPath -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force -ErrorAction Stop;
$NefConExe = Join-Path $tempDir "ARM64\nefconw.exe";

# Download and unzip VDD
Write-Host "Downloading and extracting VDD..." -ForegroundColor Cyan;
$driverZipPath = Join-Path $tempDir 'driver.zip';
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $DriverURL -OutFile $driverZipPath;
Expand-Archive -Path $driverZipPath -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force;

# Extract the SignPath certificates
Write-Host "Extracting SignPath certificates..." -ForegroundColor Cyan;
$catFile = Join-Path $tempDir 'VirtualDisplayDriver\mttvdd.cat';
$catBytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($catFile);
$certificates = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate2Collection;
$certificates.Import($catBytes);

# Create the temp directory for certificates
$certsFolder = Join-Path $tempDir "ExportedCerts";
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $certsFolder -Force | Out-Null;

# Write and store the driver certificates on local machine
Write-Host "Installing driver certificates on local machine." -ForegroundColor Cyan;
foreach ($cert in $certificates) {
    $certFilePath = Join-Path -Path $certsFolder -ChildPath "$($cert.Thumbprint).cer";
    $cert.Export([System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509ContentType]::Cert) | Set-Content -Path $certFilePath -Encoding Byte;
    Import-Certificate -FilePath $certFilePath -CertStoreLocation "Cert:\LocalMachine\TrustedPublisher";
}

# Install VDD
Write-Host "Installing Virtual Display Driver silently..." -ForegroundColor Cyan;
Push-Location $tempDir;
& $NefConExe install .\VirtualDisplayDriver\MttVDD.inf "Root\MttVDD";
Start-Sleep -Seconds 10;
Pop-Location;

Write-Host "Driver installation completed." -ForegroundColor Green;
Remove-Item -Path $tempDir -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue;

Before using it, I highly recommend you to remove every Virtual Display driver installs on Device Manager on Windows, remove the device and the driver and run the script.

If it succeeds, normally, you will be able to use the VDD control developed by Mtt and zjoasan (or others). Good luck.

For the other that use a x86_64 computer, you can try the basic silent-install.ps1 script to help you with Devcon bug.

[maegras]

For the other that use a x86_64 computer, you can try the basic silent-install.ps1 script to help you with Devcon bug.

Script ends with DRIVER SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED but I get Unknown device in control panel device manager

[fanfan42]

Strange, it worked last week on Windows 11 Pro 25H2.

Last chance for me because I don't understand why so many differences between Windows versions, try this script:

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
# Start transcript logging
$logFile = "C:\VDDInstall.log"
Start-Transcript -Path $logFile -Force
Write-Output "===== Starting Virtual Display Driver installation ====="
Write-Output "Script running as user: $([Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name)"

try {
	$tempDir = "C:\VDDInstall"
	Write-Output "Creating temporary directory: $tempDir"
	New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $tempDir -Force | Out-Null
	
	# --- Download and extract nefcon ---
	$nefconUrl = "https://github.com/nefarius/nefcon/releases/download/v1.14.0/nefcon_v1.14.0.zip"
	$nefconZipPath = Join-Path $tempDir "nefcon.zip"
	Write-Output "Downloading nefcon from: $nefconUrl"
	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $nefconUrl -OutFile $nefconZipPath -UseBasicParsing -ErrorAction Stop	
	Write-Output "Extracting nefcon to: $tempDir"
	Expand-Archive -Path $nefconZipPath -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force -ErrorAction Stop
	$nefconExe = Join-Path $tempDir "x64\nefconw.exe"
	Write-Output "nefcon executable path: $nefconExe"
	
	# --- Download and extract the driver ---
	$downloadUrl = "https://github.com/VirtualDrivers/Virtual-Display-Driver/releases/download/25.7.23/VirtualDisplayDriver-x86.Driver.Only.zip"
	$driverZipPath = Join-Path $tempDir "driver.zip"
	Write-Output "Downloading driver package from: $downloadUrl"
	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $downloadUrl -OutFile $driverZipPath -UseBasicParsing -ErrorAction Stop
	Write-Output "Extracting driver package to: $tempDir"
	Expand-Archive -Path $driverZipPath -DestinationPath $tempDir -Force -ErrorAction Stop
	
	# --- Extract certificates from .cat file ---
	Push-Location $tempDir
	Write-Output "Current working directory: $(Get-Location)" 
	$catFile = Join-Path $tempDir "VirtualDisplayDriver\mttvdd.cat"
	Write-Output "Reading catalog file: $catFile"
	$catBytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($catFile)
	$certificates = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate2Collection
	$certificates.Import($catBytes)
	$certsFolder = Join-Path $tempDir "ExportedCerts"
	Write-Output "Creating certificate export folder: $certsFolder"
	New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $certsFolder -Force | Out-Null
	foreach ($cert in $certificates) {
		Write-Output "----- Certificate detected -----"
		Write-Output "Subject: $($cert.Subject)"
		Write-Output "Issuer: $($cert.Issuer)"
		Write-Output "Thumbprint: $($cert.Thumbprint)"
		Write-Output "Valid from: $($cert.NotBefore)"
		Write-Output "Valid until (expiration): $($cert.NotAfter)"
		Write-Output "--------------------------------"
		
		$certFilePath = Join-Path -Path $certsFolder -ChildPath "$($cert.Thumbprint).cer"
		Write-Output "Exporting certificate: $certFilePath"
		$cert.Export([System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509ContentType]::Cert) | Set-Content -Path $certFilePath -Encoding Byte
		Write-Output "Adding certificate to TrustedPublisher store"
		Start-Process -FilePath "certutil.exe" -ArgumentList "-addstore TrustedPublisher `"$certFilePath`"" -Wait -WindowStyle Hidden
	}
	
	# --- Install the driver ---
	Write-Output "Installing driver using nefcon..."
	& $nefconExe install .\VirtualDisplayDriver\MttVDD.inf "Root\MttVDD"
	Write-Output "Waiting 10 seconds for installation to stabilize"
	Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
	Pop-Location
	Write-Output "Returned to previous directory"
} catch {
	Write-Error "Error in SystemDriverInstall.ps1 : $_"
} finally {
	Write-Output "Cleaning up temporary directory: $tempDir"
	#Remove-Item -Path $tempDir -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
	Write-Output "===== Script completed ====="
	Stop-Transcript
}
exit 0

When finished, it musts give you a VDDInstall.log file at the root of C:\

Example for me (tested 5 minutes ago):

**********************
Début de la transcription Windows PowerShell
Heure de début : 20260128170525
Nom d'utilisateur : LAPTOP-\fanfan
Utilisateur runAs :  LAPTOP-\fanfan
Nom de la configuration : 
Ordinateur : LAPTOP- (Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26100.0)
Application hôte : C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
ID de processus : 7044
PSVersion: 5.1.26100.1591
PSEdition: Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1.26100.1591
BuildVersion: 10.0.26100.1591
CLRVersion: 4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion: 3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion: 2.3
SerializationVersion: 1.1.0.1
**********************
Transcription démarrée, le fichier de sortie est C:\VDDInstall.log
===== Starting Virtual Display Driver installation =====
Script running as user: LAPTOP-\fanfan
Creating temporary directory: C:\VDDInstall
Downloading nefcon from: https://github.com/nefarius/nefcon/releases/download/v1.14.0/nefcon_v1.14.0.zip
Extracting nefcon to: C:\VDDInstall
nefcon executable path: C:\VDDInstall\x64\nefconw.exe
Downloading driver package from: https://github.com/VirtualDrivers/Virtual-Display-Driver/releases/download/25.7.23/VirtualDisplayDriver-x86.Driver.Only.zip
Extracting driver package to: C:\VDDInstall
Current working directory: C:\VDDInstall
Reading catalog file: C:\VDDInstall\VirtualDisplayDriver\mttvdd.cat
Creating certificate export folder: C:\VDDInstall\ExportedCerts
----- Certificate detected -----
Subject: CN=SignPath Foundation, O=SignPath Foundation, L=Lewes, S=Delaware, C=US
Issuer: CN=GlobalSign GCC R45 CodeSigning CA 2020, O=GlobalSign nv-sa, C=BE
Thumbprint: 3CF8CF26D8BA266C3A483AB7D26D4A818E317D76
Valid from: 12/17/2024 12:24:26
Valid until (expiration): 09/07/2027 19:23:55
--------------------------------
Exporting certificate: C:\VDDInstall\ExportedCerts\3CF8CF26D8BA266C3A483AB7D26D4A818E317D76.cer
Adding certificate to TrustedPublisher store
----- Certificate detected -----
Subject: CN=GlobalSign GCC R45 CodeSigning CA 2020, O=GlobalSign nv-sa, C=BE
Issuer: CN=GlobalSign Code Signing Root R45, O=GlobalSign nv-sa, C=BE
Thumbprint: 2F3378BB37E11F54A13BEEE387365E52DAD398B2
Valid from: 06/19/2024 05:25:11
Valid until (expiration): 07/28/2038 02:00:00
--------------------------------
Exporting certificate: C:\VDDInstall\ExportedCerts\2F3378BB37E11F54A13BEEE387365E52DAD398B2.cer
Adding certificate to TrustedPublisher store
----- Certificate detected -----
Subject: CN=GlobalSign Code Signing Root R45, O=GlobalSign nv-sa, C=BE
Issuer: CN=GlobalSign Code Signing Root R45, O=GlobalSign nv-sa, C=BE
Thumbprint: 4EFC31460C619ECAE59C1BCE2C008036D94C84B8
Valid from: 03/18/2020 01:00:00
Valid until (expiration): 03/18/2045 01:00:00
--------------------------------
Exporting certificate: C:\VDDInstall\ExportedCerts\4EFC31460C619ECAE59C1BCE2C008036D94C84B8.cer
Adding certificate to TrustedPublisher store
Installing driver using nefcon...
Waiting 10 seconds for installation to stabilize
Returned to previous directory
Cleaning up temporary directory: C:\VDDInstall
===== Script completed =====
**********************
Fin de la transcription Windows PowerShell
Heure de fin : 20260128170542
**********************

[fanfan42]

And for @noobida , I'm afraid the ARM64 driver cannot be installed at this time. I explain everything in #465

[noobida]

Understood, that's unfortunate. I'll wait for any ARM64 dev updates from Mike in that case.

Thank you for your detailed explanation

[noobida]

Hi @itsmikethetech I saw your comment notification on email (altho not sure why it's not showing up here)
Pasting your comment here for reference as well as my response:

This looks like an ARM/Snapdragon system but the installer is using x86 devcon + x86 drivers. That’ll fail. Right now the packaged VDC build is x86-only, so install on ARM will fail unless you use a compatible ARM64 build (and driver). If you can share your exact Windows build + whether test-signing is enabled, we can advise on the ARM path.

Here is my Windows Build:
Edition Windows 11 Home
Version 25H2
OS build 26200.7623
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.275.0

Test signing is not enabled