Start application from driver

HI,

Can I start another application from a driver code? The code is written in C and compiled with DDK.

From stackoverflow

• I don't think so. Instead:

  • You can have a service which sends down a DeviceIoControl to the device.
  • The device then keeps (doesn't complete) the associated IOCTL
  • When the device wants to launch the application, then it completes the IOCTL
  • When the service notices that its DeviceIoControl has been completed, then it starts the other application

  A service could launch an application but I don't know whether it can launch it on the user's desktop. If you want the launched application to interact with the logged-in end-user user then, instead of having a service as described above, it would be better to put the DeviceIoControl functionality in a (visible or invisible) application, which is started automatically in the user's workstation when the user logs in.

  If you do this then beware assuming that there is only one logged-in user (there may be many, on a Citrix/terminal server).

  casperOne : For the most part, I agree with this, except for the last point. It won't work on Vista if it has to interact with the user's desktop and it's a bad practice in general. Instead, have a program that runs when the user logs in that interacts with the service through IPC.

  ChrisW : Thanks, I'll edit my answer

  RBerteig : There also may be more than one user via fast user switching.