Inf2Cat error when compile sample code from "Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 8.0 Samples"

Question

When I used Visual Studio 2012 and WinDDK 8.0 to compile sample code "Kernel mode display-only miniport driver (KMDOD) sample" from package "Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 8.0 Samples" downloaded from msdn wdk 8.0 sample, I got the following errors:

Error 1 error -1: "Inf2Cat, unknown failure." Double click to see the tool output.

The output file is "inf2catOutput.log", and the content is:

Inf2Cat Tool Output:
.....................
Signability test complete.
Errors:
None

Warnings:
None

Unable to save the catalog.
Signability test failed.

The content of the output pane is:

1>------ Build started: Project: SampleDisplay, Configuration: Win8 Debug Win32 ------
1> Stamping Win8Debug\sampledisplay.inf [Version] section with DriverVer=08/20/2013,16.42.4.37
1> BDD.cxx
1> BDD_DDI.cxx
1> BDD_DMM.cxx
1> BDD_Util.cxx
1> BltFuncs.cxx
1> BltHw.cxx
1> memory.cxx
1> Generating Code...
1> SampleDisplay.vcxproj -> S:_src\Kernel mode display-only miniport driver (KMDOD) sample\Solution\Sample\Win8Debug\SampleDisplay.sys
1> Done Adding Additional Store
1> Successfully signed: S:_src\Kernel mode display-only miniport driver (KMDOD) sample\Solution\Sample\Win8Debug\SampleDisplay.sys
1>
2>------ Build started: Project: package (Package\package), Configuration: Win8 Debug Win32 ------
2> .....................
2> Signability test complete.
2>
2> Errors:
2> None
2>
2> Warnings:
2> None
2>
2> Unable to save the catalog.
2> Signability test failed.
2>Win8Debug\inf2catOutput.log : Inf2Cat error -1: "Inf2Cat, unknown failure." Double click to see the tool output.

I haven't changed any of the settings or code in the sample, I just opened the solution then tried to build the code. any configurations or platforms will result in the same error.
Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

I had the same problem. In my case the problem only occurred when I did builds for windows 8. Windows 7 builds did not have the issue. The problem is caused by a Microsoft update - http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2862966 I removed the fix, disabled updates and my builds are working again.

FWIW, here is a link to the discussion where I found this info - https://www.osronline.com/ShowThread.cfm?link=246887

Answer 2

I had the same problem. The cause of this problem was the update http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2862973/ with the description "Update for deprecation of MD5 hashing algorithm for Microsoft root certificate program". With this update MD5 hashes are no longer valid to:

• server authentication
• code signing
• time stamping

That means that if your inf2cat uses MD5 hashes to check the integrity of contained files, it will fail. The solution is to download WDK 8.1 and use the new version of inf2cat.