<s>
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
(	O
setup	O
Information	O
file	O
)	O
is	O
INI	B-Protocol
plain-text	O
file	O
used	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
Windows-based	O
operating	O
systems	O
for	O
the	O
installation	O
of	O
software	O
and	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
INF	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
are	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
for	O
installing	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
for	O
hardware	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
includes	O
the	O
IExpress	B-Application
tool	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
INF-based	O
installations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
INF	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
form	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	O
Setup	B-Application
API	I-Application
and	O
of	O
its	O
successor	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Installer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
directory	O
contains	O
several	O
such	O
.inf	B-Protocol
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Precompiled	O
setup	O
Information	O
file	O
(	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
binary	O
representation	O
of	O
an	O
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
compiled	O
by	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
structure	O
of	O
an	O
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
is	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
an	O
INI	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
;	O
it	O
contains	O
various	O
sections	O
that	O
specify	O
the	O
files	O
to	O
be	O
copied	O
,	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
registry	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
INF	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
contain	O
a	O
 [ Version ] 	O
section	O
with	O
a	O
Signature	O
key	B-Application
–	I-Application
value	I-Application
pair	I-Application
specifying	O
the	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	O
that	O
the	O
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
is	O
meant	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
signature	O
is	O
commonly	O
$CHICAGO$	O
(	O
for	O
Windows	O
9x	O
)	O
or	O
$WINDOWS	O
NT$	O
(	O
for	O
Windows	O
NT/2K/XP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
an	O
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
might	O
have	O
something	O
like	O
this	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
feature	O
has	O
been	O
replaced	O
with	O
a	O
menu	O
forcing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
choose	O
which	O
action	O
to	O
take	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
INF	B-Protocol
Files	I-Protocol
can	O
sometimes	O
be	O
dangerous	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
as	O
they	O
may	O
allow	O
viruses	O
to	O
autorun	O
without	O
prompting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
INF	B-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
may	O
specify	O
values	O
for	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Registry	I-Protocol
entries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Drivers	O
providers	O
and	O
users	O
may	O
for	O
instance	O
use	O
this	O
feature	O
to	O
override	O
display	O
Extended	B-General_Concept
Display	I-General_Concept
Identification	I-General_Concept
Data	I-General_Concept
(	O
EDID	B-General_Concept
)	O
metadata	O
for	O
displays	O
that	O
have	O
corrupted	O
ROM	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
