Frequently Asked Questions – System

Why does my system need a Windows Logo?

Most OEM System Builders test their systems because of Microsoft’s MDA discounts . One of the milestones for earning these discounts is by earning the Windows Logo for your system. Please read about the Microsoft Windows Logo. This contains a wealth of information.

Do I need to send my system to Microsoft after you have tested our hardware?

No. Microsoft may ask your company for an audit, however. When you do send your hardware to Microsoft, remember that you will not get it back, unless the system is worth more than $10,000.

I want to test my system myself. Is this possible and where do I start?

Yes, this is possible. The best place to start is here. The complete process is defined step by step. After you have done it once, we will gladly welcome you back in the future.

What is the easiest way to get our system logo’d?

Build your system with only logo’d components. Ship it to us for testing. We email you the test results. If there were no failures, Microsoft will grant you the logo within several days.

But, I sell build-to-order PCs. It would cost me a fortune to logo every configuration!

You do not need a logo for every different configuration. You are allowed to register additional product names. Build the biggest configuration and have it logo’d. After that, you are allowed to swap out any logo’d device for another logo’d device. Additionally, you may change the processor speed, hard disk and system memory. The only things that must remain the same are the motherboard, the type of CPU and major BIOS settings.

How long does the testing take?

Test duration depends on the type of system and whether there are problems that need to be resolved. The more buses and components are included in the system the longer testing will take. A full system test generally takes about 100 hours. Our goal is to complete the full set of tests in one week. In practice, the complete round-up from the day we receive the hardware to the day we send the log files takes no more than two weeks.

What type of testing is required for validation?

Various types of tests are part of the validation process: ACPI testing, Driver testing, power state tests, Voltage tests, Storage tests, functional tests and stress tests.

What specific tests are conducted?

There are several system tests that comprise the Windows Logo Program suite. To name just a few:

AC3 Test
Aero Acceptance Test
BitLocker Drive Encryption USB BIOS Logo Test
Cardbus Bridge Register Assertions
DirectDraw Tests
Disk Stress
Driver Scenario
DRM Test
Full Duplex Test
GlitchFree WMV HD 720p Video Playback Quality Test
GUIMAN GDI w-poly clip
HAL Timer Test
HDAudio Class Driver Test
KS Position Test
KS Topology Test
Logo – S3 Resume Time Verification
Lullaby Test
PCI Hardware Compliance Test for Systems
Premium DX10 Graphics Validation
Signed Driver Check
SMBIOS HCT
SysFX UI Test
Common Scenario Stress With IO
Disable Enable With IO
Embedded Signature Validation
Sleep Stress With IO
Tuner-DMA Test
Tuner-Performance Test
TCG TPM Integration Test
UAA Test
Wave Test
WDDM Coherency
WLP RGB Rasterization

Are these the only tests that Craiton performs on your hardware?

No, Craiton runs many more different tests and services depending on the system/device to be tested.

Have you heard about those new majiggiemos?

Do they need to be tested?