Intel(R) Management Engine WMI Provider latest driver versioning confusion

[grimson]

Intel(R) Management Engine WMI Provider (MEWMIProv.inf)

DriverVer = 04/18/2023,2316.5.0.0

DriverVer = 05/04/2023,2318.4.3.0

DriverVer = 01/08/2023,2303.4.2.0

I found the versions above and 'Windows driver ranking' chose 05/04/2023,2318.4.3.0.

But is this correct? Isn't the '5.0.0' version the latest?

Again, Intel driver versioning shenanigans the culprit?

Thanks.

Arian!  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

grimson, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

We will be more than glad to assist you with this matter. 

In order for us to provide the most accurate assistance on this scenario, we just wanted to confirm a few details about your system:

What is the model of your Intel® processor?

What is the model of the motherboard?

If this is a laptop, what is the model of it?

Is there any problem with your computer?

Which Windows version are you using?

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[grimson]

Hi Albert, please let me restate the question 

Windows Driver store:
Windows contains a driver store where you can add drivers. To add drivers to this driver store you can, as I do, right click the .INF file and choose 'install'. There are separate ways to add drivers to the driver store but that's not the issue here.
Keep in mind that drivers in the Windows driver store are only installed or used when Windows does detect the device and can match a driver from this driver store. The store can contain multiple versions of the same driver and Windows does select the 'best' driver due to driver ranking. Overview of the Driver Package Selection Process Driver Store Explorer [RAPR] 

Updating driver store with drivers and windows driver ranking:
So, on multiple systems I tested the following:

Current driver installed:
Intel(R) Management Engine WMI Provider (MEWMIProv.inf)
DriverVer = 12/11/2022,2251.4.1.0

Newer drivers added to the Windows store (right click MEWMIProv.inf -> 'install')
Intel(R) Management Engine WMI Provider (MEWMIProv.inf)
DriverVer = 04/18/2023,2316.5.0.0
DriverVer = 05/04/2023,2318.4.3.0

Due to Windows driver ranking the selected driver is 05/04/2023,2318.4.3.0. I can force the 04/18/2023,2316.5.0.0 version but this is normally not how it should be. All other drivers are ranked 'correctly' and installed accordingly but only this MEWMIProv.inf driver is inconsistent with its versioning.

DriverVer = 04/18/2023,2316.5.0.0
DriverVer = 05/04/2023,2318.4.3.0 -> Chosen one because ot the date or the major version number (2318)?

I can see that 5.0.0 is higher than 4.3.0 but windows driver ranking and personally I find this 5.0.0 the 'older' driver. Again due to date and the 'major' 2318.x.x versioning number.

Ofcourse it's a minor thing but like many other persons here I like to keep my drivers up to date to some extend but this caught my eye. It's not the first Intel driver shenanigans like the chipset drivers dating to 7/18/1968.

So it's not really about who's right or wrong of what's the best driver (guess it doesn't really matter after all) but am I seeing things wrong here due to driver ranking and versioning?
Thanks again! 

Attached picture shows the driver store with the Windows best selected driver for the Intel(R) Management Engine WMI Provider

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi grimson, Thank you very much for your response.

In reference to this scenario, it is important to mention that normally the drivers, including the management engine driver, are provided by the manufacturer of the motherboard or mobile device, customized by them to work with your specific platform.

From our side, the latest generic Intel® Management Engine Driver for Windows* 10 and Windows* 11 is version 2216.16.0.2805, posted on 6/15/2022:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/682431/intel-management-engine-drivers-for-windows-10-and-windows-11.html

So, in this case, what we recommend to do next, will be to get in contact directly with the manufacturer of the board/mobile device, to make sure and verify with them which is the latest version they have available for the Intel® Management Engine Driver.

Also, regarding the drivers available in the Windows driver store, we advised you to get in contact directly with Microsoft Support to confirm which is the latest version and for them to provide additional assistance on this matter:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[grimson]

Hi Albert,

Again thanks for the reply

I was afraid for this answer (please see your manufacturer) but nonetheless thanks for assisting.

Ofcourse it's more an OCD thing than a technical issue but I like to keep up with the latest drivers available and did therefore happen to see this ambiguous driver versioning thingy.

Maybe I could trick you into checking behind the scene about why this versioning is happening but I guess you caught me doing so

Thanks again, case solved so to say

'Problem' might solve itself when a never version will be released eventually.

Best Regards!

Grimson

[MIGUEL_C_Intel]

Hello, Grimson,

It was our pleasure to assist you.  If we can help with anything else, do not hesitate to reply or open a new case.

Regards,

Miguel C.

Intel Customer Support Technician