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Is it possible to install multiple drivers for a single device (say, a touchpad), and then switch between them on the fly? (I.e., without a reboot.)
I'm having some trouble with the Synaptics driver of my touchpad, and like to be able to switch to a generic mouse driver on the fly with a keyboard shortcut (or something like that), so I can enjoy Synaptics' multi-touch tomfoolery one moment and a no hassle touchpad driver without oddities the next.

Edit - If What Frank Thomas said is correct, and it isn't possible to straight out swap drivers, wouldn't it be possible to write a driver that acts as a wrapper for other drivers, additionally giving the user the option to swap them through that?

Protector one
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1 Answers1

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as a rule, no, since drivers are loaded into the kernel and are "dangerous" to unload without a shutdown in that they may cause a kernel panic once the driver is unloaded. It is possible to load drivers on the fly (USB devices for instance) but they can't be swapped out without a reboot.

Frank Thomas
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