Detecting USB Insertion / Removal Events in Windows using C++

Question

I am writing an extension for an existing application that needs to handle USB insertion/removal events. I know the VID/PID of the device of interest. However, I don't have access to the window handle, so I don't know if RegisterDeviceNotification will be of much use, unless there is a way to obtain the handle via the WINAPI. What would be the best way to detect USB insertion/removal events with C++?

This sample code on the Microsoft website shows how to receive event notifications via WMI:

How could it be modified to receive USB insertion/removal events? Or, is there another way I should be going about this? I am using Visual Studio 2008. Thanks.

ADDITIONAL INFO

This is what I have so far (minus error-handling):

DEFINE_GUID(GUID_INTERFACE_CP210x, 0x993f7832, 0x6e2d, 0x4a0f, 0xb2, 0x72, 0xe2, 0xc7, 0x8e, 0x74, 0xf9, 0x3e);

MyClass::MyClass()
{
    // Generate message-only window
    _pWndClassEx = (WNDCLASSEX *)malloc( sizeof(WNDCLASSEX) );
    memset( _pWndClassEx, 0, sizeof(WNDCLASSEX) );
    _pWndClassEx->cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
    _pWndClassEx->lpfnWndProc = (WNDPROC)WndProc; // function which will handle messages
    _pWndClassEx->hInstance = GetCurrentModule();
    _pWndClassEx->lpszClassName = pClassName;
    atom = RegisterClassEx( _pWndClassEx );
    _hWnd = CreateWindowEx( 0, pClassName, pWindowName, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, HWND_MESSAGE, NULL, NULL, NULL );

    // Register the USB device for notification
    _pDevIF = (DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE *)malloc( sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE) );
    memset( _pDevIF, 0, sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE) );
    _pDevIF->dbcc_size = sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE);
    _pDevIF->dbcc_devicetype = DBT_DEVTYP_DEVICEINTERFACE;
    _pDevIF->dbcc_classguid = GUID_INTERFACE_CP210x;
    _hNotifyDevNode = RegisterDeviceNotification( _hWnd, _pDevIF, DEVICE_NOTIFY_WINDOW_HANDLE );
}

static bool OnDeviceChange(UINT nEventType, DWORD dwData)
{
    switch ( nEventType )
    {
    case DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL:
        // A device has been inserted adn is now available.
        break;

    case DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE:
        // Device has been removed.
        break;

    default:
        break;
    }

    return true;
}

static LRESULT WndProc( HWND hwnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam )
{
    switch ( message )
    {
    case WM_DEVICECHANGE:
        OnDeviceChange( wParam, lParam ); // Set breakpoint (never gets here)
        break;

    default:
        break;
    }

    return DefWindowProc(hwnd, message, wParam, lParam);
}

The PC gets into WndProc, but not when I remove/insert my USB device. The PC never seems to get into OnDeviceChange. Any tips would be appreciated. I need to handle unexpected insertions/removals of the USB device. If it makes a difference, the USB device appears as a virtual COM port to Windows. Thanks.

Aditional info: Calling CreateWindowEx using the class atom returned by RegisterClassEx fails with the error message, "Cannot find window class."

_hWnd = CreateWindowEx( 0, (LPCTSTR)&atom, pWindowName, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, HWND_MESSAGE, NULL, NULL, NULL );

NEW APPROACH

I'm also trying this new approach. I'm trying to get write a message-only window to receive device change notification messages for a USB device. I am using MFC, C++, and Visual Studio 2008. Everything compiles, and it runs without crashing or locking up, but the event handler is never triggered. The device of interest is installed on Windows as a virtual COM port.

My main application instantiates the class described below then waits for a character input from the keyboard polling using a while loop. It is during this wait time that I remove and insert my USB device expecting the event to get fired.

class CMessageOnlyWindow : public CWnd
{
    DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CMessageOnlyWindow)
private:
    DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE * _pDevIF; // The notification filter.
    HDEVNOTIFY _hNotifyDev;             // The device notification handle.
public:
    CMessageOnlyWindow();
    virtual ~CMessageOnlyWindow();
protected:
    afx_msg BOOL OnDeviceChange( UINT nEventType, DWORD dwData );
private:
    void RegisterNotification( void );
    void UnregisterNotification( void );
protected:
    DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()               // Must be last.
};

For simplicity, I've removed all the cleanup and error-handling:

DEFINE_GUID(GUID_INTERFACE_CP210x, 0x993f7832, 0x6e2d, 0x4a0f, \
    0xb2, 0x72, 0xe2, 0xc7, 0x8e, 0x74, 0xf9, 0x3e);

IMPLEMENT_DYNAMIC(CMessageOnlyWindow, CWnd)

CMessageOnlyWindow::CMessageOnlyWindow()
{
    CString cstrWndClassName = ::AfxRegisterWndClass( NULL );
    BOOL bCreated = this->CreateEx( 0, cstrWndClassName,
        L"CMessageOnlyWindow", 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, HWND_MESSAGE, 0 );
    this->RegisterNotification();
}

CMessageOnlyWindow::~CMessageOnlyWindow() {}

BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CMessageOnlyWindow, CWnd)
    ON_WM_DEVICECHANGE()
END_MESSAGE_MAP()

afx_msg BOOL CMessageOnlyWindow::OnDeviceChange( UINT nEventType, DWORD dwData )
{
    switch ( nEventType ) // <-- Never gets here.
    {
    case DBT_DEVICEARRIVAL:
        break;

    case DBT_DEVICEREMOVECOMPLETE:
        break;

    default:
        break;
    }

    return TRUE;
}

void CMessageOnlyWindow::RegisterNotification(void)
{
    _pDevIF = (DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE *)malloc( sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE) );
    memset( _pDevIF, 0, sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE) );
    _pDevIF->dbcc_size = sizeof(DEV_BROADCAST_DEVICEINTERFACE);
    _pDevIF->dbcc_devicetype = DBT_DEVTYP_DEVICEINTERFACE;
    _pDevIF->dbcc_classguid = GUID_INTERFACE_CP210x;
    _hNotifyDev = RegisterDeviceNotification( this->m_hWnd, _pDevIF, DEVICE_NOTIFY_WINDOW_HANDLE );
}

void CMessageOnlyWindow::UnregisterNotification(void)
{
    UnregisterDeviceNotification( _hNotifyDev );
}

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. If any details are missing, let me know, and I will be glad to add them. Thanks.

Does the message-only window need to be started in a new thread, or does creating a new window automatically spin off a new thread?

Answer 1

Create a dummy window that does nothing but wait for WM_DEVICECHANGE and register that window using RegisterDeviceNotification. WMI is an overkill here, IMHO.

Answer 2

There is a MSDN sample specifically for your case, in native code.

Registering for Device Notification

Better to do it this way than via WMI.

Answer 3

I followed your "new approach" and also found that OnDeviceChange wasn't being called. The problem was that there was no message loop because it was a Console app. Calling the following function at regular intervals fixed it.

void check_for_device_change()
{
    MSG msg; 

    const int val = PeekMessage( &msg, 0, 0, 0, PM_REMOVE );

    if( val > 0 )
    { 
        TranslateMessage( &msg );
        DispatchMessage( &msg );
    } 
}

Answer 4

This is another way for detecting the INSERTION & REMOVAL of USB storage devices.

This c++ code detect INSERTION and REMOVAL both of USB Storage devices.

This also detect Multiple insertion and removal of USB devices at same time.

c++ code: Tested in VISUAL STUDIO 2015

You can also check for other types of devices for removal and insertion. Just fill passed char array to other types of devices in if else of the code in function getUSBStorageDeviceList()

    #include "stdafx.h"
    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <time.h>
    #include <windows.h>
    #include <string>
    #include<iostream>

    using namespace std;

    #define MAX_LETTER 26
    char PREV_DRIVE_LIST[MAX_LETTER];
    char NEW_DRIVE_LIST[MAX_LETTER];

    /* To GET DRIVE LIST in char ARRAY */
    void getUSBStorageDeviceList(char drive[]) {

        int count = 0;

        char szLogicalDrives[MAX_PATH];
        size_t size = strlen(szLogicalDrives) + 1;
        wchar_t* text = new wchar_t[size];

        size_t outSize;
        mbstowcs_s(&outSize, text, size, szLogicalDrives, size - 1);

        DWORD dwResult = GetLogicalDriveStrings(MAX_PATH, text); // text = szLogicalDrives
        WCHAR* szSingleDrive = text;

        while (*szSingleDrive)
        {
            UINT nDriveType = GetDriveType(szSingleDrive);

        //  printf("\nFUNC: getRemovableDisk, Drive Name%d= %s", ++count, szSingleDrive);

            if (nDriveType == DRIVE_UNKNOWN) {
            //  cout << "\nDrive type : Unknown: The drive type cannot be determined." << endl;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_NO_ROOT_DIR) {
            //  cout << "\nDrive type : Invalid Root Directory Media: The root path is invalid." << endl;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_REMOVABLE) {
            //  cout << "\nDrive type :  Removable Media:" << endl;
                char letter = szSingleDrive[0];
                drive[letter - 65] = letter;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_FIXED) {
                //cout << "\nDrive type : Fixed Media: " << endl;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_REMOTE) {
                //cout << "\nDrive type : Remote Media: The drive is a remote (network) drive.." << endl;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_CDROM) {
                //cout << "\nDrive type : CD ROM:   The drive is a CD-ROM drive." << endl;
            }
            else if (nDriveType == DRIVE_RAMDISK) {
                //cout << "\nDrive type : RAM Disk: The drive is a RAM disk." << endl;
            }

            szSingleDrive += wcslen(szSingleDrive) + 1; // next drive 
        }
    }

    int main(void) {

        int count = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < MAX_LETTER; i++) {
            PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] = '0';
            NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i] = '0';
        }
        // initial drive list which is already attached 
        getUSBStorageDeviceList(PREV_DRIVE_LIST);

        while (1) {

            getUSBStorageDeviceList(NEW_DRIVE_LIST);
            count = 1;

            /* Check for insertion and removabal*/

            for (int i = 0; i < MAX_LETTER; i++) {
                // check for new drive
                if ((NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i] >= 65 && NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i] <= 89) && (PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] == '0')) {

                    printf("\nNew Device Inserted%d : %c", count++, NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i]);
                    PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] = NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i];
                }
            }
                // fill ALl zero 
                for (int i = 0; i < MAX_LETTER; i++) {
                    NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i] = '0';
                }
                // update NEW drive list
                getUSBStorageDeviceList(NEW_DRIVE_LIST);

                for (int i = 0; i < MAX_LETTER; i++) {
                    // check for removed drive
                    if ((PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] >= 65 && PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] <= 89) && (NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i] == '0')) {
                        printf("\nDevice Removed%d : %c", count++, PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i]);
                        PREV_DRIVE_LIST[i] = NEW_DRIVE_LIST[i];
                    }
            }
                Sleep(500);
        }

        return 0;
    }

REMARK : This does not create Any windows. This is console Application.