I am currently working on a file system mini-filter driver in Windows. I've set up my development environment with the following:

Development Tools:

Visual Studio (latest version) Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Windows SDK Setup Details:

I configured the Include and Lib paths in the project properties to point to the WDK directories. My project builds without errors. However, despite a successful build, the .sys file is not being generated in the output directory. Below is the code I am using:

C Code :-

PFLT_FILTER FilterHandle = NULL;

NTSTATUS MiniUnload(FLT_FILTER_UNLOAD_FLAGS Flags);
FLT_POSTOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPostCreate(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext,
    FLT_POST_OPERATION_FLAGS Flags
);
FLT_PREOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPreCreate(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext
);
FLT_PREOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPreWrite(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext
);

// Callback array
const FLT_OPERATION_REGISTRATION Callbacks[] = {
    {IRP_MJ_CREATE, 0, MiniPreCreate, MiniPostCreate},
    {IRP_MJ_WRITE, 0, MiniPreWrite, NULL},
    {IRP_MJ_OPERATION_END}
};

// Filter registration structure
const FLT_REGISTRATION FilterRegistration = {
    sizeof(FLT_REGISTRATION),       // Size
    FLT_REGISTRATION_VERSION,       // Version
    0,                              // Flags
    NULL,                           // Context
    Callbacks,                      // Operation callbacks
    MiniUnload,                     // Unload callback
    NULL,                           // Instance setup callback
    NULL,                           // Instance query teardown callback
    NULL,                           // Instance teardown start callback
    NULL,                           // Instance teardown complete callback
    NULL,                           // Generate file name callback
    NULL,                           // Normalize name component callback
    NULL,                           // Normalize context cleanup callback
    NULL                            // Transaction callbacks
};

NTSTATUS MiniUnload(FLT_FILTER_UNLOAD_FLAGS Flags)
{
    KdPrint(("Driver unloaded \r\n"));
    FltUnregisterFilter(FilterHandle);
    return STATUS_SUCCESS;
}

FLT_POSTOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPostCreate(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext,
    FLT_POST_OPERATION_FLAGS Flags
)
{
    KdPrint(("Post create is running \r\n"));
    return FLT_POSTOP_FINISHED_PROCESSING;
}

FLT_PREOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPreCreate(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext
)
{
    PFLT_FILE_NAME_INFORMATION FileNameInfo;
    NTSTATUS status;
    WCHAR Name[200] = { 0 };

    status = FltGetFileNameInformation(
        Data,
        FLT_FILE_NAME_NORMALIZED | FLT_FILE_NAME_QUERY_DEFAULT,
        &FileNameInfo
    );

    if (NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
        status = FltParseFileNameInformation(FileNameInfo);

        if (NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
            if (FileNameInfo->Name.MaximumLength < 260) {
                RtlCopyMemory(Name, FileNameInfo->Name.Buffer, FileNameInfo->Name.MaximumLength);
                KdPrint(("Create file: %ws \r\n", Name));
            }
        }

        FltReleaseFileNameInformation(FileNameInfo);
    }

    return FLT_PREOP_SUCCESS_WITH_CALLBACK;
}

FLT_PREOP_CALLBACK_STATUS MiniPreWrite(
    PFLT_CALLBACK_DATA Data,
    PCFLT_RELATED_OBJECTS FltObjects,
    PVOID* CompletionContext
)
{
    PFLT_FILE_NAME_INFORMATION FileNameInfo;
    NTSTATUS status;
    WCHAR Name[200] = { 0 };

    status = FltGetFileNameInformation(
        Data,
        FLT_FILE_NAME_NORMALIZED | FLT_FILE_NAME_QUERY_DEFAULT,
        &FileNameInfo
    );

    if (NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
        status = FltParseFileNameInformation(FileNameInfo);

        if (NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
            if (FileNameInfo->Name.MaximumLength < 260) {
                RtlCopyMemory(Name, FileNameInfo->Name.Buffer, FileNameInfo->Name.MaximumLength);
                _wcsupr(Name);

                if (wcsstr(Name, L"OPENME.TXT") != NULL) {
                    KdPrint(("Write file: %ws blocked \r\n", Name));
                    Data->IoStatus.Status = STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER;
                    Data->IoStatus.Information = 0;
                    FltReleaseFileNameInformation(FileNameInfo);
                    return FLT_PREOP_COMPLETE;
                }

                KdPrint(("Create file: %ws \r\n", Name));
            }
        }

        FltReleaseFileNameInformation(FileNameInfo);
    }

    return FLT_PREOP_SUCCESS_NO_CALLBACK;
}

NTSTATUS DriverEntry(PDRIVER_OBJECT DriverObject, PUNICODE_STRING RegistryPath)
{
    NTSTATUS status;

    status = FltRegisterFilter(DriverObject, &FilterRegistration, &FilterHandle);

    if (NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
        status = FltStartFiltering(FilterHandle);

        if (!NT_SUCCESS(status)) {
            FltUnregisterFilter(FilterHandle);
        }
    }

    return status;
}

INF file

[Version]
Signature   = "$Windows NT$"
Class       = "ActivityMonitor"
ClassGuid   = {b86dff51-a31e-4bac-b3cf-e8cfe75c9fc2}
Provider    = "HelloWorld Corporation"
DriverVer   = 
CatalogFile = HelloWorld.cat

[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir          = 12
MiniFilter.DriverFiles  = 12            ; %windir%\system32\drivers

[DefaultInstall]
OptionDesc          = %ServiceDescription%
CopyFiles           = MiniFilter.DriverFiles

[DefaultInstall.Services]
AddService          = %ServiceName%,,MiniFilter.Service

[DefaultUninstall]
DelFiles   = MiniFilter.DriverFiles

[DefaultUninstall.Services]
DelService = %ServiceName%,0x200

[MiniFilter.Service]
DisplayName      = "HelloWorld Service"
Description      = "HelloWorld Mini-Filter Driver"
ServiceBinary    = %12%\HelloWorld.sys
Dependencies     = "FltMgr"
ServiceType      = 2
StartType        = 3
ErrorControl     = 1
LoadOrderGroup   = "FSFilter Activity Monitor"
AddReg           = MiniFilter.AddRegistry

[MiniFilter.AddRegistry]
HKR,,"DebugFlags",0x00010001,0x0
HKR,,"SupportedFeatures",0x00010001,0x3
HKR,"Instances","DefaultInstance",0x00000000,%DefaultInstance%
HKR,"Instances\"%Instance1.Name%,"Altitude",0x00000000,%Instance1.Altitude%
HKR,"Instances\"%Instance1.Name%,"Flags",0x00010001,%Instance1.Flags%

[MiniFilter.DriverFiles]
HelloWorld.sys

[SourceDisksFiles]
HelloWorld.sys = 1,,

[SourceDisksNames]
1 = %DiskId1%,,,

[Strings]
ManufacturerName        = "HelloWorld Corporation"
ServiceDescription      = "HelloWorld Mini-Filter Driver"
ServiceName             = "HelloWorld"
DriverName              = "HelloWorld"
DiskId1                 = "HelloWorld Device Installation Disk"

DefaultInstance         = "HelloWorld Instance"
Instance1.Name          = "HelloWorld Instance"
Instance1.Altitude      = "371000"
Instance1.Flags         = 0x0

What I've Tried:

1. Ensured the Driver type is selected in the project properties under Configuration Properties > Driver Settings.
2. Verified the Target Platform is set to Desktop under Configuration Properties > General.

Problem: Even though the build completes without errors, the .sys file does not appear in the $(OutDir) folder. I suspect it might be a configuration issue or an oversight in the project setup.

What could be the cause of this issue, and how can I ensure the .sys file is generated?