Windows 10 & Windows 11 Installation

Note: Due to the USB 3.0 translation layer between native hardware and virtual machine, the librealsense team does not recommend or support installation in a VM.

librealsense shall be built on Windows using CMake v3.8+ and Visual Studio 2017 / 2019 / 2022: (MSVC2015 and older are not fully compatible with the C++14 feature-set).

Windows CMake

Don’t forget to check BUILD_EXAMPLES if you wish to use librealsense samples.

Enabling metadata on Windows

Metadata attributes is an advanced capability provided by librealsense. Read more on this feature in link. Follow the instructions to enable metadata generation:

Prerequisites:

  • Windows 10 with administrator login.

  • WinSDK ver 10 (10.0.15063) or later.

Installation:

  • Verify OS version:

  • Run winver command from desktop/terminal - “Windows 10 (Build 15063 or later, 17763+ recommended) or Windows 11” is expected.

winver

  • Install WinSDK ver10:

  • Navigate to “Control Panel” -> “Programs and Features”

  • Double-click on “Microsoft Visual Studio” and select “Modify”

  • Check that SDK version 10.0.10586 or later is present, install if needed:

  • winsdk

Update Registry:

  • Windows OS requires a dedicated registry entry to be present for each unique video device in order to provide metadata.

Use automation script:

  • Launch Windows Powershell tool as Admin and navigate to the script directory

  • Run the following: PS > .\realsense_metadata_win10.ps1 <optional:operation> The supported parameters are

    • -op install adds registry keys for connected Intel Realsense devices

    • -op install_all adds keys for all RealSense devices logged in the registry

    • -op remove removes registry keys for connected Intel Realsense devices

    • -op remove_all removes the keys for all RealSense devices logged in the registry Running the script without arguments will is similar to -op install operation.

  • If you receive ... cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system message, run:

`PS > Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned` , answer `Y` and then rerun the script

**Important** - The registry keys are device-unique. Therefore, __*the script must be executed each time a new RealSense device is attached*__ to the PC.
Modifying the registry manually

In case the script cannot be executed due to permissions, or other Host-related issue please follow the instructions to update the registry manually:

  • Connect Intel® RealSense™ device to the host

  • Navigate to “Control Panel” -> “Device Manager”

  • Browse for Intel® RealSense™ devices

  • Select the first device from the list, e.g. Intel® RealSense™ Camera D415 Depth (Step 1)

  • Find device’s path (Step 2) and the additional interfaces (Step 3)

    win_dev_master_interface win_dev_master_interface

  • Modifying the Windows Registry:

    • For each interface found (Steps 2 and 3) perform

      • Using Registry Editing tool such as “regedit” navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{e5323777-f976-4f5b-9b55-b94699c46e44} branch.

      • Browse into the subdirectory with the name identical to the Device instance path obtained from the previous step

        • Expand the entry into #GLOBAL -> Device Parameters

        • Add DWORD 32bit value named MetadataBufferSizeInKB0 with value 5.

        • Add an additional DWORD 32bit value named MetadataBufferSizeInKB1 with value 5 for RS400 device zero interface ##?##USB#VID_8086&PID... **MI_00**.. win_md_reg_key

      • Repeat the previous step for HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{65E8773D-8F56-11D0-A3B9-00A0C9223196} branch

  • Repeat the procedure for all the additional RealSense devices (e.g. Intel® RealSense™ Camera D415 RGB)

Compiling Librealsense with Metadata support:

During compilation the library will automatically detect and enable/disable metadata functionality according to the WinSDK version selected. In case the installed WinSDK doesn’t expose metadata the user will be notified that the build does not include metadata generation: Librealsense notification: Featuring UVC Metadata requires WinSDK 10.0.10586.0 toolset.   The library will be compiled without the metadata support!

In order to ensure compilation with metadata support check the ENFORCE_METADATA in the Cmake configuration stage. When set, the compiler will check the target WinSDK version, and abort the build if it is not compatible with metadata requirements.

Note In case of multiple WinSDK version installed, CMake automatically selects the latest version of SDK. In some cases, however, the automatic selection may fail. Then you need to manually retarget the solution for the proper WinSDK version: win_retarget_platform

Troubleshooting Issues

Error

Cause

Correction Steps

The camera is not recognized by the SDK

The SDK does not have access to the camera

Make sure that “Allow desktop apps to access your camera” setting is set to on in Windows OS (Setting -> Privacy -> Camera)