Jazzanlex
asked on
Cannot add New Hardware to XP
Hi Guys and Girls,
I recently posted a Question because the Add New Hardware wizard in Windows XP would continuously try to install a DVD drive that my client added to his Dell Desktop. Every reboot the wizard would come up and try to installl and was unable to find the correct drivers. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the drives, no change. Checked Jumper settings...Master and Slave correct. Try updating drivers from XP disk, no change.
Originally I thought the issue was simply to do with the DVD drive, but since I uninstalled the CDRW drive that wizard comes up as well. And I have also tried to Add a new printer, to no avail the drivers will not install.
It seems that I cannot add any new hardware to his Windows XP Home box. Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this issue. I have to get this fixed, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jazz
I recently posted a Question because the Add New Hardware wizard in Windows XP would continuously try to install a DVD drive that my client added to his Dell Desktop. Every reboot the wizard would come up and try to installl and was unable to find the correct drivers. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the drives, no change. Checked Jumper settings...Master and Slave correct. Try updating drivers from XP disk, no change.
Originally I thought the issue was simply to do with the DVD drive, but since I uninstalled the CDRW drive that wizard comes up as well. And I have also tried to Add a new printer, to no avail the drivers will not install.
It seems that I cannot add any new hardware to his Windows XP Home box. Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this issue. I have to get this fixed, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jazz
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Jazz-
Are you sure that the add new hardware prompts are for the devices you think they are for?
Hello Jazz, try these solutions: Run' SFC \scannow ', from a command prompt. See if that fixes the problem, if not, then do a ' Repair '. Insert Windows install cd and when Install Wizard comes up select ' Repair '. That should fix your system, and then re-install your devices. Hope this helps...Booda2us
ASKER
Hi NYtechGuy,
Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. The CDRW (now it is the slave) was already in the comptuer. My Client added A DVD drive (this is the master). Originally only the DVD drive was trying to install with every reboot, until I then went into Device manager and removed both the DVD and the CDRW drives to let XP reinstall to see if this would make a difference. Now XP wants to install both devices with every reboot. As I stated, the devices work without issue, but XP thinks they need to be installed. I have already uninstalled and physically detached the devices from the IDE Cable. When I boot back up after detaching the devices the Hardware wizard does not pop up (but the devices are not attached) Once I attach the devices again, the wizard starts up again. There are no driver to download for these devices, windows XP just recognized them using cdrom.sys, imap.sys and redbook.sys files. Even when I point the install to the correct location of the drivers it cannot find what it needs. Again, the printer is the same issue so now I am thinking it is hardware in "general" that cannot install. I even tried a USB Flash drive to no avail XP would not install that. So at this point I cannot add any hardware to the computer. The CD/DVD are just culprits of something else preventing hardware from installing. It has to be some kind of corrupt files (infs maybe??, found something online just now regarding those)
Jazz
Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. The CDRW (now it is the slave) was already in the comptuer. My Client added A DVD drive (this is the master). Originally only the DVD drive was trying to install with every reboot, until I then went into Device manager and removed both the DVD and the CDRW drives to let XP reinstall to see if this would make a difference. Now XP wants to install both devices with every reboot. As I stated, the devices work without issue, but XP thinks they need to be installed. I have already uninstalled and physically detached the devices from the IDE Cable. When I boot back up after detaching the devices the Hardware wizard does not pop up (but the devices are not attached) Once I attach the devices again, the wizard starts up again. There are no driver to download for these devices, windows XP just recognized them using cdrom.sys, imap.sys and redbook.sys files. Even when I point the install to the correct location of the drivers it cannot find what it needs. Again, the printer is the same issue so now I am thinking it is hardware in "general" that cannot install. I even tried a USB Flash drive to no avail XP would not install that. So at this point I cannot add any hardware to the computer. The CD/DVD are just culprits of something else preventing hardware from installing. It has to be some kind of corrupt files (infs maybe??, found something online just now regarding those)
Jazz
ASKER
Hi Booda,
I tried the SFC/scannow, XP SP2 does not recognize the disk in the drive because it is a different service pack level. I am trying to avoid a repair if I can identify what files are causing the issues. Plus I want to be sure a Repair will definately fix the issue.
Jazz
I tried the SFC/scannow, XP SP2 does not recognize the disk in the drive because it is a different service pack level. I am trying to avoid a repair if I can identify what files are causing the issues. Plus I want to be sure a Repair will definately fix the issue.
Jazz
Have you recently upgraded to Windows XP.
Try copying driver.cab file from Windows XP cd to
c:\windows\I386
c:\windows\Driver Cache\I386
Try copying driver.cab file from Windows XP cd to
c:\windows\I386
c:\windows\Driver Cache\I386
ASKER
Hi Prashsax,
No recent upgrade to XP and the driver.cab file suggestion, I already tried that last week, I found a technote online about that and of course it did not work, still the same issue with the new driver.cab file.
Any other suggestions
Jazz
No recent upgrade to XP and the driver.cab file suggestion, I already tried that last week, I found a technote online about that and of course it did not work, still the same issue with the new driver.cab file.
Any other suggestions
Jazz
question.
Why would you spend time and money on this issue further when you could just backup all user data (email, PSTs, etc) and reload an image? Do you need this image or what is the deal? Sorry but I am curious why people just keep troubleshooting these types of issues.
Andyman
Why would you spend time and money on this issue further when you could just backup all user data (email, PSTs, etc) and reload an image? Do you need this image or what is the deal? Sorry but I am curious why people just keep troubleshooting these types of issues.
Andyman
ASKER
Hi mrandyman,
For starters there is no image of this computer!! This is a small business that does not image workstations, they backup their data nightly. Obviously I cannot image it now or the same corrupt OS would be loaded. Yes I could backup the users stuff and reinstall the OS....Office...QB...Servic
Jazz
For starters there is no image of this computer!! This is a small business that does not image workstations, they backup their data nightly. Obviously I cannot image it now or the same corrupt OS would be loaded. Yes I could backup the users stuff and reinstall the OS....Office...QB...Servic
Jazz
ASKER
MRandyman,
FYI...about 6 months ago I had a client that could not install any software and after doing quite a bit of research on the issue, it turned out to be the ebd.log file got to big and needed to be replaced.....one quick renaming of a file and problem solved as opposed to 5 hours of reinstalling software and importing data....
Jazz
FYI...about 6 months ago I had a client that could not install any software and after doing quite a bit of research on the issue, it turned out to be the ebd.log file got to big and needed to be replaced.....one quick renaming of a file and problem solved as opposed to 5 hours of reinstalling software and importing data....
Jazz
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER
Thanks Engineer Dell, I am not at the client site right now, but will try it when I go. I am not sure if that is the issue, but it is certainly worth a try. I will let you know. I have a funny feeling that there are corrupt Windows files that deal with installing hardware, because it is all hardware, not just the optical drives. I cannot install Flash Drive or Printer either.....I will be in touch...
Jazz....PS sorry about the Dell comment above, just don't like it when people jump to the format and reinstall theory without troubleshooting the issue first. Obviously that is a last resort for me and my client and it is certainly a lengthly process....
Jazz....PS sorry about the Dell comment above, just don't like it when people jump to the format and reinstall theory without troubleshooting the issue first. Obviously that is a last resort for me and my client and it is certainly a lengthly process....
Never Mind....
I completely agree with you...infact I happen to have same opinion that reinstallation should be the last step...Still I believe that Prevention is better than cure...
:)
Anyways, try resetting the BIOS and clear NVRAM, please also check if all neccessary services are set to "Automatic" and "Started" like Plug n Play, WIM, etc..
Regards,
Engineer_Dell
I completely agree with you...infact I happen to have same opinion that reinstallation should be the last step...Still I believe that Prevention is better than cure...
:)
Anyways, try resetting the BIOS and clear NVRAM, please also check if all neccessary services are set to "Automatic" and "Started" like Plug n Play, WIM, etc..
Regards,
Engineer_Dell
ASKER
Thanks Engineer_Dell....I will be in touch, probably not til midweek, but I will be back....
Jazz
Jazz
Look here for how to run sfc /scannow : www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
hi,
This error can be fixed by removing the Sonic Update Manager from your system.
You can uninstall it from "Add/Remove Programs" control panel and selecting to remove "Sonic Update Manager".
This error can be fixed by removing the Sonic Update Manager from your system.
You can uninstall it from "Add/Remove Programs" control panel and selecting to remove "Sonic Update Manager".
Sorry wrong information given above, please ignore my answer:P
have you checked the system devices in safemode, often times if there is two or more devices of the same name same device listed in device manager the best option is to uninstall all the usb devices in sfaemode.
Reboot.
Then let windows find them.
Reboot.
Then let windows find them.
have you checked the keyboard jumper setting in motherboard
Reps
.
Reps
.
Ask Engineer_Dell about how Dell ships with it's own image as recovery disks. HP has the same problem. If the basic image requires that the motherboard drivers be part and parcel of the recovery image [usually a hidden D drive], then if that image doesn't allow for the addition of new drivers, or sees the removal of one as the removal of a device, then yes, every time you boot up it's going to find a new device.
You can run down all the corridors of the troubleshooting maze you want, but if the exit is at Dell's doorstep, then Dell should be the one fixing it.
Secondly, you often have to right click the .inf file for some of these drivers before you run the install wizard because the install wizard often doesn't register them as a service, hence, the drivers are always missing and the device is always found as a new device, even long after it's working.
The post was that you tried to add new hardware, a DVD, and it failed. Which means, the Dell, like HP, is not quite expandable. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't also upgrade the Operating System, as you can't with a Hewlett Packard either, because the motherboard drivers are not included in the basic image they provide, their own proprietary drivers are, and these do not meet the specifications of the motherboard manufacturer, which, for Dell, is usually Asus.
By the way, identify the motherboard first with Everest at http://www.lavalys.com/ and see if it is one of those Asus boards that has three IDE slots. This will be a continuing cause of misconfiguration of CD and DVD drives. And if the Dell driver doesn't match the Asus motherboard driver, it's just never going to get the configuration for all of the disks right.
Get the info, otherwise, from Dell_Engineer.
You can run down all the corridors of the troubleshooting maze you want, but if the exit is at Dell's doorstep, then Dell should be the one fixing it.
Secondly, you often have to right click the .inf file for some of these drivers before you run the install wizard because the install wizard often doesn't register them as a service, hence, the drivers are always missing and the device is always found as a new device, even long after it's working.
The post was that you tried to add new hardware, a DVD, and it failed. Which means, the Dell, like HP, is not quite expandable. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't also upgrade the Operating System, as you can't with a Hewlett Packard either, because the motherboard drivers are not included in the basic image they provide, their own proprietary drivers are, and these do not meet the specifications of the motherboard manufacturer, which, for Dell, is usually Asus.
By the way, identify the motherboard first with Everest at http://www.lavalys.com/ and see if it is one of those Asus boards that has three IDE slots. This will be a continuing cause of misconfiguration of CD and DVD drives. And if the Dell driver doesn't match the Asus motherboard driver, it's just never going to get the configuration for all of the disks right.
Get the info, otherwise, from Dell_Engineer.
The same thing happened to me.
You have a corrupted INFCACHE.1 file in your WINDOWS\INF\ directory (this directory is hidden). Delete this file (or temporarily rename it, if you are paranoid). Windows will rebuild it during its next PNP driver install pass.
The INFCACHE.1 file (and all the .PNF files in that directory) are all built from the .INF files also in that directory. These files exist to speed the driver scanning process; but, if they get corrupted, it can lead to problems like the one you are having.
It may also be if there is an incomplete install sitting on the windows regestry run
if he had a lockup during the install or some bad luck.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
Has the CD Drive's drive letter path changed (perhaps by the addition of another hard drive, partition, or removable drive) this can also be checked in the regestry.
However these two tools may solve it for you
Windows Installer Clean Up Utility
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/MSICLEAN.htm
Ccleaner does it very fats you also set the desired cleanup options.
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a system-optimization tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system
The application cleans traces left by Windows, Internet Explorer, and third-party applications. Version 1.28.227 updates Hotfix Uninstaller cleaning
http://www.download.com/3000-2144_4-10315544.html
if he had a lockup during the install or some bad luck.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
Has the CD Drive's drive letter path changed (perhaps by the addition of another hard drive, partition, or removable drive) this can also be checked in the regestry.
However these two tools may solve it for you
Windows Installer Clean Up Utility
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/MSICLEAN.htm
Ccleaner does it very fats you also set the desired cleanup options.
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a system-optimization tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system
The application cleans traces left by Windows, Internet Explorer, and third-party applications. Version 1.28.227 updates Hotfix Uninstaller cleaning
http://www.download.com/3000-2144_4-10315544.html
ASKER
Hey Guys,
Sorry I never posted again here...for some reason I thought I closed this. What I ended up doing was an XP Repair installation that totally crashed the system and threw it into a reboot loop at startup. I had backed up the users data so after the repair and a couple of recovery console commands failed, I rebuilt the system and reinstalled all the programs. Thanks for all the help, I will award the point to those who helped.
Thanks again
Jazz
Sorry I never posted again here...for some reason I thought I closed this. What I ended up doing was an XP Repair installation that totally crashed the system and threw it into a reboot loop at startup. I had backed up the users data so after the repair and a couple of recovery console commands failed, I rebuilt the system and reinstalled all the programs. Thanks for all the help, I will award the point to those who helped.
Thanks again
Jazz
ASKER
There are no errors, the wizard just constantly recognized the drives as new hardware added and tries to install with every reboot. The wizard cannot find the drivers and pops up a window saying your hardware is not installed properly. Funny thing is, both drives work without any issues at all, with the exception of continously reinstalling and failing to reinstall. As I stated previously, the same thing happened when I tried to install an Officejet printer. The Add new hardware wizard popped up, but was not able to install the drivers.
Jazz