DVD-RAM installation issue

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I have had my DVD-RAM drive for roughly three years. It worked fine, and
then it began not reading discs periodically. I uninstalled the DVD-RAM from
Device Manager but have not been able to reinstall it properly.

When attempting to reinstall it, it finds the DVD-RAM Device driver
automatically, performs a system restore point like normal, warns that the
driver is unsigned and I continue as normal, but then it returns the
following error when it cannot install - "The service installation portion of
the INF is invalid".

I have not been able to find anything useful that describes the definition
of the above statement or an effective remedy. There are articles on the net
that show this error for MP3 players, scanners, etc., but nothing for a
DVD-RAM device. Most of these articles suggest reinstalling updated drives
solves the issue, but I am using the most up to date drivers right now. It's
as if there is something wrong with the service in XP. I firmly believe I do
not have a hardware issue.

I have attempted to reinstall the drivers from both the installation disk
and through installing automatically through XP.
I have removed the device from Device Manager and then scanned for new
hardware to go through the reinstall procedure, no change.
Someone suggested that the device may be a ghost device and that there could
be a conflict, I modified the registry as appropriate and I do not have any
ghost devices.
The event viewer is not showing an issue with the DVD-RAM.
When I cannot install the device, it shows as an unknown device and the
properties suggest that it is working properly but the drivers are not
installed (Code 28). I cannot roll back the driver.
The DVD-RAM drive is a HL-DT-ST GSA-4082B and it has the most current
firmware.
The DVD-RAM can still read CDs and DVDs, but the burning component is gone
right now.

At the same time, I have been trying to install a Nero virtual drive that is
attempting to use the same driver for installation, and I am facing the same
error with that also.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
 
Grammfan said:
I have had my DVD-RAM drive for roughly three years. It worked fine, and
then it began not reading discs periodically. I uninstalled the DVD-RAM
from
Device Manager but have not been able to reinstall it properly.

When attempting to reinstall it, it finds the DVD-RAM Device driver
automatically, performs a system restore point like normal, warns that the
driver is unsigned and I continue as normal, but then it returns the
following error when it cannot install - "The service installation portion
of
the INF is invalid".

I have not been able to find anything useful that describes the definition
of the above statement or an effective remedy. There are articles on the
net
that show this error for MP3 players, scanners, etc., but nothing for a
DVD-RAM device. Most of these articles suggest reinstalling updated
drives
solves the issue, but I am using the most up to date drivers right now.
It's
as if there is something wrong with the service in XP. I firmly believe I
do
not have a hardware issue.

I have attempted to reinstall the drivers from both the installation disk
and through installing automatically through XP.
I have removed the device from Device Manager and then scanned for new
hardware to go through the reinstall procedure, no change.
Someone suggested that the device may be a ghost device and that there
could
be a conflict, I modified the registry as appropriate and I do not have
any
ghost devices.
The event viewer is not showing an issue with the DVD-RAM.
When I cannot install the device, it shows as an unknown device and the
properties suggest that it is working properly but the drivers are not
installed (Code 28). I cannot roll back the driver.
The DVD-RAM drive is a HL-DT-ST GSA-4082B and it has the most current
firmware.
The DVD-RAM can still read CDs and DVDs, but the burning component is gone
right now.

At the same time, I have been trying to install a Nero virtual drive that
is
attempting to use the same driver for installation, and I am facing the
same
error with that also.
Click to expand...

Windows XP supports DVD-RAM with a generic driver, there should be no need
to install any drivers from the install disk*. Indeed, the installation
disk is unlikely to have specific drivers for XP, but would install the
bundled utilities. Similarly, this particular drive conforms to the
multiwrite (did I get that right?) format (this basically means that CD and
DVD writing utilities drive the disk in a standard way). In any case XP
does not require specific drivers.

The big clue in you post is that the burning capability has been lost and
this suggests that the lasers have deteriorated to the point where they are
incapable of burning a disk. The ability to read and write DVD-RAM disks
usually fails first as these particular disks require a higher laser power
than common or garden DVD disks.

The solution to you problem is to replace your drive with a new one - they
are dirt cheap. Most of the principal manufacturers' produce drives that
support DVD-RAM, in fact it's getting harder to find one that doesn't.

*I'm not sure if In-CD supports reading and writing DVD-RAM in the UDF
format. As it's total rubbish, I would be surprised if it did, but a driver
would be required for this format - automatically loaded when In-CD is
installed. But as I said DVD-ROM will work without it.
 
M.I.5¾ said:
Windows XP supports DVD-RAM with a generic driver, there should be no need
to install any drivers from the install disk*. Indeed, the installation
disk is unlikely to have specific drivers for XP, but would install the
bundled utilities. Similarly, this particular drive conforms to the
multiwrite (did I get that right?) format (this basically means that CD and
DVD writing utilities drive the disk in a standard way). In any case XP
does not require specific drivers.

The big clue in you post is that the burning capability has been lost and
this suggests that the lasers have deteriorated to the point where they are
incapable of burning a disk. The ability to read and write DVD-RAM disks
usually fails first as these particular disks require a higher laser power
than common or garden DVD disks.

The solution to you problem is to replace your drive with a new one - they
are dirt cheap. Most of the principal manufacturers' produce drives that
support DVD-RAM, in fact it's getting harder to find one that doesn't.

*I'm not sure if In-CD supports reading and writing DVD-RAM in the UDF
format. As it's total rubbish, I would be surprised if it did, but a driver
would be required for this format - automatically loaded when In-CD is
installed. But as I said DVD-ROM will work without it.
Click to expand...

Before I conclude that my DVD-RAM's lasers are inadequate, I would like to
resolve the issue of having XP recognize the driver. Right now the device is
showing as unknown in the Device Manager, and it will always say I cannot
install the driver because "the service installation portion of this INF is
invalid" - I have tried many thing as described above. How do I know that a
new DVD-RAM would not have the same issue with the driver? This problem
occurs with the physical DVD-RAM and with any virtual DVD-RAM/ROM I try to
install, the same message appears. Any other ideas? Help!!
 
Grammfan said:
Before I conclude that my DVD-RAM's lasers are inadequate, I would like to
resolve the issue of having XP recognize the driver. Right now the device
is
showing as unknown in the Device Manager, and it will always say I cannot
install the driver because "the service installation portion of this INF
is
invalid" - I have tried many thing as described above. How do I know that
a
new DVD-RAM would not have the same issue with the driver? This problem
occurs with the physical DVD-RAM and with any virtual DVD-RAM/ROM I try to
install, the same message appears. Any other ideas? Help!!
Click to expand...

Have you tried uninstalling the driver in device manager and then rebooting
and letting it detect and install the drive? If XP asks for a driver disk
then it is somehow damaged. XP *does not* require a separate driver for a
DVD-RAM drive. A new drive will be installed afresh, but if XP is damaged,
the same problem may occur.

I have no idea how XP could be damaged to the point that it will not
recognise a DVD-RAM disk because I have never encountered the problem.
 
M.I.5¾ said:
Have you tried uninstalling the driver in device manager and then rebooting
and letting it detect and install the drive? If XP asks for a driver disk
then it is somehow damaged. XP *does not* require a separate driver for a
DVD-RAM drive. A new drive will be installed afresh, but if XP is damaged,
the same problem may occur.

I have no idea how XP could be damaged to the point that it will not
recognise a DVD-RAM disk because I have never encountered the problem.
Click to expand...

Hi, yes, I have uninstalled the device from the Device Manager and had XP
detect the drive. It then prompts to install the unsigned DVD-RAM driver and
it fails. I never did use the DVD-RAM capability, maybe I should try to
trick XP into using a non DVD-RAM driver. As long as I can burn, I am happy.
 
Grammfan said:
Hi, yes, I have uninstalled the device from the Device Manager and had XP
detect the drive. It then prompts to install the unsigned DVD-RAM driver
and
it fails. I never did use the DVD-RAM capability, maybe I should try to
trick XP into using a non DVD-RAM driver. As long as I can burn, I am
happy.
Click to expand...

Where did you get this unsigned driver from? AFAIK nobody produces an XP
driver for DVD-RAM because XP doesn't require one.
 
Grammfan said:
I have had my DVD-RAM drive for roughly three years. It worked fine, and
then it began not reading discs periodically. I uninstalled the DVD-RAM from
Device Manager but have not been able to reinstall it properly.

When attempting to reinstall it, it finds the DVD-RAM Device driver
automatically, performs a system restore point like normal, warns that the
driver is unsigned and I continue as normal, but then it returns the
following error when it cannot install - "The service installation portion of
the INF is invalid".

I have not been able to find anything useful that describes the definition
of the above statement or an effective remedy. There are articles on the net
that show this error for MP3 players, scanners, etc., but nothing for a
DVD-RAM device. Most of these articles suggest reinstalling updated drives
solves the issue, but I am using the most up to date drivers right now. It's
as if there is something wrong with the service in XP. I firmly believe I do
not have a hardware issue.

I have attempted to reinstall the drivers from both the installation disk
and through installing automatically through XP.
I have removed the device from Device Manager and then scanned for new
hardware to go through the reinstall procedure, no change.
Someone suggested that the device may be a ghost device and that there could
be a conflict, I modified the registry as appropriate and I do not have any
ghost devices.
The event viewer is not showing an issue with the DVD-RAM.
When I cannot install the device, it shows as an unknown device and the
properties suggest that it is working properly but the drivers are not
installed (Code 28). I cannot roll back the driver.
The DVD-RAM drive is a HL-DT-ST GSA-4082B and it has the most current
firmware.
The DVD-RAM can still read CDs and DVDs, but the burning component is gone
right now.

At the same time, I have been trying to install a Nero virtual drive that is
attempting to use the same driver for installation, and I am facing the same
error with that also.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...


Grammfan,

Unfortunately I don't have a solution for your problem, but I can validate
your experience as well as your view that this is a software problem --
whether or not your drive needs to be replaced. The circumstance that the
problem arose only after you uninstalled the original drivers strongly
suggests that Windows, for some reason, is precluding reinstallation of the
drivers.

I have the same problem with my Brother MFC-9700 multifunction printer under
Windows XP SP2. Although installation always has been tricky, I've managed
to install it successfully on different computers on repeated occasions.
Today I uninstalled it and, after proceeding to reinstall the drivers
encountered the same error message as you: "A service installation in this
INF is invalid." It's the same inf file I've used before for installation,
so something other than the service installation section of the inf file is
causing the problem. I doubt it's the MFC-9700, because it was fine moments
before I uninstalled it. I suspect some Windows XP update or changes to
other services or drivers has created a conflict with the original
installation files.

Like you, I can find virtually no information about the Windows installation
error message. There are a few posts on the net about users encountering the
error when trying to install various hardware -- mostly portable devices. I
saw no solutions to the problems that were identified and no explanation of
the error message. I've troubleshooted the problem in the same ways as you,
also with no success.

In any event, despite my ignorance of Windows XP and hardware issues, I
think I reasonably can say that the problem you are encountering is not a
hardware failure. As you said, it makes sense to discover the meaning of the
software issue before trashing your DVD-RAM drive because Windows won't let
you install it and Microsoft does not offer any understandable explanation.
 
Ron Sherman said:
Grammfan,

Unfortunately I don't have a solution for your problem, but I can validate
your experience as well as your view that this is a software problem --
whether or not your drive needs to be replaced. The circumstance that the
problem arose only after you uninstalled the original drivers strongly
suggests that Windows, for some reason, is precluding reinstallation of the
drivers.

I have the same problem with my Brother MFC-9700 multifunction printer under
Windows XP SP2. Although installation always has been tricky, I've managed
to install it successfully on different computers on repeated occasions.
Today I uninstalled it and, after proceeding to reinstall the drivers
encountered the same error message as you: "A service installation in this
INF is invalid." It's the same inf file I've used before for installation,
so something other than the service installation section of the inf file is
causing the problem. I doubt it's the MFC-9700, because it was fine moments
before I uninstalled it. I suspect some Windows XP update or changes to
other services or drivers has created a conflict with the original
installation files.

Like you, I can find virtually no information about the Windows installation
error message. There are a few posts on the net about users encountering the
error when trying to install various hardware -- mostly portable devices. I
saw no solutions to the problems that were identified and no explanation of
the error message. I've troubleshooted the problem in the same ways as you,
also with no success.

In any event, despite my ignorance of Windows XP and hardware issues, I
think I reasonably can say that the problem you are encountering is not a
hardware failure. As you said, it makes sense to discover the meaning of the
software issue before trashing your DVD-RAM drive because Windows won't let
you install it and Microsoft does not offer any understandable explanation.
Click to expand...

**And, by the way, the drivers for my device are "signed" or certified or
approved, or whatever, by Windows, presumably signifying they are compatible
with that OS. Oddly, however, on some of my installation attempts Windows XP
erroneously treated them as unsigned, requiring me to "continue anyway." I
downloaded fresh versions of the drivers just in case the ones I had from the
prior installation were corrupt, but it made no difference which ones I used.
 
Ron Sherman said:
Grammfan,

Unfortunately I don't have a solution for your problem, but I can validate
your experience as well as your view that this is a software problem --
whether or not your drive needs to be replaced. The circumstance that the
problem arose only after you uninstalled the original drivers strongly
suggests that Windows, for some reason, is precluding reinstallation of
the
drivers.

I have the same problem with my Brother MFC-9700 multifunction printer
under
Windows XP SP2. Although installation always has been tricky, I've
managed
to install it successfully on different computers on repeated occasions.
Today I uninstalled it and, after proceeding to reinstall the drivers
encountered the same error message as you: "A service installation in
this
INF is invalid." It's the same inf file I've used before for
installation,
so something other than the service installation section of the inf file
is
causing the problem. I doubt it's the MFC-9700, because it was fine
moments
before I uninstalled it. I suspect some Windows XP update or changes to
other services or drivers has created a conflict with the original
installation files.
Click to expand...

I have regularly encountered this problem. What has happened is that
something that you have installed since the first install is conflicting
with something that the install utility requires. What it actually is can
be quite subtle or (if you are lucky) quite obvious. Philips used to
distribute a suite of utilities with the retail boxed DVD burners, all
installed by one handy custom made instal utility. That is provided you did
not own a Hewlett Packard printer. Installing almost any HP printer
prevented Philips's install utility from even starting to run. Uninstalling
the printer does not solve the problem because whatever it changed stays.
 
M.I.5¾ said:
I have regularly encountered this problem. What has happened is that
something that you have installed since the first install is conflicting
with something that the install utility requires. What it actually is can
be quite subtle or (if you are lucky) quite obvious. Philips used to
distribute a suite of utilities with the retail boxed DVD burners, all
installed by one handy custom made instal utility. That is provided you did
not own a Hewlett Packard printer. Installing almost any HP printer
prevented Philips's install utility from even starting to run. Uninstalling
the printer does not solve the problem because whatever it changed stays.
Click to expand...

Well, since I do not do a lot of installing/uninstalling software on my
system, based on the information above, I believe the culprit could be
MagicISO & its virtual drive components that could have caused this issue. I
no longer have the virtual drives installed but MagicISO remains on the
system. Understanding that it could be anything at all that I installed,
this is the likely culprit. However, if uninstalling it may not solve the
problem, then perhaps this should be something submitted to Microsoft for
review? I'm not sure exactly where I would start, but I think the first
place would be to get their definition of "a service installation portion of
the INF is invalid" and go from there. I don't dare attempt to discuss this
with LG because I don't think they'd have a clue what I was talking about.
 
Grammfan said:
Well, since I do not do a lot of installing/uninstalling software on my
system, based on the information above, I believe the culprit could be
MagicISO & its virtual drive components that could have caused this issue. I
no longer have the virtual drives installed but MagicISO remains on the
system. Understanding that it could be anything at all that I installed,
this is the likely culprit. However, if uninstalling it may not solve the
problem, then perhaps this should be something submitted to Microsoft for
review? I'm not sure exactly where I would start, but I think the first
place would be to get their definition of "a service installation portion of
the INF is invalid" and go from there. I don't dare attempt to discuss this
with LG because I don't think they'd have a clue what I was talking about.
Click to expand...

MagicISO was uninstalled and it did not solve the problem.
 
Grammfan said:
I have had my DVD-RAM drive for roughly three years. It worked fine, and
then it began not reading discs periodically. I uninstalled the DVD-RAM from
Device Manager but have not been able to reinstall it properly.

When attempting to reinstall it, it finds the DVD-RAM Device driver
automatically, performs a system restore point like normal, warns that the
driver is unsigned and I continue as normal, but then it returns the
following error when it cannot install - "The service installation portion of
the INF is invalid".

I have not been able to find anything useful that describes the definition
of the above statement or an effective remedy. There are articles on the net
that show this error for MP3 players, scanners, etc., but nothing for a
DVD-RAM device. Most of these articles suggest reinstalling updated drives
solves the issue, but I am using the most up to date drivers right now. It's
as if there is something wrong with the service in XP. I firmly believe I do
not have a hardware issue.

I have attempted to reinstall the drivers from both the installation disk
and through installing automatically through XP.
I have removed the device from Device Manager and then scanned for new
hardware to go through the reinstall procedure, no change.
Someone suggested that the device may be a ghost device and that there could
be a conflict, I modified the registry as appropriate and I do not have any
ghost devices.
The event viewer is not showing an issue with the DVD-RAM.
When I cannot install the device, it shows as an unknown device and the
properties suggest that it is working properly but the drivers are not
installed (Code 28). I cannot roll back the driver.
The DVD-RAM drive is a HL-DT-ST GSA-4082B and it has the most current
firmware.
The DVD-RAM can still read CDs and DVDs, but the burning component is gone
right now.

At the same time, I have been trying to install a Nero virtual drive that is
attempting to use the same driver for installation, and I am facing the same
error with that also.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Just reporting back to let you know that I have solved this problem. It was
not easy to find the issue but here is what I did, in hopes that it will help
others to solve issues of a similar nature:

After typing "a service installation section of this INF in invalid" for
what must be the 100th time, I find an article that suggested the
setupapi.log file be reviewed. Apparently this file, and older files of the
same naming convention, record all aspects of the installation of various
hardware. Therefore, in my case, I would have been able to see how my
DVD-RAM was installed in the past. I looked at my most recent attempt to
install, and found the INF the system was attempting to load drivers from. I
looked at this INF and found my DVD-RAM was not listed. Then I looked at the
log file a couple of years ago when I did a fresh install of Windows XP Pro.
It turns out Windows used a generic CDROM driver to install the DVD-RAM
drive. So, I pointed to this driver to reinstall, and this fixed the issue.
I'm not sure why all of a sudden Windows would want to try to load a
different driver (perhaps my firmware update caused this). But anyhow,
problem solved, hope this helps for others.
 
I'm having a very similar problem after downloading LG firmware updates
(never again!). Could you or someone give a step by step in how to direct
Windows to point to the proper driver? I open up the setupapi.log and I'm
lost!
 
Which driver is it choosing for install? Without knowing the specific issue
I would attempt the generic CDROM driver in your list of drivers available
and test it out. Let me know what happens.
 
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