Installing Drivers in Safe Mode!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Steven O.
  • Start date Start date
S

Steven O.

I am having a problem with the connection between my Win2K and my
computer. I have reproduced, below, the detailed description of that
problem, and attempted solutions. (The description below was posted
in comp.periphs.scanners, and yielded 0 responses -- apparently no
else has a clue, either.)

Among other attempted solutions was uninstalling and resintalling the
drivers, both for the scanner and the USB port. (My USB 2.0 is
delivered via an add-on expansion card, which did not come orginally
with the computer.)

One attempt at a solution which I am considering is this: I want to
boot the computer in safe mode, and try reinstalling both the USB
drivers and the scanner drivers and software in that mode. Before I
do anything I might regret, however, I wanted to check here on several
questions:

1. If you boot into safe mode, can you install any drivers at all?

2. If you can install drivers in safe mode, and if you're installing
drivers that were already installed in regular mode, can that hash up
the registry?

3. If it's okay to install drivers in safe mode, and if -- in safe
mode -- it actually solves the problem, that the PC will decide to
talk to the scanner; will the problem remain solved when I reboot
back to normal mode?

As I say, for the benefit of the curious, the details on the scanner
issue are reproduced below. Thanks in advance for all replies.

Steve O.

=================

I have the Canon 8000F scanner, which has been working fine for
several months with Windows 2000. Recently, after installing DSL, I
needed to rebuild the entire system (reinstall operating system, all
applications -- I did a clean build, but had to uninstall parts of
Service Pack 4, which may have hashed things) -- and now am having
problems. When I try to access the scanner from any app, including
the Canon Toolbox, I get: "Cannot communicate with scanner. Cable
may be disconnected. Check status. Scanner driver will be closed."
Then, "An error occurred while trying to open the data source."

I have tried installed a different Twain driver, CFM, and that also
gives an error message.

I notice that when Windows boots up, the scanner is not making the
noise it previously made, some kind of internal reboot,
testing-the-scanner sound. However, when the scanner is disconnected
from the computer, and reconnected to the USB port, Windows definitely
announces "New device found", and installs the scanner. The scanner
is listed on the Control Panel, but the Status is listed as
"Unavailable".

The scanner remains connected to the same USB 2.0 port I used before
(though I also tried the other USB ports, and that didn't help). The
USB ports are working okay, because I test them with other devices, so
it's clearly a software problem. I have uninstalled the drivers, and
reinstalled with the latest from the Canon Web site. I have powered
the scanner off, and on again. I also tested the scanner with my
laptop, and the connection works fine there, so that scanner did not
mysteriously break, it's working okay.

I searched Usenet for previous posts on this problem, and found
several people who have experienced the same thing. Only, none of the
threads ended with a solution, other than: Reinstall everything from
scratch. (A solution I'd obviously rather avoid.)

FYI, the other problem I'm having -- and it's probably unrelated -- is
that when I try to add a dial-up networking connection to my PC, I get
an error message with icwconn1.exe, the internet connection "Wizard."

Finally, in desperation, I tried reinstalling Windows 2K SP 4 (in
spite of other problems that causes), and it didn't help. Any
suggestions -- other than, "Rebuild the entire system AGAIN..." would
be appreciated.

Standard Antiflame Disclaimer: Please don't flame me. I may actually *be* an idiot, but even idiots have feelings.
 
1. If you boot into safe mode, can you install any drivers at all?

Yes.
2. If you can install drivers in safe mode, and if you're installing
drivers that were already installed in regular mode, can that hash up
the registry?

No more than doing the same in normal mode. Safe mode does not affect
installation (unless the installation itself requires a full mode, which is
improbable).

You need to follow specs from the driver manufacturer. Should the
manufacturer specify that you must remove the old drivers before installing
these, do so. If not, you might try to upgrade the drivers in-place.

Optimal solution is related to your problem. If the driver is just old,
in-place is recommended. If it is corrupt, remove the old driver, reboot,
remove and re-detect the device and upgrade your drivers.

Try to remember the drivers you had, if you did the USB 2.0 update, etc,
etc. Mayve your drivers are wrong at all and fixing them with MS's version
is enforcing the problem, not the solution.
3. If it's okay to install drivers in safe mode, and if -- in safe
mode -- it actually solves the problem, that the PC will decide to
talk to the scanner; will the problem remain solved when I reboot
back to normal mode?

It should.


"Safe mode" means that even though a driver is listed as linked to a
device, it isn't loaded upon startup. NT starts with a minimal set of
(usually generic) drivers. Just generic mouse, generic keyboard, VGA-mode
video, etc. This allows a person to start the computer if a driver is "bad".
It also means that unstallation should be immediate, as there are no loaded
files. Note that the installation itself MIGHT start it, even if in safe
mode.

There is no modification on registry, so if you alter registry in Safe
Mode, changes will be permanent. Everything is permanent except that driver
startup is bypassed, this falling back to "safe" drivers only.
 
1. If you boot into safe mode, can you install any drivers at all?

Yes.
2. If you can install drivers in safe mode, and if you're installing
drivers that were already installed in regular mode, can that hash up
the registry?

No more than doing the same in normal mode. Safe mode does not affect
installation (unless the installation itself requires a full mode, which is
improbable).

You need to follow specs from the driver manufacturer. Should the
manufacturer specify that you must remove the old drivers before installing
these, do so. If not, you might try to upgrade the drivers in-place.

Optimal solution is related to your problem. If the driver is just old,
in-place is recommended. If it is corrupt, remove the old driver, reboot,
remove and re-detect the device and upgrade your drivers.

Try to remember the drivers you had, if you did the USB 2.0 update, etc,
etc. Mayve your drivers are wrong at all and fixing them with MS's version
is enforcing the problem, not the solution.
3. If it's okay to install drivers in safe mode, and if -- in safe
mode -- it actually solves the problem, that the PC will decide to
talk to the scanner; will the problem remain solved when I reboot
back to normal mode?

It should.


"Safe mode" means that even though a driver is listed as linked to a
device, it isn't loaded upon startup. NT starts with a minimal set of
(usually generic) drivers. Just generic mouse, generic keyboard, VGA-mode
video, etc. This allows a person to start the computer if a driver is "bad".
It also means that unstallation should be immediate, as there are no loaded
files. Note that the installation itself MIGHT start it, even if in safe
mode.

There is no modification on registry, so if you alter registry in Safe
Mode, changes will be permanent. Everything is permanent except that driver
startup is bypassed, this falling back to "safe" drivers only.
 
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