NEED HELP! New USB devices will no longer install

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Guest

I have a Toshiba M45 Satellite laptop with 3 USB ports and am running Xp SP2.
Recently (I'm not sure exactly when) my USB ports stopped allowing me to
install new devices. I have various USB devices installed on my laptop
(thumb drive, external hard drive, mouse, etc.). When I plug them in, they
still work fine. But when I plug in a new USB device, it pops up the New
Hardware wizard, displays the correct name of the device, and then, when I
tell it to install automatically, it says that it can't find the software for
the device and the device was not installed. For example, I just got a NEW
thumbdrive (a U3 Cruzer that I had taken the U3 software off of on my
desktop, so it runs like a normal thumbdrive) and I tried to plug it into my
laptop. It recognized it as a U3, but took forever while trying to find the
right driver and then said there was an error in installation.
Previously (before the problem), the wizard didn't pop up at all and it just
installed my devices. I have tried looking in the list in the wizard but
half the time I don't know what "device type" to pick.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled all of the USB port drivers twice. I
have also checked to make sure my virus scan is not blocking installations.
After posting here and recieving some replies, I did try the third-party
drivers (i.e. the SanDisk drivers for the aforementioned flash drive) for
three or four different devices. Even if I have the drivers and tell Windows
where to get them, I still get the message from the wizard that there was an
error in installation and still cannot use that device.
Can anyone help me PLEASE?
 
I'm I to understand that the U3 Cruzer is just an example of a usb device
that will not install w/o the wizard popping up? What other "new" USB
devices have exibited the exact same problem? Windows XP does inheirently
carry all driver for all things...
 
Thus the wizard..or so thats how it should be but your saying the wizard
pops up even thought the driver is present
 
I have about 45 minutes before i go fix some asses PC that opened something
in her mail. 18 hour after i might be here again
 
PawWriter said:
I have a Toshiba M45 Satellite laptop with 3 USB ports and am running Xp
SP2.
Recently (I'm not sure exactly when) my USB ports stopped allowing me to
install new devices. I have various USB devices installed on my laptop
(thumb drive, external hard drive, mouse, etc.). When I plug them in,
they
still work fine. But when I plug in a new USB device, it pops up the New
Hardware wizard, displays the correct name of the device, and then, when I
tell it to install automatically, it says that it can't find the software
for
the device and the device was not installed. For example, I just got a
NEW
thumbdrive (a U3 Cruzer that I had taken the U3 software off of on my
desktop, so it runs like a normal thumbdrive) and I tried to plug it into
my
laptop. It recognized it as a U3, but took forever while trying to find
the
right driver and then said there was an error in installation.
Previously (before the problem), the wizard didn't pop up at all and it
just
installed my devices. I have tried looking in the list in the wizard but
half the time I don't know what "device type" to pick.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled all of the USB port drivers twice. I
have also checked to make sure my virus scan is not blocking
installations.
After posting here and recieving some replies, I did try the third-party
drivers (i.e. the SanDisk drivers for the aforementioned flash drive) for
three or four different devices. Even if I have the drivers and tell
Windows
where to get them, I still get the message from the wizard that there was
an
error in installation and still cannot use that device.
Can anyone help me PLEASE?
Click to expand...

Regretably, XP does have a failure mode where this sort of behaviour
happens. I have never found out why it does it, but it does. My own theory
is that a registry corruption has occured that prevents XP from correctly
recognising the device. There are a couple of things to try. You seem to
be lucky, a lot of times it prevents XP from recognising devices that have
already been installed.

1. Perform a system Restore to a point before the trouble started. if that
doesn't work then:

2. Perform a *repair* install of XP.
 
Yes, the U3 is one example of a device. I have tried installing two other
brands of thumb drives with the same problem. I have also tried installing a
new Microsoft wireless optical mouse, same problem. The same with my digital
camera. In the case of the camera, when the wizard didn't work, I installed
it with the CD. Windows still sees it as my camera but still tells me there
was an error in installation and I can't access that device.
 
Pam -

Try this, though note the part about the infcache.1 . I would make a copy
of this file (vs. deleting) by renaming it to Infcache.old and be sure to
reboot. Click "Continue" to any prompts you receive once in Windows. I
think this portion should do the trick for you.
----------------------------------------
Issue: XP asks for drivers or just wants to install new hardware

XP comes with drivers for USB mass storage. If it asks for drivers then
there are two common reasons:
1. It does not trust it's own drivers
This is the case when it cannot check if the drivers are signed which is
true when the servicie 'Cryptographic Services' ist not running (CryptSvc) or
if its data are corrupt.
Start -> Execute -> services.msc
Check here for 'Cryptographic Services' beeing started automatically.
Fixing corrupted data of the 'Cryptographic Services' is described at
Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822798

2. It does not find the drives
This is the case when the registry key that points to the INF folder is
corrupt.
Start the Registry Editor (Run -> Regedit). Check if under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion the item
'DevicePath' points to '%SystemRoot%\inf'. Additional items, separated by
semikolons, are ok but '%SystemRoot%\inf' has to be one of them.
Then delete the file C:\WINDOWS\inf\infcache.1 - XP will recreate it.
The INF folder and the infcache.1 file are 'hidden'. To see them in the
Windows Explorer:
Menu 'Tools' -> 'Folder Options'
Tab 'View', mark 'show hidden files and folders'
If it still doesn't work after a restart, the files in C:\WINDOWS\inf might
be corrupt. An Windows repair install helps then.

Another thing to check is if the values 'FactoryPreInstallInProgress' and
'AuditInProgress' are set to '1' under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Factory
.. They should be 0 or non present.

For more info go here: http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
 
I have a similiar problem except that >>none<< of my usb mass storage devices
work any more. [This includes my thumb drives!] I get a message "One of the
usb devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not
recognize it". This occured recently, so I restored an earlier (a few weeks)
version of my WinXP SP2 system (all updates). The problem remained. I reset
to the current version again so that I could dig into the cause. I
immediately found that virtually all my other installed third part USB
devices were not working. [The trackball mouse still worked.] All devices are
noticed, but all needed an OEM disk re-install of the drivers. I re-installed
all the drivers I have and now only mass storage fails. I.e., no USB memory
drives, USB 80 Gig Disk drive, USB hubs. My peripherals (non-mass store seek
to work OK. I too am seeking help and ptpusb.dll seems involved. [Please note
that I have an Averatek 6240 series machine. The restore disk wipes the disk
and restores the factory version. On top of that the OEM laptop jerks
encrypted the restore disk so that I cannot find and expand the usb drivers.
I am not pleased with the thought of using "web" copies of these drivers.]
 
This is a common problem in 'WINDOWS' not just XP unfortunately. Your USB
ports just seem to one day stop working or you plug in a new device and you
can see that Windows sees the device but it does not show up as usable. I'm
not sure if its corrupt registry keys or corrupt dll or ghost in the machine
or what ever but it's a problem that Microsoft has still not address even
with the introduction of Windows Vista.
I've found that the easiest way to address this problem is to perform a
removal of the hardware device driver(s) installed. If you look in device
manager you won’t see the device by default unless it's plugged in and
working. There is a way how every to view the device (all device) even if
they are not attached to your PC. Plenty of Microsoft article on this
(http://search.microsoft.com/results...etlang=en-US&q=devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices)
@ the command prompt type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 'Enter' then
start devmgmt.msc 'Enter' - In Device Manager click view show hidden devices.
You may set this command as a new system variable for next time (1 is the
value) so wont have to type it. With this done you'll be able to remove
unwanted or no longer used device USB and all that were once attached to you
PC including once that have stopped working. But yet still there is an easier
way instead of doing all the about and manually removing the devices. Obtain
a copy of the Sysprep.exe SP2 version for XP version and extract or copy it
to your system. Browse to the file location (command prompt preferred) and
type sysprep -clean. This will remove all 'Ghost Device' as they are called
when they are hidden in device manager from your system. I've found these
methods fix more USB problems than physically hacking the registry.

Good Luck!
--
Just the facts


winthrom said:
I have a similiar problem except that >>none<< of my usb mass storage devices
work any more. [This includes my thumb drives!] I get a message "One of the
usb devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not
recognize it". This occured recently, so I restored an earlier (a few weeks)
version of my WinXP SP2 system (all updates). The problem remained. I reset
to the current version again so that I could dig into the cause. I
immediately found that virtually all my other installed third part USB
devices were not working. [The trackball mouse still worked.] All devices are
noticed, but all needed an OEM disk re-install of the drivers. I re-installed
all the drivers I have and now only mass storage fails. I.e., no USB memory
drives, USB 80 Gig Disk drive, USB hubs. My peripherals (non-mass store seek
to work OK. I too am seeking help and ptpusb.dll seems involved. [Please note
that I have an Averatek 6240 series machine. The restore disk wipes the disk
and restores the factory version. On top of that the OEM laptop jerks
encrypted the restore disk so that I cannot find and expand the usb drivers.
I am not pleased with the thought of using "web" copies of these drivers.]


Anthony G. said:
Pam -

Try this, though note the part about the infcache.1 . I would make a copy
of this file (vs. deleting) by renaming it to Infcache.old and be sure to
reboot. Click "Continue" to any prompts you receive once in Windows. I
think this portion should do the trick for you.
----------------------------------------
Issue: XP asks for drivers or just wants to install new hardware

XP comes with drivers for USB mass storage. If it asks for drivers then
there are two common reasons:
1. It does not trust it's own drivers
This is the case when it cannot check if the drivers are signed which is
true when the servicie 'Cryptographic Services' ist not running (CryptSvc) or
if its data are corrupt.
Start -> Execute -> services.msc
Check here for 'Cryptographic Services' beeing started automatically.
Fixing corrupted data of the 'Cryptographic Services' is described at
Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822798

2. It does not find the drives
This is the case when the registry key that points to the INF folder is
corrupt.
Start the Registry Editor (Run -> Regedit). Check if under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion the item
'DevicePath' points to '%SystemRoot%\inf'. Additional items, separated by
semikolons, are ok but '%SystemRoot%\inf' has to be one of them.
Then delete the file C:\WINDOWS\inf\infcache.1 - XP will recreate it.
The INF folder and the infcache.1 file are 'hidden'. To see them in the
Windows Explorer:
Menu 'Tools' -> 'Folder Options'
Tab 'View', mark 'show hidden files and folders'
If it still doesn't work after a restart, the files in C:\WINDOWS\inf might
be corrupt. An Windows repair install helps then.

Another thing to check is if the values 'FactoryPreInstallInProgress' and
'AuditInProgress' are set to '1' under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Factory
. They should be 0 or non present.

For more info go here: http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Trasparent:

I found your reply excellent.
I viewed the current "ghost" info as you described. I made a short bat file
to do it also. This works well.
I downloaded (from MS) the Sysprep.exe SP2 tool. This is a powerful tool and
I will soon test it on the original hard disk I removed and replaced with a
copy. The current disk is one I made using a copy tool, and then returned to
OEM condition via an OEM reload, which is running good. I used "ez upgrade"
for the copy tool. (WWW.APRICORN.COM)
More to come, but in a few weeks.
winthrom

Trasparent said:
This is a common problem in 'WINDOWS' not just XP unfortunately. Your USB
ports just seem to one day stop working or you plug in a new device and you
can see that Windows sees the device but it does not show up as usable. I'm
not sure if its corrupt registry keys or corrupt dll or ghost in the machine
or what ever but it's a problem that Microsoft has still not address even
with the introduction of Windows Vista.
I've found that the easiest way to address this problem is to perform a
removal of the hardware device driver(s) installed. If you look in device
manager you won’t see the device by default unless it's plugged in and
working. There is a way how every to view the device (all device) even if
they are not attached to your PC. Plenty of Microsoft article on this
(http://search.microsoft.com/results...etlang=en-US&q=devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices)
@ the command prompt type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 'Enter' then
start devmgmt.msc 'Enter' - In Device Manager click view show hidden devices.
You may set this command as a new system variable for next time (1 is the
value) so wont have to type it. With this done you'll be able to remove
unwanted or no longer used device USB and all that were once attached to you
PC including once that have stopped working. But yet still there is an easier
way instead of doing all the about and manually removing the devices. Obtain
a copy of the Sysprep.exe SP2 version for XP version and extract or copy it
to your system. Browse to the file location (command prompt preferred) and
type sysprep -clean. This will remove all 'Ghost Device' as they are called
when they are hidden in device manager from your system. I've found these
methods fix more USB problems than physically hacking the registry.

Good Luck!
--
Just the facts


winthrom said:
I have a similiar problem except that >>none<< of my usb mass storage devices
work any more. [This includes my thumb drives!] I get a message "One of the
usb devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not
recognize it". This occured recently, so I restored an earlier (a few weeks)
version of my WinXP SP2 system (all updates). The problem remained. I reset
to the current version again so that I could dig into the cause. I
immediately found that virtually all my other installed third part USB
devices were not working. [The trackball mouse still worked.] All devices are
noticed, but all needed an OEM disk re-install of the drivers. I re-installed
all the drivers I have and now only mass storage fails. I.e., no USB memory
drives, USB 80 Gig Disk drive, USB hubs. My peripherals (non-mass store seek
to work OK. I too am seeking help and ptpusb.dll seems involved. [Please note
that I have an Averatek 6240 series machine. The restore disk wipes the disk
and restores the factory version. On top of that the OEM laptop jerks
encrypted the restore disk so that I cannot find and expand the usb drivers.
I am not pleased with the thought of using "web" copies of these drivers.]


Anthony G. said:
Pam -

Try this, though note the part about the infcache.1 . I would make a copy
of this file (vs. deleting) by renaming it to Infcache.old and be sure to
reboot. Click "Continue" to any prompts you receive once in Windows. I
think this portion should do the trick for you.
----------------------------------------
Issue: XP asks for drivers or just wants to install new hardware

XP comes with drivers for USB mass storage. If it asks for drivers then
there are two common reasons:
1. It does not trust it's own drivers
This is the case when it cannot check if the drivers are signed which is
true when the servicie 'Cryptographic Services' ist not running (CryptSvc) or
if its data are corrupt.
Start -> Execute -> services.msc
Check here for 'Cryptographic Services' beeing started automatically.
Fixing corrupted data of the 'Cryptographic Services' is described at
Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822798

2. It does not find the drives
This is the case when the registry key that points to the INF folder is
corrupt.
Start the Registry Editor (Run -> Regedit). Check if under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion the item
'DevicePath' points to '%SystemRoot%\inf'. Additional items, separated by
semikolons, are ok but '%SystemRoot%\inf' has to be one of them.
Then delete the file C:\WINDOWS\inf\infcache.1 - XP will recreate it.
The INF folder and the infcache.1 file are 'hidden'. To see them in the
Windows Explorer:
Menu 'Tools' -> 'Folder Options'
Tab 'View', mark 'show hidden files and folders'
If it still doesn't work after a restart, the files in C:\WINDOWS\inf might
be corrupt. An Windows repair install helps then.

Another thing to check is if the values 'FactoryPreInstallInProgress' and
'AuditInProgress' are set to '1' under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Factory
. They should be 0 or non present.

For more info go here: http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html


:


I have a Toshiba M45 Satellite laptop with 3 USB ports and am running Xp
SP2.
Recently (I'm not sure exactly when) my USB ports stopped allowing me to
install new devices. I have various USB devices installed on my laptop
(thumb drive, external hard drive, mouse, etc.). When I plug them in,
they
still work fine. But when I plug in a new USB device, it pops up the New
Hardware wizard, displays the correct name of the device, and then, when I
tell it to install automatically, it says that it can't find the software
for
the device and the device was not installed. For example, I just got a
NEW
thumbdrive (a U3 Cruzer that I had taken the U3 software off of on my
desktop, so it runs like a normal thumbdrive) and I tried to plug it into
my
laptop. It recognized it as a U3, but took forever while trying to find
the
right driver and then said there was an error in installation.
Previously (before the problem), the wizard didn't pop up at all and it
just
installed my devices. I have tried looking in the list in the wizard but
half the time I don't know what "device type" to pick.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled all of the USB port drivers twice. I
have also checked to make sure my virus scan is not blocking
installations.
After posting here and recieving some replies, I did try the third-party
drivers (i.e. the SanDisk drivers for the aforementioned flash drive) for
three or four different devices. Even if I have the drivers and tell
Windows
where to get them, I still get the message from the wizard that there was
an
error in installation and still cannot use that device.
Can anyone help me PLEASE?


Regretably, XP does have a failure mode where this sort of behaviour
happens. I have never found out why it does it, but it does. My own theory
is that a registry corruption has occured that prevents XP from correctly
recognising the device. There are a couple of things to try. You seem to
be lucky, a lot of times it prevents XP from recognising devices that have
already been installed.

1. Perform a system Restore to a point before the trouble started. if that
doesn't work then:

2. Perform a *repair* install of XP.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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