NEED HELP! New USB devices will no longer install

[PawWriter]

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?

 

[needlove]

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...
"PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
>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?
>

 

[needlove]

Thus the wizard..or so thats how it should be but your saying the wizard
pops up even thought the driver is present


"PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
>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?
>

 

[needlove]

i ment to say Windows does ~not~ inheirently have all the drivers^^^


"needlove" <lookyloo@you.org> wrote in message
news6SdnRvYjeQ9_YTanZ2dnUVZ_hadnZ2d@bresnan.com...
> Thus the wizard..or so thats how it should be but your saying the wizard
> pops up even thought the driver is present
>
>
> "PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
>>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?
>>
>
>

 

[needlove]

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

"needlove" <lookyloo@you.org> wrote in message
news:nJudneAEC8dN_4TanZ2dnUVZ_jednZ2d@bresnan.com...
>i ment to say Windows does ~not~ inheirently have all the drivers^^^
>
>
> "needlove" <lookyloo@you.org> wrote in message
> news6SdnRvYjeQ9_YTanZ2dnUVZ_hadnZ2d@bresnan.com...
>> Thus the wizard..or so thats how it should be but your saying the wizard
>> pops up even thought the driver is present
>>
>>
>> "PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
>>>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?
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

 

[M.I.5¾]

"PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
>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.

 

[PawWriter]

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.

"needlove" wrote:

> 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
>
> "needlove" <lookyloo@you.org> wrote in message
> news:nJudneAEC8dN_4TanZ2dnUVZ_jednZ2d@bresnan.com...
> >i ment to say Windows does ~not~ inheirently have all the drivers^^^
> >
> >
> > "needlove" <lookyloo@you.org> wrote in message
> > news6SdnRvYjeQ9_YTanZ2dnUVZ_hadnZ2d@bresnan.com...
> >> Thus the wizard..or so thats how it should be but your saying the wizard
> >> pops up even thought the driver is present
> >>
> >>
> >> "PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
> >>>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?
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
>

 

[Anthony G.]

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


"M.I.5¾" wrote:

>
> "PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
> >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.
>
>
>

 

[winthrom]

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." wrote:

> 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
>
>
> "M.I.5¾" wrote:
>
> >
> > "PawWriter" <PawWriter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:31926B3E-90FE-4083-90B0-072B3E68B7A1@microsoft.com...
> > >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.
> >
> >
> >