New USB Devices not recognized in Vista
I have run into a strange problem that I need some help. I am running vista ultimate on a ibm t43p laptop. All of my current usb items including keyboard, camera, printer and others work fine.
When I try to install a new usb device plug and play is not recognizing properly. The found new hardware wizard comes up and tries to install the driver. When searching it cannot find the driver and does not install properly. I have tried the devices on other computers and they do work.
Anyone have any ideas why these items won't install? The specific item now is a canon pixma pro9000 printer. The driver is on the computer but plug and play will not install the device.
Thanks, Jim
All Replies
The Driver for the specific printer might not be compatible with Vista. There are a lot of drivers which works fine in ther OS but not in Vista. You can confirm it from the canon pixma itself.
Thanks.
- click on manual specify location and point it to c:\windows\system32 and check the 'search subfolders' checkbox.
Seems to be a Vista bug... I have the same problem.
My Toshiba Tecra A7 Notebook show 3 unknown device in the device list and don't find any driver.
I try to search in windows\system32 folder but no driver were found.
If i try to connect an external USB memory VISTA ask me for the driver.
Any suggestion?
Thanks.
I have the same problem and now all 4 USB ports are disabled. I have tried the recommendations of the laptop manufacturer (HP) but that didn't work.
The problem was caused by disconnecting an external harddrive. Somehow that blew 1 port and then it screwed up 2 more. Now none of them work and I still have 3 mystery "Unknown Devices" in my Device Manager. I'v uninstalled the Root Hub several times and they reappear each time.
This is very annoying. Any help would be really appreciated.
Paul
I have same problem! but on a VAIO! my USB ports used to work! basically VISTA aint good!, my external hard drive used to work as did my usb pens nd now thye dont!
Oi! Gates! sort it out! or i switch to MAC!
- Not only do I have the same issue, but when I rebooted today, my usb ports began working....my Sharp AM900 printer kicked in, my SanDisk 1GB Flash drive kicked in, but.....when I tried to access the Flash drive, everything went back to "not recognized". I got excited for nothing. I figured, maybe it's Norton, so I uninstalled that.....but that had no effect. Back to the drawing board.
- This worked for my Buslink USB 2.0 external hard drive. Thanks a lot!!!
The problem can be solved if u specify the location for the drivers which is c:\windows . I don't know if it is work in your case or not, but mine, it works. The problem maybe due to the computer which cannot locate the folder contain the drivers needed. Hopefully it work for all.
- had several usb devices, flash drives, external hard drives cameras, etc not work in vista but work in other PCs not running vista. Ran update driver and pointed it to c:\windows\system32 as suggested -- all drives working properly now - BIG bug if you ask me. Why would it not search the windows directory for a driver prior to trying to access the net for a driver?
This is a real big problem I have any USB devices that I unplug and re-plug offten and in a fresh install of Vista all the drivers load on the first try but after a few weeks I will start to notice that when I plug in a device Vista with show me the found new hardware dialog with the devices name at the top. When I click seach for drivers it will search windows update and find nothing then I can point it to the exact location of the INF and driver files (I've even tried windows\system32 and many other combinations) Vista will never find some of the drivers.
I've also tried deleting the INFCACHE.1 file in windows\inf and that would seems to help now and then but I refuse to reload Vista again.
Does anyone know how to fix this annoying and HUGE bug! ?
+1 I'm experiencing the same problem too.
The workaround of search C:\windows\system32 has worked for now.
- Righty ho, that's kind of worked for my USB memory stick. Unfortunately now when I try to access it Windows tells me "access is denied". Any ideas on this one?
I've been dealing with the same problem, too, with the manually point to the system32 folder workaround.
Even with the workaround, it takes minutes and minutes and several prompts to load a USB device that would take seconds with XP - ridiculous!! This is my second build of Vista, and I thought it had been fixed, but somewhere along the way the prompts came back. Some conflict somewhere?
Alexander Hartmaier wrote: click on manual specify location and point it to c:\windows\system32 and check the 'search subfolders' checkbox.
Seems to be a Vista bug...Seems like a nasty bug to me, but indead, the work arround works great, I've logged a case at MS with the question where in the registry I could change the default search path for the drivers.
if and when I get a reply from MS, I'll post it here.
Same stuff for me, I use Vista Ultimate since 1 of April without any problem (the real goal was when my Hauppauge Nexus-s started to work under Vista). The troubles two days ago when I tryed to reinstall a HP Photosmart C3180.
No way with the usual procedure, the wizard hangs every time at the point "connect the usb cable now". I solved with manual installation of the drivers for each device found (more than 1 hour to set up a printer!). Now every time that I plug - unplug - replug a usb device I have to reinstall the drivers pointing to c:\windows\system32.
Any Ideas?
Thanks.
Alexander Hartmaier wrote: click on manual specify location and point it to c:\windows\system32 and check the 'search subfolders' checkbox.
Seems to be a Vista bug...
Alexander,
Signed in just to thank you for the info. Not sure why this one was so hard for me to find....doh. This also solved another problem where my DVD drive was not being recognized as a labeled drive. By using this process, I was able to "update" the driver and now my DVD drive appears in my computer like it should .
Thanks again,
Jon- I discovered that my problems were tied to a Kensington bluetooth driver. The driver gave me lots of unsigned warnings (it's from XP) when it installed, but it eventually did work. However, that's when the eternal prompts began.
- can you help me by letting me know that what driver version of nexes-s is working wiyh vista32? thanks
Yep! that's when mine started to happen to... thing is... my problem is not limited to USB devices... install anything that requires drivers and i'm forced to manually install them. even an internal hard drive!!
Does anyone know where the reg setting is that tells Vista where to look automatlicy for drivers?
I have just upgraded a Toshiba A100 to Vista same problem with the USB ports needing a driver. The work around does not work.
I have also tried with an Advent 8111 again same problem any help? or a fix from Microsoft!
I'm having a problem with a 4gb Verbatim Flash Drive. When I plug it into any USB port, it recognizes it as
1) An external CD drive (Which I have some access to, I can see a few files and folders but trying to use any of them leads to a crash)
2) The flash drive itself (Which tells me to insert a disk)
Tried to use the manual driver install which didn't help at all, anyone having a similar problem?
Hello,
I have a buslink usb2.0 and I did update the driver specifiying C:\windows without success.
Can anyone direct me in the right direccion?
Thanks a lot
I agree with you TheBrain. I'm having the same problem. My Toshiba Satellite U205-S5057 Notebook (with Windows Vista) doesn't recognize most of USB Memory devices. When I try to plug an USB memory device, a dialog box appears warning me about a missing driver. As you can see, Vista is asking me for the driver too. 'till now I have not figured out how to solve this problem. Have you got some help??. I will appreciate some help from you. Does anyone nows what is going wrong with my computer? Perhaps Windows Vista is the problem??? Thanks.
Daniel Maximus.
I had the same problem with the constant prompts for drivers, the work around to manually point to system32 worked but this was also linked to the installation of Bluetooth BTW_5.1.0.1201 Bluetooth drivers for my motorola PC850 device.
I used system restore to get me back to before I installed this and now USB devices are recognised properly.
Same issue...I am getting frustrated. None of my USD related flash / Hard disk is recognized by Vista. Is this some kind of Bug ? Is there any work around via registry ? I am gonna remove my Vista and install back my XP. I have a work around, which works fr me....
I tried connecting all my devices...like...PDA, USB hard disc, Flash Memdrive, PSP before booting the computer. After booting with these devices, I could see these devices DISABLED under DEVICE MANAGER.
Using Device Manager, I manually enabled each USB device,....... which gives a msg bubble "installing device driver SW" followed by option window "Found New Hardware".Under "Found New Hardware" window, I selected "Ask Me again later". Immedietly, I could see my memory devices in "MY COMPUTER" functioning fine.
But if u disable / remove USB devices and try to connect while ur system is running....these devices are not getting recognized. Again, you need to connect these devices and reboot the system and follow the above steps.
Pls let me know if this works ?
Spent 8.5 straight hours on the phone with MS & HP tech support trying to resolve this issue yesterday (went to level 4 technician). Could not connect a brand new USB printer (to accept the USB drivers) to my new laptop. I mentioned this thread...to no avail. MS basic response was that this was an HP issue. Not getting any clear answers, I bought another new laptop and moved my files from the problem laptop (only a month old) to the "new" laptop. After getting this 2nd new laptop, Vista is operating much differently than the first (both HPs bTW). However, only the 2nd day, and I am begining to have issues again....I am uninstalling my Bluetooth to c if this will work...but much like a previous poster, wondering if anyone else sees a slow degredation of the OS when it comes to drivers.
Looking back, I should have known there was an issue with the first laptop, when It wouldn't even work with the Easy Transfer USB cable. My first laptop was built before Vistas official launch, and was held for sale until the launch. The BIOS and the Chipset drivers were pre-vista drivers (way to go HP) and both were updated yesterday, which did help the Plug and Play (non-driver installation items..vista still asked for a driver, but I was able to use the USB devices).
The craziest thing about the 1st and 2nd laptops is that I had no problems with my wireless mouse on the first computer, but on the 2nd, i can't get it to find the driver.
Don't know if this is helpful, but I'd me more than happy to give more details of all the things that didn't work, if someone is having the same huge isses and wants to shortcut their time with lastresort techsupport. Hope this was helpful.
- Thank you, you saved me about $50 'cuz now, I don't have to buy a new printer...
- I am having the same problem. Not a single USB device with the exception of my external hard drive is recognized. Out of a usb mouse and 4 flash drives non work.
I have tried what is listed here to no avail.
I am going back to XP, vista is not ready to come out of beta stage. There is so many problems it is retarded. The key was bad, drivers are so slow to install, problems booting, USB devices do not work... at least MSN works in vista.
I would return the vista software if it was an option. Over 10 years in the business and they still can't get it right. Sorry for the rant. same problem, on vista ultimate 64bit
please come up with a less cumbersome fix otherwise I'll have to format c:
Okay..here's the deal. If u c my previous post you will note that i bought another BRAND NEW LAPTOP....started having the exact same issues regarding drivers. Then the lightbulb when on.
CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ARE RUNNING THE CORRECT VERSION OF VISTA. Apparently HP couldn't figure out that a 64bit processor needs to be installed with the 64 bit version of Vista. Both of my brand new laptops were 64 bit systems and installed at the factory with the 32bit Vista. HP overnighted the System Restore disk for the 64 bit system wth updated BIOS, etc. And haven't had any problems since. This also cleared up an issue i was having with the computer not coming out of sleep and several other little annoyances.
so...If you have a 64 bit system make sure you are running the 64bit version of Vista, and vice versa for 32bit. Also make sure that when u update other drivers (ie..logitech, hp printers, etc. usb devices have 64 bit and 32 bit drivers available).
To check which version of vista u r using, right click on "my computer" and go to "properties". Hope this helps.
any update?
- COOL!
thanks so much for the suggestion. 
my USB devices are now recognized. - tried windows sys32 but it did not work for me used alot of combos but c:\windows\winsxs got my i-rock storage device working it is a vista problem 1 of many since i got it windows xp was much better sys good luck.
- I've been experiencing the same problem with usb storage devices for the last few weeks and have visited numerous forums discussing it. After having no joy I decided to take a look around my system folders and have now got these devices working again. While looking around I discovered 2 points of interest:
- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
- When i looked in my C:\Windows\inf folder i discovered the usbstor.inf and usb stor.pnf files were missing - this definitely had to be an issue.
As yet I have not had any problem with other usb devices so I don't know whether this solution applies to everything. However I have noticed that most people are having this problem with devices that register themselves as a mass storage device, including most new printers, cameras, etc. Basically anything with on board memory tells windows it is also a mass storage device, so maybe this is what is causing the problem with those particular usb devices.
Hope this helps
- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
- you sir, is a genius. I've tried to figure this out for the past 2 hours and you found a solution that actually works. Thank you.
- Hi folks, I just finished reading through the 3 pages of posts on "USB Devices not recognized". I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but I am experiencing the exact same problem on my Presario V2582US laptop. But the twist is, I am running XP Pro. I just thought I would mention this since everyone seems to be blaming Vista. I had been running a Bluetooth for my keyboard, mouse and GPS.
I have not tried any of the suggested fixes you have made, but will do that shortly. If it makes things work again, I will post again.
BTW, I found the comment regarding the 64-bit processor interesting. I have a 64-bit processor on this machine. As I said, I am currently running XP Pro, which is not 64-bit. I asked a tech if I went to Vista, should I go to 32 or 64 and he told me to go with 32 because there is little software written for 64 bit and the softwares might not operate properly under 64 bit. I am not sure his statement holds water, but my point is, I am currently running a 32 bit OS on a 64-bit processor so why would it make any difference if I run Vista 32 or 64 on a 64-bit processor?
My suspicion is, whether you reinstall Vista 32 or install Vista 64, the USB system will work properly for a period of time again.
Well guys, this isn't getting my machine fixed so I better close and get working on it. I appreciate the info you have put together and I hope it will work that way on XP also.
Thanks,
Ron Ron:
re: 64 bit systems.... I agree, I have had some compatibility issues with the 64 bit running other software programs ....(mostly games - 1701 AD, etc.--but think i have found a patch for the 3D issue) Can't run SuperPass for RealPlayer either... however...all the usb issues were a result of having the 32 bit vista. tried all the work arounds which only temporarily solved the issues. I think it is curious u r having the same issues on a 64 bit system...while running a 32 bit OS. It may not be limited to vista...but it is definatley a 64 bit problem.
Since i installed the 64 bit system...I HAVE NOT had ANY problems with the USB ports or any other drivers. Trust me that after 8.5 hours on the phone--(calling tech support is always a last resort for me...most of them know how to reboot a computer and look at the device manager...and not much more)... with a 3 way conversation with a level 4 techician at MS and HP and myself, the only way to fix this issue long term is to put the 64 bit Vista on the 64 bit machine.
I no longer want to destroy my laptop and go postal....however, if i had to do it all over again, I wouldn't buy a 64 bit machine (to be honest, it was an emergency purchase....on a holiday...and my options weren't great for instock- 1st one was a HP dv6000 serious and now i have the dv2315)...but at least i'm not spending my day chasing my tail trying to get a usb device to work with the 32 bit os (when i need to print an invoice, i need to print it).
As much as i MS's policy is "make it now, fix it later"...and i'm not a big fan of MS, i must say that I love the new Vista changes, and Office 2007.
Good luck,
Stacy
P.S. Have u check to make sure your bios and chip set drivers are up-to-date? Updating the chipset driver while i was running the 32 bit vista on the 64 bit system did allow usb storage devices to be recognized.
- Just wanted to add something I noticed while finding my solution. When i cross checked the creation and modification dates of the second and most recent usbstor.inf folder, it was created on the same day I applied the Microsoft ipod data corruption fix (KB936824).
I also noticed that some people in other threads were experiencing problems after applying this patch so I am wondering whether this is the culprit. Maybe it deleted the old data and inadvertently created a problem whereby the operating system didn't correctly copy the new files back to the inf folder. I only noticed this issue about 3 weeks ago so I am not sure when it actually began, however my suspicious nature leads me to believe this might have been the cause.
Anyway, I have now tested a number of devices post applying my fix and everything is back to normal; i.e. all usb devices are automatically recognised and installed.
I am curious to know whether I would be able to delete the old usbstor.inf folder(naturally it is locked by the system) as I notice that there is nothing else in the Driverstore folder that has multiple versions. I will try renaming it in safe mode and see if any issues arise.
Regards
Matt - I have had this laptop for a little over a year and never had any problems with it until recently. Of course that suggests it has to do with some software or update I have installed or with drivers deleted when I uninstalled some software. Yes, I did update the bios and chip set drivers while I was on line with HP tech support.
Well, I just tried booting up with the USB devices already plugged in and that didn't help. I also tried to manually install pointing to c:\windows\system32 and that didn't help either.
I now plan to install a new harddrive in the laptop and restore XP Pro to it and see if things work at that point. We might be looking at a corrupt file that is not being overwritten. If we can identify which file or files, we can delete it before reinstalling the drivers.
It may be a while until I can get back online when I pull this harddrive and install the other. Thanks for your insight.
Ron Im facing the same problem here in Brazil with a HP Laptop, i tried support from HP and MS and both don´t a clue what they talking about, the last girl from HP was trying to blame the hardware when all the problem is a driver missing.
i got vista on my desktop and my laptop and with both i got USB problems my Microsoft webcam if i change the USB port it´s ask for driver, my laptop have a built in card reader, with my SD works fine, with a Sony MS ask for driver. to resume,
last night my desktop asked for a driver while i was using a Data Traveler pendrive from Kingston totally plug and play. shame on you Bill.
i will take a look what Wicked MX said ...
- Hi folks,
I did install a new harddrive in my laptop and reinstalled XP Pro on it. It made no difference on the 2 USB ports that were not working. I then installed all the updates and still could not get the 2 ports working. This seems to say I have a hardware problem since the new install made no difference.
Fortunately, I bought an extended warranty when I bought the machine because the tech tells me the only way to replace the USB ports on this laptop is by replacing the motherboard. I will wait until I return from a two week trip before sending it in.
I hope you folks fair better with the situation on Vista. If someone has the opportunity to replace their harddrive and reinstall Vista, I would be interested in whether that will work, but since it didn't work for me using XP Pro, I doubt it will make any difference.
Ron I've been following this thread for the past two days. I'm running a HP notebook (Pavilion dv6113TX) with Vista Home Premium (32-bit HP upgrade version) and trying to get a Lacie 160Gb portable HDD recognised. Whilst I don't have a proper fix, I can provide a cumbersome workaround which at least means that the device is available for use (just that it's not pnp).
1. Uninstall the device in device manager
2. Shut down system
3. Have device plugged in when I power up
4. Device is recognised – although no drivers reported
5. Hit ask me again later
6. Device is recognised and available - so long as I don’t unplug it and try to plug it in again.
7. If I do then unplug the device and plug it in again it is not recognised, and I have to repeat the same process again (including uninstall and log off).
Note: None of the steps mentioned elsewhere in this thread appear to work for me. I have done a clean install of Vista on another HP notebook (Presario 2815AUP) and the Lacie was recognised straight away (with full pnp - both prior to and following installing windows updates - with device manager reporting the following drivers c:\windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys and partmgr.sys). I even tried coping the drivers used from the clean install onto the HP Pavilion - but it hasn't made any difference.
I've raised a job with Lacie for an update to their drivers - although they advise to point to c:\windows with subfolders selected as the default folder is incorrect. Unfortunately this does not fix the problem so have gone back to Lacie Support and I'm going to raise a job with HP and MSFT in the morning.
Will let you know how I go, but suspect a rebuild of my HP Pavilion is in order.
- what Wicked MX said didnt work for me, i got the files in both folders... maybe we need to wait the Sp1, till there no USB PNP support at all
I did the same thing, "Vista" the all-retarded, still says that a parameter is incorrect and the Extrenal HD is still unknown.
what kills me is XP went ahead and found it no problem.
- This is the ailment that solved the problem on my computer, a Sony Vaio VGN-TX3NS (Japanese model) with a Vista Business and Ultimade upgrade installed over it. Thank you so much for your advice. It worked !!!!
- Hi matey wickedMX I have done that but it seems I can only see one usbstore folder, I cannot see two. Any other advise???
Hi,
I am facing a similar issue with my HP pavilion dv2224ea laptop. It has a built in card reader which worked fine initially.But now it has stopped recognizing any SD cards. My Sd card shows up under "Disk drives" in Device manager with a yellow exclamation mark next to it. And also when I right click on it and go to Properties, it shows " This device can not start (code 10).
I have tried updating drivers but to no avail .The HP tech support guy asked me to download the latest updates for the BIOS and the card reader. That didnt work either. Any suggestions please on what I could try to fix this isue?
Thanks,
Rupa
I would recommend rolling back the drivers for the media card reader... I had a similar issue with my built-in webcam from HP...
~lewmo
Thanks but it doesnt allow me to rollback the drivers for the card reader. The Rollback option in Properties is disabled.
Rupa
WickedMX wrote: I've been experiencing the same problem with usb storage devices for the last few weeks and have visited numerous forums discussing it. After having no joy I decided to take a look around my system folders and have now got these devices working again. While looking around I discovered 2 points of interest:
- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
- When i looked in my C:\Windows\inf folder i discovered the usbstor.inf and usb stor.pnf files were missing - this definitely had to be an issue.
A thousand thanks!
I've been fighting this one on a new Vista 64-bit installation for weeks. A few USB storage devices (a Corsair Flash Voyager) would work, but most would not. Hard drives and card readers all went through the motions of installing drivers, but would always fail.
Since they worked fine on a Vista 32-bit machine, I was assuming the problem was with the 64-bit version. But all my Googling for solutions for the specific failed hardware was fruitless.
As it turned out, for whatever reason, I was also missing usbstor.inf & usbstor.pnf, and following your fix above has repaired the system, and restored my sanity (such as it is).
Thanks again!- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
I have the usbstor.inf file but the usbstor.pnf file is missing from the file repository folder. I went in to the C:\Windows\inf folder and copied the usbstor.pnf file
When I went back into the file repository folder to paste the file I got the following message...
"You need permission to perform this action" Try again or Cancel
Any suggestions?
I can't get any of my USB devices to work not even a simple plug and play mouse. Everything was working fine until today. Any device that I plug into any of the USB ports gives me the USB device not recognized bubble. And as I mentioned these same devices were working previously.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
- :-) BLESS YOU WickedMX, Bless you Bless you Bless you!
I've experienced the same degrading USB problem on a new install of VISTA Home Premium 64-Bit on a fresh box with over $1500.oo in the latest components not counting the monitor, printer and software. So i knew the problem was not hardware. Here's how mine went:
From the fresh load there were a few problems with wireless drivers and some software that i had grown used to did not work on the 64-bit platform. So i changed (updated) all my working programs, and finally found a driver for the wireless 802.11g, and things were going well. THEN, i wanted to download some photos and moved my old Fuji card reader to the new box, and Vista didn't like it, couldn't find a driver, and so i took the card reader out after going up to Fuji and finding that they didn't support VISTA with that particular reader. After that, every time i plugged in any USB whatever, Vista kept wanting the driver for that old card reader. "But", i ask myself, was the card reader the problem, or was there a Vista "update" at about the same time?
With WickedMX's cure, it seems to me that the problem was brought about by a Vista update. Somehow the programmers got their fingers on the wrong keys late at night over there in India somewhere and sent the two files WickedMX found were AWOL into the wrong directory.
At any rate, if you are having the same USB problem, go slow and take a look at what WickedMX suggested.
As for myself, his cure came about four and one-half minutes before i was ready to finally "format-c" with the install disk of Novell's boxed version of Open SUSE 10.2.....
So, thanks again, WickedMX, for your kind assistance. You saved me a LOT of trouble and work! Maybe the Vista programmers will catch up to you with the next update? Maybe. At least, if our USB ports go goofy again we'll know where to look. Unless they manage to loose them somewhere else. Then we'll have to search for where those two files are at next time.
Best Regards to all. JUST COPY AND PASTE, THIS METHOD ACTUALLY WORKS!!!
THANKS A MILLION WickedMX- thanks a 100000000000000 you relly saved me today
hi,
First, thanks wickedmx, for the suggestion. I think microsoft will have to release the patch as early as possible for these issues of usd recognition.
I bought the HP notebook (Pavillion DV9222) this April. Everything was working fine, all my plug and play devices like wireless keyboard and mouse, cameras, flash drives, joysticks etc. Suddenly one day, my simulator joystick stopped working. I unplugged it and put it in another port and the same things happened. I removed it and put it in the third usb port and it worked. Thought it could be some virus problems. The next day, when I plugged my USB pen drive, it refused to work on any of the ports. I then checked the logitech joystick that i use on MSFS X. It refused to work on any of the port. Suddenly, nothing was working on the usb ports. I think this problem started after windows update.
Today, I plugged in a usb mouse and no luck. I thought to myself that the ports have gone bad. I am not a techsavvy guy, thus trouble shooting was not possible for me. Still, with some hope, I started looking for the fix and came across this thread.
Now, this thread generally discussed about the usb mass storage device. My problem was the mouse. I also checked the two files that wickedmx mentioned in his post and the latest ones were already present in the inf folder. But again, those files were for mass storage devices. Now I didnt knew what file to check for the plug and play mouse. Suddenly, it struck me to give the path c:windows/system32/driverstore/filerepository in the driver search window. Vista automatically searched for the driver and this solved the problem. Thus vista had the driver for the mouse but in the different folder that what it searches in automatically by defalut i.e inf folder.
Now this worked for my mouse, my flash drives and every plug and play device that I have.
Somebody mentioned on the net that the this is the problem with a 32 bit vista. I think, 64 bit vista is more organised to put the correct driver files in the correct place, unlike 32 bit vista.
Like I said, it wouldnt have been possible without that initial input from wickedmx. Thanks.
It will be really good if someone makes comprehensive a note of it and puts it across to microsoft.
thanks for your info ,I pluged all my devices in such as Flash sticks and portable hard drives and Whalla like magic just like my Old Windows XP
Thanks a million !
Your solution solve all my usb problems with my Vista 32.
I did not have usbstor.pnf at all in my Vista so I didn't do anything with it. I only copied and moved usbstor.inf and that was enough. Everything works now.
Can't thank you enough !
My problems were solved as well. For what it is worth, I was having issues with the USB requesting drivers for a 4 Gig iPod Nano and a Seagate Free Agent external hard drive.
WickedMX's solution was an absolute life saver.
Thanks!
Alexander Hartmaier wrote: click on manual specify location and point it to c:\windows\system32 and check the 'search subfolders' checkbox.
Seems to be a Vista bug...
Where is the manual specify location thingy? .... every time i plugin the USB device, it just shows "Installing device", then "this device is ready to use", there is no such thing as SPECIFY LOCATION anywhere if i click on it...
I've tried this method but it nevers works. Vista always seems to locate the drivers but alway a error with installing the driver. Any help would be appreciate.I had a similar problem. I tried to connect my flash drives and external hard drives onto Vista Business OS but it did not find any suitable drivers (even though Win XP could find suitable drivers). It gave a Code 1 error. Manually pointing it to system32 folder did not work either as some of you suggested
I got it working by going to the BIOS and loading default settings. And then... it worked!
WickedMX wrote: I've been experiencing the same problem with usb storage devices for the last few weeks and have visited numerous forums discussing it. After having no joy I decided to take a look around my system folders and have now got these devices working again. While looking around I discovered 2 points of interest:
- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
- When i looked in my C:\Windows\inf folder i discovered the usbstor.inf and usb stor.pnf files were missing - this definitely had to be an issue.
As yet I have not had any problem with other usb devices so I don't know whether this solution applies to everything. However I have noticed that most people are having this problem with devices that register themselves as a mass storage device, including most new printers, cameras, etc. Basically anything with on board memory tells windows it is also a mass storage device, so maybe this is what is causing the problem with those particular usb devices.
Hope this helps
You have done it
thank you so much! The problem wasn't making any sense, but what you described turned out to match my symptoms exactly, and has now caused both my Printer (with memory card reader hence the mass storage device bit) and my external HDD to start working again, you have my eternal gratitude, well done once more!
James- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
Will this work for my ipod? I cant use any ipod on my vista premium, because its always asking me for drivers.
But my usbstor.inf and usbstor.pnf files aren't missing...so what should I do now? Any suggestion?
I really appreciate the above information but when I tried to follow your steps and copy those two specific files in to Windows\inf folder - I got an error message telling I don't have the proper authorization even thought it's my own lapop. Any advice how I can resolve this issue. I can see my inf folder is marked as read only and when I change the status, it keeps defaulting back to the original status. Your help would be appreciated.
Merci!
- try right-clicking the files and selecting properties, then click on security, advanced , Permissions and click edit. Then you add your name where it says "enter the object or name to select". Click ok the click on security and edit. Highlight your name in the "group or username box" and click "allow full control" in the permissions for everyone box then apply and ok then ok again. now that you have full control of the file you will be able to copy it to the required folder to get your usb devices working .
- This did not work for me I am try to access an enlight card reader but some times when i reboot it recognizes it and somtimes it doesnt i have reset my bios to fialsafe defaults this has helped to get to this stage this problem is on my desktop but my laptop running the some os has no problems it is almost like 2 different os's
- I have used winamp and it finds my daughters ipod but not itunes
This didn't help my problem with the USB cable. I got my hp officejet pro k5400 on my sony vaio sz-4 laptop with windows vista business. At first i also remember that all the things worked, usb included, or so it seemed. Now i've go the same problem as anybody here.
Indeed i found two different directories (usbstor.inf) in filerepository but the latest one had the exact files that were already found in windows\inf, so i thought i would copy and replace the older ubstor.inf files. It didn't do anything.
Now i also tried the 2nd approach from another fellow poster. When i clicked add new printer, at the listed ports from local printer, no usb appeared, and then i tohught i should updated the printer driver (which was not installed but appeared in device manager with "?") witht he filerepository location. AND IT WORKED! Well...sort of...instead of saying succesfully installed ho officejet blah blah it said succesfully installe usb printing...smth with the usb sign. The printer works now, none the less but every time i reboot the computer the idiotic windows detects the printer and asks for printer drivers even though the printer IS installed in the printers tab and can print. So i have to click every time ask me again later cuz i'm afraid to click don't bother me again for this device. This is very shamefull for VISTA BUSINESS ! Microsoft sucks big time, and it's really shamefull that no fix is ready for this problem.
So conclusion: In printer ports now appears only USB virtual port and the computer always detects as if the printer is not installed. Also may i add that several memory sticks didn't work, even though it worked like a charm on windows XP (PnP yeah right).
When i launch the latest drivers from hp, in the window when they ask to connect the printer via usb the button for next is still grey and innactive meaning that the software doesn't see the printer connected.
the above info doesnt help me alot, i recently got a virus on my comp and had to get hard drive wiped and i just tried to sync my ipod video with itunes but it keeps looking for the driver software even though i have already installed it on my comp, and i cant see it in itunes or my computer and the ipod updater wont let me restore it, it keeps saying "invalid ipod service version"
can some1 plz help, idunno wat to do????
Brilliant!!
I have been having this issue for various devices over a period of months. Usually could work around but my new Maxtor usb external drive would not work at all. Made the copy of the two files and pasted them into C:\windows\inf and everything is working properly. One note the usbstor.inf file did not have the .inf extension in my folder.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
Thank you, WickedMX ! Damn this has been frustrating.
I've been searching for a solution on different occations and almost began to accept that my lenovo with vista did not support flashdrives, cardreaders etc out of the box but need specific manufactor supplied drivers or something. Today I discovered that a colleague could use my flashdrive on his lenovo with vista and I decided to do some more research on the issue. I think this is one of the stupidest bugs I've seen that was not a quick fix considering the billions using Vista and flashdrives etc that has to be experiencing this problem. Vista is supposed to be the ultimate in user friendly, especially related to plug and play hardware, this has been everthing else. I've told many customers to delay their OS upgrade due to this problem only since many of them use different usb-devices.
Is the bug only occuring on rare occations since it has not been patched yet?
I also facing this problem, I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate 32Bit, previously I bought Apacer 4GB ReadyBoost pen drive and I'm so enjoying the pen drive, after formated my Vista, and it doesn't recognize my pen drive anymore, it shows remove h/w icon on system tray, sometimes it shows a new removable disk in My Computer, but it shows capacity of 0bytes, and we can't do anything with it, as it were damaged, but XP doing just great..
FYI,
Error message when you try to install a new hardware device on a Windows Vista-based computer: "Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940199/en-us
I was trying to fix the problem for two weeks without success.
You have made my day. Many thanks from Athens Greece.
Leon
Let me also add a big thanks, as Iwas frustrated with my new ipod classic not finding the usbaapl.sys file which was in that same folder. Once copied to the INF folder, everything worked. THANKS!
PS, I am using XP, but in general it was the same problem.
- What WickedMX wrote worked beautifully, but with a little tweak needed if the files are already present. What you have to do is first make sture that in the driverstore directory the files are present. Then you have to go to C:\inf and find the usbstor.inf and usbstor.pnf and delete them both. Then you have to restart the computer. Once you have done that you have then copy the files from the driverstore directory and put them into c:\inf. Then restart the computer again. Then it should work. I hope this helps. It is a shame that Microsoft has not figured this out.
Not sure if this will help you, but I had the same problem you did. I had the drivers and I couldn't get my Memorex flashdrive to work. After reading around the forum about the issues related to bluetooth drives and other installed items interferring, I went back to my installed programs to see what I had in there. I found that my LG Chocolate phone had installed it's own USB drivers. I uninstalled those drivers and now I'm not having trouble with my flashdrive anymore.
Hope this helps out.
D~
I'm currently using Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit on a Dell Inspiron 530s desktop Pc. The 'System Advisor' tool in the popular program Tuneup Utilities 2007 is installed on my pc and says that I have a 64-bit processor and should consider upgrading to the 64 bit version of Windows Vista, but after the driver problems (among other issues) I've had with Vista, I'm seriously having second thoughts on keeping Vista altogether.
Regarding the 'update drivers' problem, I had to do an advanced windows driver search for some usb devices that I have connected typing only C:\Windows in the search box and luckily windows found the drivers for ALL of the devices. I did this just minutes ago, after viewing all the other posts on this very issue. I have yet to restart my computer since doing this driver fix, but I hope my computer will load up without all the annoying windows popping up saying that Windows can not find the drivers for such & such device. I will get back to you guys on this asap.
Also, I'm looking for another fix. The other problem I'm currently having on Windows Vista is the fact that the Windows explorer.exe startup program is not loading at startup! In order to get it to start, I have to press Ctrl/Alt/Delete which brings up the task manager and then I manually start the explorer.exe program using the 'start new task' option within task manager. After doing this, my taskbar, desktop background picture, and all desktop icons appear and I'm able to use windows eplorer & go about my normal computer activities once again. The explorer.exe program will then appear within the task manager. But as soon as I reboot, the same problem returns.
I've noticed that this exact problem with windows explorer.exe not loading is a popular and ever growing issue among many Vista users just by researching online. I've yet to come across any kind of solution to these problems. Since it does seem to happen to many Vista users, perhaps Microsoft will soon have a quick and easy fix .....or at least we hope so
In the meantime:
Are there any other Windows Vista users experiencing the same problem or similar? Maybe somebody out there knows of a fix for this? If so, please reply to this message. It takes only a few minutes of your time and it may help so many people that visit this forum and are experiencing the very same problem.
Just post a reply to this message and thank you kindly.
Sincerely, Sara
I'm currently using Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit on a Dell Inspiron 530s desktop Pc. The 'System Advisor' tool in the popular program Tuneup Utilities 2007 is installed on my pc and says that I have a 64-bit processor and should consider upgrading to the 64 bit version of Windows Vista, but after the driver problems (among other issues) I've had with Vista, I'm seriously having second thoughts on keeping Vista altogether.
Regarding the 'update drivers' problem, I had to do an advanced windows driver search for some usb devices that I have connected typing only C:\Windows in the search box and luckily windows found the drivers for ALL of the devices. I did this just minutes ago, after viewing all the other posts on this very issue. I have yet to restart my computer since doing this driver fix, but I hope my computer will load up without all the annoying windows popping up saying that Windows can not find the drivers for such & such device. I will get back to you guys on this asap.
Also, I'm looking for another fix. The other problem I'm currently having on Windows Vista is the fact that the Windows explorer.exe startup program is not loading at startup! In order to get it to start, I have to press Ctrl/Alt/Delete which brings up the task manager and then I manually start the explorer.exe program using the 'start new task' option within task manager. After doing this, my taskbar, desktop background picture, and all desktop icons appear and I'm able to use windows eplorer & go about my normal computer activities once again. The explorer.exe program will then appear within the task manager. But as soon as I reboot, the same problem returns.
I've noticed that this exact problem with windows explorer.exe not loading is a popular and ever growing issue among many Vista users just by researching online. I've yet to come across any kind of solution to these problems. Since it does seem to happen to many Vista users, perhaps Microsoft will soon have a quick and easy fix .....or at least we hope so
In the meantime:
Are there any other Windows Vista users experiencing the same problem or similar? Maybe somebody out there knows of a fix for this? If so, please reply to this message. It takes only a few minutes of your time and it may help so many people that visit this forum and are experiencing the very same problem.
Just post a reply to this message and thank you kindly.
Sincerely, SaraHello!
I have the same laptop as you and I have the same problem. I cannot plug my external Lacie hard drive, the laptop recognize the hard drive, but the laptop freeze when I go in the explorer to browae my files.. Have you solved this problem?
Sincerely p00tie
Okay, 1st of all....I'm not on a laptop. I use a Dell Inspiron 530s desktop home computer that is running on Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit and I have 2GB of RAM.
If you're having trouble with the explorer.exe program not loading your task manager, desktop background, etc. completely in Windows Vista, then you maight just have to do a system restore.
Go back to the most recent restore point (when you know your system worked for you). Perhaps the explorer.exe problem could have been caused by a software program you installed or even one that you might have uninstalled. Not every software/program or driver will always work in Windows Vista, since it is still a very new operating system from Microsoft.
Microsoft also has a toolkit that you may download for free from their website. It's called Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit and it's made for Windows Vista.
I am including some documents I've found on Microsoft that are helpful in many cases. View and try out the steps for yourself, just in case you decide against the system restore option. (Although, I think system restore is the BEST option for solving this particular problem)
LET ME KNOW IF ANY OF THIS HELPS ANYONE.
Sincerely, Sara
DOCUMENT #1
What is Startup Repair?
Startup Repair is a Windows Vista recovery tool that can fix certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files, that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. When you run Startup Repair, it scans your computer for the problem and then tries to fix it so your computer can start correctly.
Startup Repair is located on the System Recovery Options menu, which is on the Windows Vista installation disc. If your computer manufacturer has preinstalled recovery options, Startup Repair might also be installed on your hard disk. If your computer does not include Startup Repair, your computer manufacturer might have customized or replaced the tool. Check the information that came with your computer or go to the manufacturer's website.
How do I use Startup Repair on Vista?
If you have a Windows Vista installation disc, you need to restart (boot) your computer using the installation disc. If you do not restart your computer from the disc, the option to repair your computer will not appear.
If you have a Windows Vista installation disc:
1. Insert the installation disc.
2. Restart your computer. Click the Start button Picture of Start button, click the arrow next to the Lock button Picture of Lock button, and then click Restart.
3. If prompted, press any key to start Windows from the installation disc.
Note: If your computer is not configured to start from a CD or DVD, check the information that came with your computer. You may need to change your computer's BIOS settings. For more information, see BIOS: frequently asked questions.
4. Choose your language settings, and then click Next.
5. Click Repair your computer.
6. Select the operating system you want to repair, and then click Next.
7. On the System Recovery Options menu, click Startup Repair. Startup Repair might prompt you to make choices as it tries to fix the problem, and if necessary, it might restart your computer as it makes repairs.
If Startup Repair is a preinstalled recovery option on your computer:
1. Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your computer. Click the Start button Picture of Start button, click the arrow next to the Lock button Picture of Lock button, and then click Restart.
2. Do one of the following:
If your computer has a single operating system installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you will need to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then shutting down and restarting your computer.
If your computer has more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to repair, and then press and hold F8.
3. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Repair your computer, and then press ENTER. (If Repair your computer is not listed as an option, then your computer does not include Startup Repair as a preinstalled recovery option.)
4. Select a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. Select a user name and enter the password, and then click OK.
6. On the System Recovery Options menu, click Startup Repair. Startup Repair might prompt you to make choices as it tries to fix the problem and, if necessary, it might restart your computer as it makes repairs.
Are there problems that Startup Repair cannot fix?
Startup Repair cannot fix hardware failures, such as a failing hard disk or incompatible memory, nor does it protect against virus attacks. Startup Repair is not a backup tool, so it cannot help you recover personal files, such as photos or documents. To help protect your computer, back up your system and files regularly. For more information, search for "backup" in Windows Help and Support.
Startup Repair is not designed to fix Windows installation problems. For more information, see Troubleshoot Windows installation problems.
What if Startup Repair can't fix my problem?
If repairs are not successful, you'll see a summary of the problem and links to contact information for support. Your computer manufacturer might include additional assistance information.
DOCUMENT #2
System Configuration: its an advanced tool that can help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. If you identify a program that is causing problems, you can check for updates or uninstall the program.
Using the Selective Startup option, you can turn services and startup programs on or off individually to see if the problem occurs the next time you restart your computer. If you select a check box, the service or startup program will run when you restart Windows. If the check box is cleared, the service or startup program will not run when you restart the computer.
Follow this procedure to use the process of elimination to identify the problem.
1. Open System Configuration by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking System Configuration. Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Click the General tab, click Selective startup, and then clear the Load system services and the Load startup items check boxes.
3. Select the Load system services check box, click OK, and then click Restart.
4. If the problem occurs after restarting, do one or both (if necessary) of the following tasks:
Identify the system service that is causing the problem
a. Click the Services tab, click Disable all, select the check box for the first service that is listed, and then restart the computer. If the problem does not occur, then you can eliminate the first service as the cause of the problem.
b. With the first service selected, select the second service check box, and then restart the computer.
c. Repeat this process until you reproduce the problem. If you cannot reproduce the problem, then you can eliminate system services as the cause of the problem. Perform the following task:
Identify the startup item that is causing the problem
a. Click the General tab, and then select the Load startup items check box.
b. Click the Startup tab, click Disable all, select the check box for the first startup item that is listed, and then restart the computer. If the problem does not occur, then you can eliminate the first startup item as the cause of the problem.
c. With the first startup item selected, select the second startup item check box, and then restart the computer. Repeat this process until you reproduce the problem.I pointed the driver updater from control panel to a "manifest file in (c:\windows\winsxs) that I found by searching for "usbstor". The system went through the install thingie and it picked up both of my Kingston DTs that I have been having problems with for 3 weeks. I just noticed that the "program" settings for my MS mouse buttons for IE went away so that might be a key.
- Before 2 months i bye a pc with vista 64bit ultimate (dual core prossesor). 3 days before i bay an external hard disk usb2 500gb Toshiba (PX1269E) but my computer don't recognize that (unknown device)! I dont have drivers (for vista 64 bit) and i can't find... PLease help!
Go to Local Disk (C), got to Windows, got to System32, go to Driverstore, go to Filerepository, go to usbstor.inf ( click the on that is newest), cop ythe usbstor.inf and usbstor.PNF files. after you have copied the two files got to Windowws, inf folder and paste the files in that folder. Now yourt usb devives( flash drives, hardrives, ipods, etc.) should work.Many thanks to WickedMX,
I bought a Corsair 8GB today and was shocked at home, beacause Vista wasn,t found drivers for it. I searched about 6 hours inside many forums for a solution and became also a headache during searching a solution. I copied this 2 files into windows/inf folder, updated driver and in few seconds I can used my new USB flash drive.
Thanks, thanks, thanks
- WickedMX Did it!!!!!!
I was backing up files and ready to install XP back on my machine when I fix it using this technique!
I'm like and excited lil' school girl.
Thanks again
.::HERPETON::. - Thanks Alex,
I and a lot of new Vista users have had this problem with various USB hard drives; your solution fixes the problem immediately.
I hope all of the other victims read your post!! Thanks again. Alexander Hartmaier wrote: click on manual specify location and point it to c:\windows\system32 and check the 'search subfolders' checkbox.
Seems to be a Vista bug...Yes it worked that way. thanks
Hello !
I have a similar problem on my vista machine. Initially i had no problems using USB drives. But suddenly one fine day it just stopped working. All USB ports, Sony camera USB access says " Need to format" . When I tried to format the USB drive it takes an unusually long time and fails at the end of it. U mentioned that the usbstor.inf and usb stor.pnf were not available in windows/inf. But I have them too in the same place. Any advice u can give for me ?
regards,
krish
Wicked MX, thank you so much. Your hint worked.Like Krish, I seem to have the usbstor file in the info folder, as well as the system folders. I had no problems with cameras and any other hardware so far. However, trying to use a Lacie external hard drive, I get the Code 1 error, saying the drive is not configured correctly, and cannot install the driver.
Any help, anyone?
Thanks
- To,
Dear Sir
Asking : Why wondow vista does not recognise USBcable (IEEE1394port)? I bought compaq laptop from your company on octorber.Till I could not use it as I want. What thing Ihave to buy for the best capturing and how insttallation should be done to connet computer from Video camera?Plaec reply me as soon as possible.
Thanks you.
Yuor customer
Rev. L.Biak Son
Th,D
Seoul Christian University. I had the same problemm I contacted Microsoft support and they connected me with a research support tech. who asked me to allow rhe use of remote assistant so he could fix the problem which was triggered by an update. It took him about three minutes or less to fix it. He had to go to the registery and a couple of other files. Now my computer runs great without problrems or any popup screens. Microsoft was very nice about the problerm fix and of course there was no charges involved.
Having been frustrated by this problem for some time now, are you able to advise what steps the Microsoft Tech took to resolve the issue?
Sorry I let the tech do it remotely and all though I was watching on screen he did it so fast I couldnt follow what was going on especially when in the registry. All I know when he was through everything worked and he said I should never have that problem again and so far Vista has recognized everything I plug in including a Harmony remote for my TV. I was so frustrated and stubborn beforeI finally gave up and called. Stop the frustration make the call and maybr you can follow them better than I. All I know is after he was done all I had to do was a restart and everything pluged in came alive and has worked ever sense like it used to.
Tried the usbstor.inf route with no success. Thanks to Seagate, this worked on my external USB drive (of another make), and for my Leica camera's usb connection as well. You start by running Computer Management -> Device manager:
If the drivers are not loaded properly: The drivers for the drive are included as part of Vista and normally load automatically, but occasionally the drivers will need to be loaded manually. To load the drivers manually:
1. Click the + box next to Other devices
2. Double-click the drive (usually listed as USB Mass Storage, but may be listed under another name).
3. A new Windows will open showing properties; click the Reinstall driver button.
4. This will open the update driver software wizard, click "Locate and install driver software (recommended)".
5. Then click "Browse my computer for driver software".
6. Click Browse.
7. Open the Windows folder on the C: drive (Computer > C: > Windows) and click OK.
8. Make sure the "Include subfolders" box is checked.
9. Click Next. This should load the drivers.
Be patient, after loading the first driver, I repeated steps 4-9 for two other usb drivers that it asked for.Here's the link to the Seagate article:
Working with Vista has been sooooo frustrating - nothing works out the box. I have an HP Pavilion Notebook dv9291ea that doesn't talk to an HP Deskjet 6980 on the LAN. XP drivers all work fine; can see the printer on the network, yet the Vista driver fails halfway through the install.
This solution 100% worked for me. I have a C700 (C715NR) Compaq Presario (google this and see if you can find it PM if you can because I can't) but long story short I upgraded to Ultimate for $26 thanks to an educational discount through UTSA and all of the sudden my old USB driver's stopped working but now thanks to this Solution that could only be thought of as pure divine intervention, all of my USB mass storage devices began to work again! This person saved a good two weeks of my life!
WickedMX wrote: I've been experiencing the same problem with usb storage devices for the last few weeks and have visited numerous forums discussing it. After having no joy I decided to take a look around my system folders and have now got these devices working again. While looking around I discovered 2 points of interest:
- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
- When i looked in my C:\Windows\inf folder i discovered the usbstor.inf and usb stor.pnf files were missing - this definitely had to be an issue.
As yet I have not had any problem with other usb devices so I don't know whether this solution applies to everything. However I have noticed that most people are having this problem with devices that register themselves as a mass storage device, including most new printers, cameras, etc. Basically anything with on board memory tells windows it is also a mass storage device, so maybe this is what is causing the problem with those particular usb devices.
Hope this helps- In C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository I had two folders named "usbstor.inf" but each one had a different set of numbers attached to the end of the folder name. - could this be where part of the problem lies?
No matter what I try I always get the Access is Denied Message, my inf and pnf files were already in the inf folder for wickeds technique, and trying to install the drivers manually doesnt work either. Trying to get a 4gb Sandisk Flash drive and a Casio Digital Camera to work. Any help would be appreciated. Running Vista 64 bit Business.- I have the identical errors. " windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it. USB mass storage device. Access denied.
Please help. I have identical USB drives, one works, the doesn't. Hello ... First thanks for solving my problem. Like everyone else I could not attach any new devices. They all fail with Vista 32 telling me it can not find drivers. These devices were ones it should know like a hub. I found someone telling to just point the driver search to /windows/system32 and that solved it. Yes it was a pain but at least I was not restoring my OS. The other fix someone said with coping files to /windows/inf was not a issue with me, I had them in the right place
Then I found this link ( think from this thread) that is hotfix to fix when Vista can not find driver.
Well THAT FIXED IT. I do not seem to have any problems with connecting new USB devices.
Hope that helps those people still with the problem.
Vinnie
- Thanks Vinnie, I took your advice and downloaded the patch which seems to have done the trick. I've tried every suggestion found in this, and a multitude of other forums to no avail. I was most curious to see what causes this error to occur and was able to replicate the error on a multitude of Vista units by installing some specific 3rd party software. In my case installing the software for my wireless broadband card (Telstra Next G from Australia) followed by installing the modem drivers for my Motorola Q9 mobile phone caused the corruption to occur. If I only installed the Wireless Card it was fine, or if I only installed the Q9 drivers it was fine. Installing them both and installing them in a particular sequence, wireless Card 1'st then the Q9 drivers, caused the error each and every time without fail on 3 different computers. I'm not at all suggesting that everyone's problem is related to Q9 drivers and wireless modem cards (most people would not have this combination), rather I'm suggesting that it has to do with some certain combinations of 3rd party software...perhaps in the modem/communications category that causes the corruption of the "windows/inf" folder and specifically the "infcache1" file found in the "windows/system32" area (which is vital for the "windows/inf" folder to function correctly). Anyway, just my 2 cents worth but thanks again for posting your solution, which in my case at least proved the fix as well.
Tony I had some problems with Vista in combination with a Microsoft USB keyboard and a USB Western digital harddisk.
After deleting the file c:\windows\inf\cache.1 everything works fine now. It seems this file was corrupt.
- hey man i tried to do what u said as i copyed the folder to the inf folder but it still dosnt work with my ipod flash drive and i bought this new thing Flip video but it dosnt let me install the driver cuz it shows that its not connected even thought the little camcorder is. got any other solutions ?
- when i try to do that and install the driver to system 32 i get this error
windows found the driver software for your device but enountered an error while attempting to install it.
usb mass storage device
the system cannot find the file specified.
if you know the manufacturer of your device you can visist its website and cheak the support section for your driver software. ???
any one got anyidea what i can do i would really like to use my usb ports. Hi everyone-
Sorry to hear this is affecting so many people. My team owns device installation in Windows Vista so I wanted to provide you with some more information on exactly why this is happening and how you can fix it.
Here's a quick summary of what's going on. Windows has a file (INFCACHE.1) that it uses to keep track of the driver packages that are available for installation on a given system. This file is protected against overwriting by applications by being ACL'ed to LocalSystem. We thought this would be enough to keep applications from touching it, since it's an internal structure and not exposed to 3rd parties. However, we learned that many 3rd party setup applications were in fact doing all the work to take control of this file and delete or corrupt it. In Windows XP we had some "just in case" code that would regenerate the file if it was corrupted in some situations. This code existed because the file was writable to administrator users and applications. In Windows Vista to eliminate some seldom-used code and clean up this exposure, we heightened the protection of this file to keep apps from touching it in the first place. We believed that by making it impossible for an app to accidentally overwrite the file, we'd eliminate this unnecessary race (let apps toast the file, then fix it in the background) and just keep the file intact all the time. Unfortunately, it seems that some apps are indeed intentionally finding this file and working around our permissions.
We've released a fix that adds some just-in-time repair code to our driver search paths, such that PnP will detect corruption and regenerate the file if necessary. The fix is what Vinnie pointed you to. The KB article describing it is here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940199.
We're working on getting it posted to Windows Update and pushed out to everyone so this problem doesn't affect anyone in the future. I hope this info was useful to you. Happy holidays and apologies we didn't catch this sooner.
-Euge
thanks for the reply, but it doesn't seem to help. Vista doesn't recognize my IPOD. In Device Manager it says "no drivers are installed for this device", BUT when I update the drivers, it says the drivers are already installed and that Windows has determined that the drivers are up to date. ??? Which one is it? I tried copying over the usbstor inf and pnf files (most recent) into the inf folder, but that didn't help. I've browsed to specific folders when updating the drivers...that doesn't help.
I tried the patch you listed "940199"...that didn't work either.
I like Vista so far, I'm hoping there's a quick resolution to this.
thanks and Happy Holidays!
I can't even install Microsoft hardware (e.g., the LifeCam VX-7000 or Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard). I've installed the drivers but Vista doesn't seem to know that. Euge, wish I could say that this fix did the trick, but when I try to install the fix, I get a message that says "this update does not aply to my system."
Very Disappointed.
The solution is as follows:
Delete the INFCACHE.1 file from the Windows/inf/ folder.
There is even a need to reboot. Everything will work fine after that.
This file sometimes gets corrupted.
- tried to download the patch and was informed that it did not apply to me. If I delete the file will it cause me problems?
jamespearl@(donotspam)hotmail.com - I had this problem with all my USB pens. I ended up dual booting back to XP wasting a lot of time and have revisited microsoft to see if they had found a fix which todate they have not why??
ATTENTION EVERYONE:
This is the solution to the issue being mentioned in this forum:
Delete the INFCACHE.1 file from the Windows/inf/ folder.
There is even a need to reboot. Everything will work fine after that.
This file sometimes gets corrupted.
Hi everyone.
I tried all the solutions mentioned in this thread.
Nothing worked for me.
No hotfix is working and also the solution in the last post isn't working.
Seems to be that the problem is very hard.
Please help all the people with this problem.
Kindly regards
Jose
Now it goes around ....
It seems to be that I'm solute the problem. I installed the usbstore.inf from another computer to the windows/inf directory.
That worked. Suddenly all the hardware could be recognized. Founding the harware was never the problem.
But when I started to get my GPS Garmin get to work as a GPS Device (working as a mass storage device worked - and wis working) the problem started again. Even though when I started to get my my cell phone working as a cell phone (working as a memory stick worked - and is working) the problem/error occurs.
And now it won't work when I copy over the inf files. Nothing happen.
But perhaps there is a another device making problems. It is listed "PCI-Device" making an error in the System. I don't habe any PCI Devices in my computer. What could this be? I killed the MIDI Port in BIOS, but ist wasn't this entry.
Perhaps someone could help now again.
Kindly regards
Jose
Did the patch fail to install, or did it succeed but not fix the problem? Would you please explain to me the exact steps you took to try and resolve this so I can understand what's happening?
Hi larasxgirlfriend. Have you tried installing the fix I listed earlier? We believe this fixes the problem so I'd be interested in whether this solves your issue.
-Euge
Yes. The Patch definitly fail to install.
And now another problem began.
I tried to remove items in the hardware manager with an !
But this was a hardly fault. I removed my soundcard (onboard) and until a restore of my system configuration (done this already) the soundcard never went back.
I think, the problem ist, that when I put in a new hardware (usb/pci/ etc.) Vista recognize the hardware but isn't abel to install it. Allways the errro message that the hardware could'nt be installed correctly. So if I went to go to buy new hardware I will have a big problem with my Windows Vista.
The solution for my problem was that I restored ma ysystem to a younger point. Now I do have my soundcard back and so on. But I don't know if its good to install new hardware, this should not work I think.
The problem is still alive. Hope the SP 1 would bring me/us the solution for those probs.
Jose
- Ok how about this problem, I have an external usb 2.0 harddrive from trekstor. Vista HP installs it as a mass storage device, but I can't access the drive cause it keeps telling me to insert a disk into the drive. The disk drive is self powered and is on the rear usb ports on my system (Dell XPS 710) and shares the usb root hub with a lifecam vx-300 and a kingston 2GB thumb drive. I have tried all the various methods to get this to work, and followed the instructions from trekstors customer service to no avail, and I just got the drive today and have spent the past 12 hrs trying in vain to get it to work including re-installing vista, switching usb ports, uninstalling the usb root hubs unpluging everything but the drive. I cant format it or view it under disk management, all the info for it is greyed out, although I can change the drive letter so it must know its a drive. I would say its the drives fault but too many people can't get this or any other external drive to work properly in vista.
Have you connected your drive to another computer? Worked it there?
Seems that your drive is broken.- I have the same problem too.
My motherboard is gigabyte 945P-S3.
My computer don't recognized my PSP and my new IPOD TOUCH 8gig
I have windwos vista ultimate.
Other usb devices are working in the same USB ports like camera, mouse, keyboard, gamepad. Also, the psp and the ipod are working on other PC, in this case, with windows XP. So i don't think that the problem is with the hardware.
What to do? it's so irritated.
Help please! i get tired of this problem.
Thank you Hey Euge,
The KB940199 worked perfect for me, thanks!
Installed, rebooted and all good!
I had a HP Deskjet F2180 which was not taking the latest All-in-one driver, now ok!
Great post!!!...well done to "wickedwx" and others posting fixes/suggestions.
Though I will still stick with XP for a while yet!
Goodbye Vista! (Format c
Micko
Hi
I have a maxtor one touch external hard drive. i connect it to my new laptop running vista and the device lights come on and it starts humming so i know it's working. But it's not showing up on 'my computer' and i can't access my files. The remove usb mass storage device icon is there and if i right click on it it tells me i can remove maxtor one touch safely but nowhere can i access it. Have done the windows inf folder ubstore thing and tried to delete infcache.1 but it won't let me it says I need permission to do this
please hep
Ok, so copying the usbstor.inf from another computer worked for me to install a usb hard drive i have, but now (a few weeks later), I cant install a basic USB keyboard or USB hub. It says:
"Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it. GENERIC USB HUB. The System cannot find the file specified."
-I've tried deleting the infcache.1 file which did nothing to help.
-I've tried applying that patch, which installed successfully, and rebooted, but didnt do anything either.
I'm a microsoft certified engineer, and I've NEVER seen anything like this before. I mean, a brand spanking new OS that cannot install a USB keyboard?!?! I had to dig out an old PS2 KB just to type this message. Lord knows what other USB devices I cant use.
Quite Frankly, It's very dissappointing that there are 9 pages on this thread alone full of people having this same problem, and we only have 1 microsoft employee giving input, and a link to a patch that evidently does nothing. I hate to have to go back to XP, but if this is not resolved soon, that will be the case.
Come on Microsoft, please do something here to help all of us poor people who spent good money for an operating system that doesnt support USB devices. PLEASE.
anyone still having problems, here are the easy to follow instructions, i work in a computer repair shop and we have had lots of calls about this, this has resolved the problem for every single customer so far. its the same as the info already in this thread, ive just simplified it a bit, hope it helps
1. Go to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository
2. Find a folder named usbstore, there there could be a few with the same name, but different dates, choose the latest one.
3. open the folder.
4. there will be a file called usbstor.inf, right click and select copy.
5. Now go to C:\Windows\Inf
6. Paste the usbstor.inf file into this folder using right click and select paste, or ctrl+v.
7. Now insert your usb device, Vista will see it and load some driver, quite afew, bear with it, it will work.
- Non of this works for me, I tried to install a new hard drive. PNP sees the driver but wont install gives me an access denied error. When I log in under admin it tells me driver not found. The device works fine if I click ask me later. In an effort to see if it was the drive I switched it with a drive that works, now both drives will not install. Everytime I reboot PNP tries to install a driver thats already installed. Hot fix will not install. INF replacement doesnt work and INF cache delete didnt work.Vista Ultimate 64. Can someone ix this please.
One more here...
I've been having the same problem and tried to fix it a whole day.
I tried the patch, I tried to copy inf file over the inf folder, nothing works.
I hope somebody can resolve this matter asap.
Thank you.
PS - Vista 64bit Home Premium
- Same problem here with Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000.
I tried all the workaround.
I'm using Vista Home Premium 32.
Release a fix please! Thanks so much for this info! It worked very well for me after trying a number of different things. Appriciate your advice!
Bill
- Great, I installed the patch and now it finds the device but says a required INF entry is missing because it was probably made for Windows 95. Any way to fix that?
- I did find the usbstor.inf but I can't figure out how to copy and past it in the C:\Sindows\inf.
I am trying to get Vista to recognize my USB memory drive. - I also am having a problem getting my Corsair Padlock to be recognized.
I have read all the posts on how to copy and paste the usbstor.inf into the the windows/inf folder. But I can't figure out how to do it.
I sure can uses help on this. I'm not computer illiterate but this process has me stumped.
kaloder wrote: Many thanks to WickedMX,
I bought a Corsair 8GB today and was shocked at home, beacause Vista wasn,t found drivers for it. I searched about 6 hours inside many forums for a solution and became also a headache during searching a solution. I copied this 2 files into windows/inf folder, updated driver and in few seconds I can used my new USB flash drive.
Thanks, thanks, thanks
Gray-Catchpole wrote: anyone still having problems, here are the easy to follow instructions, i work in a computer repair shop and we have had lots of calls about this, this has resolved the problem for every single customer so far. its the same as the info already in this thread, ive just simplified it a bit, hope it helps
1. Go to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository
2. Find a folder named usbstore, there there could be a few with the same name, but different dates, choose the latest one.
3. open the folder.
4. there will be a file called usbstor.inf, right click and select copy.
5. Now go to C:\Windows\Inf
6. Paste the usbstor.inf file into this folder using right click and select paste, or ctrl+v.
7. Now insert your usb device, Vista will see it and load some driver, quite afew, bear with it, it will work.
No go, TRied this fix yet again, and it gives the same Error:
Windows Found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.
GENERIC USB HUB
The System cannot find the file specified.
I see that Mr. Microsoft... "Eugene Lin" from page 8 is stumped too, and seems to be avoiding this topic.
At This point, saying that I regret paying money for and upgrading to Vista is an understatement. Thank you microsoft for making me feel like fool for purchasing your new OS.
I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with microsoft, trying to get a support technician on the line, and they said they would have to charge me $59. After I talked to the customer reps supervisor she refused to work with me about this issue, or wave the $59 fee for a problem with their OS. They just kept sending me to their website for support.
Its amazing to me how absolutely Money thirsty microsoft is, they wouldnt even talk to me about the issue with their Broken Operating system without trying to get MORE money out of me. This is INSANE! Thank you microsoft for giving me no other choice but to ditch Windows Vista.
The patch I referred to in my previous post is designed to address the problem where you plug in a device and Windows Vista doesn't find a driver for it, even though the driver is present on the machine (typically an inbox driver). I've seen a couple of folks posting about other problems such as matrixclese's problem where Windows finds a driver but hits a problem installing it.
Glassdentist, from your description it sounds like you're hitting this problem. Have you tried installing the patch? If not you can install it from here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940199.
PingouinEncore, what error are you getting when you try to install the Lifecam? Is Windows telling you it couldn't find a driver, or are you getting some other error?
Matrixclese, I am indeed still here and offended by your comments. For clarity, I am in the product development team and not in the product support org, and I am not involved in the decisions around how much customer service reps charge for support calls or really anything to do with money here at Microsoft, so I ask that you consider the effectiveness of your rants in giving me further incentive to help you. I'm looking into problems around usbstor.inf installation and am trolling thru our error reporting data and will report back on what I find.
-EugeEugene, everyone with this issue --
Like yourselves, this one had me stumped. I wanted to if at all possible to avoid having to try and do a reinstall of Vista,
mostly because I'd wound up with 30GB on the machine of my own files and they'd all need to be transferred off if I wanted to try a reinstall.
I did the hotfixes in relation to this, and almost every single piece of advice in relation to the USB device issue on this (and many other threads! - including regedit stuff and swapping about USBSTOR files) but NOTHING worked.
The best Microsoft could suggest on their Ireland helpline - thankfully I was NOT charged! - was to plug out the machine, leave it for 5 minutes and plug it back in! (Apparently USB ports on Vista get charged with static; funny how that had never happened on XP or any of the other OSs!)Anyway, needless to say the Microsoft solution didn't work.
But before I got closer to that inevitable reinstall, I did try something. And sure enough it worked a treat.
Microsoft Windows Updates caused the problem for me! The machine was set to pick up the updates automatically and had found some and done so in the second week I had this laptop. Of course, the USB devices worked fine in the first week but NOT in the second. Now I see why my USB devices were suddenly not being found. It had done the automatic updates at some point in between the USB devices working and not working, and for me, no other fix would undo whatever a particular update had done.
Now, not expecting this solution to work in the first place, I cannot be 100% sure which of the udpates was the culprit. I see now that Vista is recommending I pick up 14. It was possibly one of the 10 which are Windows Vista specific. (The other 4 were not updated at any point, so I'm excluding them.)One of these is very likely the cause of many other users' problem:
1) KB941644 - Security Update
2) KB939159 - Update for Vista3) KB942763 - Update for Vista
4) KB941229 - Media Center Update
5) KB932471 - .NET Update of some kind
6) KB905866 - Windows Mail Junk Email Filter something-or-other
7) KB941649 - Update for Vista
8) KB941651 - Update for Vista
9) KB943302 - Update for Vista
10) KB943899 - Update for Vista
Most of those go back to the last few months of last year, though the earliest is from June 2007.
I fully believe if any of the users with the USB device issue in this thread REMOVE those, we will determine if one of them - or other updates - are the cause. I suppose they should preferably be removed one by one unlike me - I had no patience to restart between each, so I just did the lot and then restarted.I hope this is of some help. I was on the verge of just installing XP on this BRAND NEW laptop!
As for Vista's developers, and as I said today on the phone to Microsoft - whatever about the other changes in this OS, the fact that something as simple as USB devices failing to be recognised/function/find drivers has become such a serious problem for so many suggest Vista was released a bit too early. It's just too serious a bug to believe it wasn't caught before. (In Microsoft's defence, though, I will concede what the lady told me on the phone today - this particular problem, she said, is only affecting OEM and upgraded from XP versions of Vista, so that might explain why it wasn't spotted in-house by the developing engineers.)
Anyway, hope that is of some help to all those still caught!- I have uninstalled all the updated you said...
and it's didn' work
i still get the message "USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED"
i think it's a problem with my motherboard and vista... (it's Gigabyte 945P-S3)
I am really irritated about my hp laptop because when I connect my usb and afterwhile safely remove it, the computer says it is now safe to remove but the light from the usm does not disappear. It means that the usb wasn't remove properly. What can I do, if this continue this might ruin my usb. Thank you- Eugene-
I appreciate the efforts and I don't intend shoot the messenger but I think we all are hoping for a fix to this.
Just wanted to add my experience - for what it's worth- I'm having the same USB Wireless Mouse problem... with two different mice.
My Laptop is a Compaq (HP) Presario running Vista.
First tried a Logitech V220 which I returned thinking it was the mouse (Sorry Logitech). Got a MS Wireless Optical 3000 thinking that surely a Microsoft Mouse would work with Vista.
The hardware device is recognized but I get the same
"Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it. ...The System cannot find the file specified." error.
Without going off on a "How did Microsoft ever release this?" rant that won't help to resolve the issue, here's what I tried:
-Tried to delete the \inf\infcache.1 file.
-Found that permissions on the folder didn't allow me to do that. -
-Changed owner of \inf from "Trusted Installer" to <machine>\administrators, set the permissions to full control and deleted the file.
-Rebooted and tried in Device Manager to reinstall the driver. Got the same result and noticed that the infcache.1 file didn't get restored.
-Tried the KB940199 patch and got the "doesn't apply to .." message.
-Rebooted and saw that the infcache.1 file was back. (From the patch even though it "didn't apply"?)
-Tried again in DM to reinstall the driver. Still no luck.
-Tried the "copy ubstor.inf from \System32\DriverStore\FileRepository" method with the same results.
I thought maybe there was a permissions issue so I made the administrators the owner of the entire Windows folder with full control. As a last ditch deperate measure, I uninstalled the driver software, turned off the wireless network, turned off the firewall and anti-virus (ZoneAlarm), reinstalled the driver software and tried adding the mouse hardware again. You guessed it- same results.
BTW, the software (MS IntelliPoint) does install- I get the Mouse shortcut and can open it but all it sees is the touchpad. Well,
today I tried to plug in another USB Mass storage.
Nothing happened, same problem for weeks now.
And it's not only a mass storage problem. I do have this problems with every (new) usb device.
All the solutions mentioned didn't help (work).
I hope MS will offer a patch that rwly works for all, and not only for a few of us.
Kindly Regards.
Jose
- Hi KeithSz-
Are you able to System Restore to before this problem was happening? Did you install or uninstall anything around the time this problem started?
Would you let me know the exact text of the "doesn't apply to..." message you're getting?
-Euge - I had solved this in the past successfully via deleting infcache.1 and copying the usbstor file over to the inf dir.
but now I am in the same boat as others. I cannot install any usb devices beyond the ones that got recognized in the past. the most recent one I installed was just last week (usb canon scanner). now I get an error message that it cannot find drivers. when I try to install the hotfix I get a message from Windows Update Standalone installer that says: The update does not apply to your system.
running in circles here and of course pretty upset about this disaster.
looking forward to a 'real' solution. I cannot believe that there are so many here and this has been going on for a year already?
Hi Euge,
I haven't done a system restore. All I did was uninstall the mouse driver software via Control Panel. No other hardware was installed recently. The last drivers that were installed were the network printer drivers for a Brother 5460 printer. I have two flash drives - a Sandisk Cruzer that doesn't work (problem with Sandisk- not Vista) and a PNY that works fine. If you need to know of other software let me know but I'll leave it out for now to keep it short.
The message text was simply the " update doesn't apply to your system" when running the KB940199. I will run it again tonight to see if there was any addition text but I think that was it.
On a side note, I was comparing notes with a friend who recently got a Vista notebook- they installed a wireless USB mouse with no problem. It has me wondering if this is actually an OS issue or an issue with a given OEM setup/ configuration?
I had an unrelated issue with a Vista box at work and found the following:
*********************************************************************
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1210644&SiteID=17
Symptoms, the error "The "\\servername\sharedfolder" does not exist. The file may have been moved or
deleted. Do you want to create it?" comes up if a user copies a file from the Share, edits the file and then tries
to copy it back. You are however able to successfully save the file locally ?
A second issue was not being able to rename folders/files on the Share. Again locally is fine just over the
network is an issue.
Cause : Possibly the way the OEM vender packaged the OS.
Resolution : Create the parameters key in the following location :
HKLM/system/currentcontrolset/services/csc/parameters
Then within the parameters key, create a DWORD Value named FormatDatabase with a value of 1 (hex) then
reboot the machine.
**************************************************************************
That registry entry solved the problem. Could this be a similar type of issue?Any solution found until now?
Someone who tried it with the new final SP1 for Vista?
Perhaps the problem is solved within SP1?
Greetings
well i believe i have read every forum out about the ipod and none of the above suggestions worked for me. it seems that my problem was a simple reset (which i never saw posted anywhere) so here goes just hold down the menu and center buttons for about 6 sec. while the ipod is attached to the Vista machine via the usb cord. This caused both the ipod and the usb connections to reset and everything is beautiful again.
Hope this helps some other lost souls...
About the "Update doesn't apply to your system"
Try this:
1. Download the Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.msu file to a folder, e.g. e:\download
2. run cmd as administrator, in the command window, type
expand /f:* e:\download\Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.msu e:\download
You will get four files extracted, among which the Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab is the needed package
3. type:
start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:e:\download\Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab
Wait for the package to be installed. (it takes about 1 minute) Then restart the computer.
However....it doesn't help to solve the problem of already finding the driver but hitting problems when installing it.
Maybe KB943986 works.
Doesn't work.
The package won't install anything.
- I'm too am having a terrible time getting Windows 32-bit Vista or itunes to recognize my brand new 160GB ipod classic (ipod software version 1.0.3 PC, newest itunes 7.6.0.29). I've spent the last two days going through Apple's 5 Rs (4 or 5 times, now)... pouring through various forums... updated all the USB drivers... reassigned my slave drive letter to make sure there's no conflict... moving .inf files and pointing the ipod towards them... deleting infcache1... MS hotfix (doesn't apply to my device)... nothing is working.
The ipod is seen in the Device Manager as an "unknown device", but that's it. Nothing under "My Computer" indicating it as a drive. Nothing in itunes.
The "USB Mass Storage Device" and "Apple ipod Controller" are listed under the "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" and all drivers are up to date.
The ipod is listed as an "unknown device" in the device manager. When I try to update and install the driver for the "unknown device", it automaticly searches windows and the internet, but finds nothing. When I point it towards my C:\Windows\System32 folder (or elsewhere as suggested) it locates a driver... but encounters an "unknown error" when installing.
Absolutely nothing has worked for me! I'm not new to itunes, ipods or working with Windows Vista. This is terribly frustrating as I now have a $350 paperweight! Ironiclly, all other USB devices are working (camera, external hard drive, USB memory stick, USB wireless mouse) and I just sold and shipped my 5g 60GB WHICH WAS WORKING PERFECTLY!
Ugggggghhhhhhhh!!!
Please, please, please help! This appears to be an ongoing theme on the Apple support boards, too. The new classics aren't recognized by Vista machines. Frustrating to say the least.
hi,
I have an identical problem on vista x64 ultimate (dutch).
For all new usb devices, the usb controller and diskstation driver are loaded, but not the driver for the volume name.
The drive is visible in disk manager without drive letter.
Deleting infcache, hotfix(doesn't apply to device) does not work.
There is a unknown device. Pointing to the system32 folder also gives an unknown error after installing.
Older usb device which were connected in the beginning are working ok.
If anyone has a solution or workaround, please share it with us.
GreetzEXACTLY!!!
Mine shows up in the disc manager as well... even labeled "ipod" and listing 148GB of disc spacs.
Deleting infcache had no effect... nor did moving around the usbappl.inf files forom the file repository as described here: http://teknobabble.wordpress.com/2007/08/18/vista-driver-problems-installing-a-usb-media-reader-a-solution/
Vista just keeps asking for a driver and when I point it towards one... runs into an error when intalling. The hotfix provided adressing this exact issue (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940199) hasn't worked nad I get an error saying "This update doesn't apply to your system". O Rly!?! Hmmmm... Windows Vista 32... exact same error when mounting my ipod. Sure SOUNDS like it SHOULD!
Tried this fix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925196/en-us but actually found the CD/DVD upper and lower filters in a different key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Still no joy, though. Starting itunes just gives an error message saying it requires the registry entry to burn CD's and asks that I re-install itunes. Attempts to connect prior to reinstalling (since it still runs) have no effect.
Tried restarting itues service http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307078 but it just hangs. Reinstalling and restarting has no effect.
It just kills me that I can see the ipod connected in the Device Manager ("unknown device") and in Computer Management/Storage/Disc Management ("Rmovable Disc 1" with 148 GB).
So frustrating. This is the first problem I've run into with Vista that has stumped me for more than 24-hours and has really got me feeling stupid.
- My ipod worked fine, until the upgrade last night. I love how the upgrades makes things that used to work, not work at all. Anyone have any other fixes for my suddenly unknown ipod?
Exactly! Now I'm having the same problems with any NEW USB device. All the old stuff (camera, slave drive etc.) works fine. But it won't recognize driver's or properly install them for anything that hasn't been previously installed.
Work-arounds listed in this thread and the hotfix describing this very issue don't seem to work, either. Poking around I'm getting some indications that my 4 USB 2.0 ports are no longer recognized as 2.0. Still troubleshooting, though. I'll post if I come up with anything more difinative.
Dear Microsoft. Please fix this issue ASAP.
- MSH441
I'm having the same problem with my new IPOD TOUCH 8GB.
I get the error "USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED" and my VISTA 32BIT Machine recognized it as an unknown device....
In my XP machine... it works! PDRBECK wrote: I pointed the driver updater from control panel to a "manifest file in (c:\windows\winsxs) that I found by searching for "usbstor". The system went through the install thingie and it picked up both of my Kingston DTs that I have been having problems with for 3 weeks. I just noticed that the "program" settings for my MS mouse buttons for IE went away so that might be a key.
THANK YOU! Told it to search in c:\windows\winsxs and voilá.
BTW, I'm on Vista ultimate x64 and had no luck with WickedMX's solution.I'm on Vista Home Premium 32-bit and have had the same issue with my built-in USB-based multi-card reader (SD/CF/etc). Since disassembling the machine to unplug and replug isn't a good option, I regularly just Uninstall the device (which appears as "Unknown device"), then reboot. If I don't reboot, it'll put it right back in under Unknown Device. It's a major pain, but at least it recovers full functionality. I haven't put SP1 on that particular machine yet, but I'll give it a try.
Curiously, it seems to be affected depending on the other USB drives I have attached at the time (not a power issue--they're attached to a powered hub).
After 3 days of deleting infcache etc, loading hotfixes that didn't want to apply to my system I still couldn't get my logitech wireless desktop set to work (although it had worked before). So I went out and bought a Microsoft wireless 5000 desktop set in the foolish belief that Microsoft hardware must work with microsoft software Vista 64 Ultimate.
Plugged it all in - got the usual your USB device is broken, not recognised etc.
So decided it must be a hardware problem with my system
A8n VM CSM motherboard
4 mb ram
2 sata raid disks
AMD 64bit 4800 processor
Couldn't find anything obvious so upgraded the BIOS to 10.07 and guess what - no better.
Just before I conteplated putting the whole lot in the skip, I was so frustrated, I went into the discarded equipment drawer and found an old self powered USB 4 port hub (from the days when pc's only came with 2 USB ports) plugged it in and Vista recognised it as a USB hub and loaded it. - I then plugged my wireless keyboard receiver into the hub and guess what - Everything lit up and worked perfectly.
Don't ask me why this worked, I don't know - it was just a hunch, but if helps anyone else avoid days of misery with the system this is for you.
Something has gone serious wrong with one of the latest updates of VISTA and its really causing headaches even for myself with years of Windows Experience at Guru level.
Im running a standard Dell Keyboard with USB connection , Wireless Logitech VX7 Mouse and I have two external HDD which did work perfect , VISTA has always accepted these devices before no problem until this morning when I thought My mouse had died so like you do I checked the batteries which i changed with new ones and also the connection and still nothing , Vista didn't even detect it as a device when I plugged it in. Ok so I need to do a reboot I try the keyboard and guess what that is dead aswell even the keyboard lights were off which is very strange. I reconnected the USB devices and VISTA did nothing even the lights didn't come on so im thinking it has to be a USB Driver issue ?.
I rebooted at the at the switch and im waiting for the keyboard to flash and nothing. I tried connecting an external HDD device to see if there is an issue with the USB connections but the HDD powered up so the USB was working but for some reason VISTA doesn't want to connect to these devices.
After about 4 reboots I managed to get the keyboard working but it was very touch and go ocassionally it would just die....I deleted the copied the USBSTORE INF to the /inf/ directory and now I thinks my mouse is some sort of USB 1.0 Unknown device. Everytime I try and update the drivers for the mouse it doesn't find nothing not in system32 or the inf directories Ive installed Logitech drivers through the executable and still nothing, everytime I reconnect the device windows just says device not recognised !.
So Im not sure what to do next , my HDD wont load in windows and neither will my Mouse , anybody any ideas ?
Regards
Simon
- This issue had me puzzled for about a week until a few minutes ago.
Symptoms: Old usb devices worked fine
new usb devices would not install
patch Windows6.0-KB940199-x86 or x64 would not install (error "this update does not apply to your system")
pointing the installation to C:\windows\system32 returned an error
The issue is solved now and I took a few roads to get here. I tried moving around the usbstor and deleting the infcache.1 with no results. My computer had best results with number 3 but i will post all my steps.
1. I opened the device manager and uninstalled all the entries under Universal Serial Bus Controller. Vista will try to reinstal them as you uninstal, just keep track of what you have uninstalled already. After you have uninstalled all the entries restart Vista. After this I tried installing my new usb device... no luck
2. Download update KB940119 (either x86 or x64), using 7-zip extract the installation file and copy the file Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab to c:\ (i choose c:\ because it was easy to type). In CMD type "start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:c:\Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab" (copied from earlier post xechvol) after install, reboot machine again. I tried my devices after this and again nothing.
3. After plugging in my new usb device, from the Device Manager window, click "Unknown Device" and click update driver. Click Browse My Computer for Driver Software. Either navigate to or type C:\Windows\winsxs and go on from there. This one worked for me after pulling up a warning about the driver not being digitally signed or something.
I have rebooted my computer and installed 3 other new usb devices all of different nature and all three have installed fine without needing any input from me (just the way it used to be).
I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Toshiba Satellite A-215
Hope this helps Here's my tale of woe...
I purchased a midi-to-usb cable from M-AUDIO called an UNO. This device has a midi device inline in the cable.
This device is a class-compliant unit that works as advertised when I plug it into an XP PC.
When I plug it into my Vista Home Premium PC the light on the midi device stays on for a few seconds and then goes dark. I also get a failure beep and when I open the Device Manager I see a yellow triangle with an exclamation point "!" on the device I just plugged in. The device is labeled VIEWCON. The error associated with this device is:
This device cannot start. (Code 10)
Click 'Check for solutions' to send data about this device to Microsoft and to see if there is a solution available.
The INF name used is wdma_usb.inf
I've searched everywhere for a solution.
I hope I can find a solution here...
Or, I hope someone can point me to a source where I can find a solution...
I've tried two different hotfixes from microsoft including the one you suggested.
It said it does not apply to my system.
The cable is supposed to allow me to play the piano and record my notes in Finale NotePad2008.
Please help if you can...
Thank you.
Hi
This Solution worked like a dream
I have a HP 6715B, and USB drives have never worked on this computer.
Apllied your fix, and all my drives was installed, Great!!!
regards
Eirik
Thankyou so much, this was the only thing that worked.
It worked for my usb flash.
I am amazed that when i tried searching all of the c:\windows drive and subfolders it found nothing.
But when I tried c:\windows\winsxs it picked it up.
It did advice not to install as it did not know if it was compatible, I igored that and installed it.
I had to reboot and then then worked fine.
Once again, many thanks!
I encountered the "USB Device Not Recognized" error for the first time a couple of days ago..
I have a new PC, and I'd just bought a new printer; a HP PhotoSmart 5280 to be exact. The installer asked me to plug in the cable, and turn the printer on. I did so, and instead of installing the necessary drivers it said that it wasn't recognised and had malfunctioned.. I searched Google, and found that many had encountered this error. However, every suggestion that I had read, and tried, didn't work. I came to the conclusion that the printer was faulty, as I'd tried my old HP DeskJet 940c printer, and that installed with no problem. So I sent it back and got a refund.
I then bought a Canon iP4500, and to my horror - the same problem appeared! USB Device Not Recognized. At this point, I started to worry that there was a serious fault with my PC. I'd tried literally everything, stumbled upon this thread and tried all suggestions - nothing worked! I then decided to go out and buy a quality USB2 wire, more of a last resort than anything.. I found one at my local Currys store. A Belkin Professional USB 2.0 Device Cable. It was priced up at £29.99, but I figured if it worked - then it would be worth it.. I got home, plugged it in, powered up the printer - and to my amazement and absolute relief, it installed!
£29.99 for a cable is an outrage IMO, but the previous cable I'd used which worked for the old printer, but neither of the new ones, was a cheap thing I'd picked up from eBay. Modern technology can be so picky!! It seems that you tend to get what you pay for though, even where cables are concerned now!
- Thank you, it seems that this is the solution c:\windows\winsxs. Vista issues a warning about the driver, but and then it works!
I did try the Winsxs feature but nothing happened. It turns out that my motherboard USB Controllers died , as there was no power comming out of the connections , I had to buy a PS2 style keyboard and mouse just to re-install vista to see if its something with Windows but it looks like it was dead. Also the latest chipset ASUS released was in 2006 and Vista for some reason just didn't accept the drivers.
I bought a new Vista Ready motherboard Abit for £70.00 which was little tricky to move over but after 2 hours of hardwork and a new installation of Vista , every device was recognised and the chipset drivers are 2008 and Vista Ready so... my only advice is to upgrade to a Vista ready motherboard with a good chipset.
I now have 8 USB devices plugged in and everything is working
. I wish you guys the best of luck , if in doubt upgrade
I don't understand where you copied the pnf and inf files from and where to. Can somebody help me? I'm pretty sure I have this problem too.Finally! Only 11 Pages of Reading!! This is obviously a driver problem. Microsoft! Give us a NEW DRIVER!!
#3 Was My Solution Also.
Thanks for the Suggestions...
Sggd2 wrote: This issue had me puzzled for about a week until a few minutes ago.
Symptoms: Old usb devices worked fine
new usb devices would not install
patch Windows6.0-KB940199-x86 or x64 would not install (error "this update does not apply to your system")
pointing the installation to C:\windows\system32 returned an error
The issue is solved now and I took a few roads to get here. I tried moving around the usbstor and deleting the infcache.1 with no results. My computer had best results with number 3 but i will post all my steps.
1. I opened the device manager and uninstalled all the entries under Universal Serial Bus Controller. Vista will try to reinstal them as you uninstal, just keep track of what you have uninstalled already. After you have uninstalled all the entries restart Vista. After this I tried installing my new usb device... no luck
2. Download update KB940119 (either x86 or x64), using 7-zip extract the installation file and copy the file Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab to c:\ (i choose c:\ because it was easy to type). In CMD type "start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:c:\Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab" (copied from earlier post xechvol) after install, reboot machine again. I tried my devices after this and again nothing.
3. After plugging in my new usb device, from the Device Manager window, click "Unknown Device" and click update driver. Click Browse My Computer for Driver Software. Either navigate to or type C:\Windows\winsxs and go on from there. This one worked for me after pulling up a warning about the driver not being digitally signed or something.
I have rebooted my computer and installed 3 other new usb devices all of different nature and all three have installed fine without needing any input from me (just the way it used to be).
I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Toshiba Satellite A-215
Hope this helps- Number 3 did the trick for me too. Thank you very much!!!
Hey all need help here am having same prob as everyone else it seems I have a kodak digital camera that uses usb n also printer works but when i tried to install all stuff needed for my new vimicro usb pc camera and also for my usb thing for my samsung cell phone all comes up with same usb device not recognized
One of the usb devices attached th this computer has malfunctioned I have read many and i do mean many forums and well I am not nearly as comp lit as rest of you so could someone please put something that may work in computer dummy terms thanks alot have spent over 7 hours reading and trying and reading
Sggd2,
I thank you for you endless persuit to fix your USB problem. Because I to, as many others have the same issue with the Vista USB driver issue. I have spend more time than needed to one the problem. Searching Goggle, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, MSN, Ask, and Dogpile search engines to find the answer. I am going to contact Apple with your fix, so that they may pass it on to others. Once again I THANK YOU for your fix.
PS You found the answer on my b-day- odd!!!
JPD
Sddg2 wrote this on 24 Feb 08,
This issue had me puzzled for about a week until a few minutes ago.
Symptoms: Old usb devices worked fine
new usb devices would not install
patch Windows6.0-KB940199-x86 or x64 would not install (error "this update does not apply to your system")
pointing the installation to C:\windows\system32 returned an error
The issue is solved now and I took a few roads to get here. I tried moving around the usbstor and deleting the infcache.1 with no results. My computer had best results with number 3 but i will post all my steps.
1. I opened the device manager and uninstalled all the entries under Universal Serial Bus Controller. Vista will try to reinstal them as you uninstal, just keep track of what you have uninstalled already. After you have uninstalled all the entries restart Vista. After this I tried installing my new usb device... no luck
2. Download update KB940119 (either x86 or x64), using 7-zip extract the installation file and copy the file Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab to c:\ (i choose c:\ because it was easy to type). In CMD type "start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:c:\Windows6.0-KB940199-x86.cab" (copied from earlier post xechvol) after install, reboot machine again. I tried my devices after this and again nothing.
3. After plugging in my new usb device, from the Device Manager window, click "Unknown Device" and click update driver. Click Browse My Computer for Driver Software. Either navigate to or type C:\Windows\winsxs and go on from there. This one worked for me after pulling up a warning about the driver not being digitally signed or something.
I have rebooted my computer and installed 3 other new usb devices all of different nature and all three have installed fine without needing any input from me (just the way it used to be).
I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Toshiba Satellite A-215
Hope this helpsI have a Sony Vaio VGN-NR120E, this fixed it. Give it a try!!!!
Bwairman
- yo dude!.. thnx a lot!.. iot really works for me!..
thank God my psp will be put new games now.. thnx to you also!... Ok THIS APPLIES TO NEW IPOD CLASSICS/IPOD NANO
12 pages later.... i have read positively everything, TRIED possitively everything.... every single fix, and every single suggestion does not seem to work
Whenever i connect my new 160GB Ipod to my Laptop (HP Pavilion dv8000) the driver is installed as a
"USB mass storage device" and what seems to be its sub description is "Apple ipod usb device".When i turn on itunes the Ipod is not recognised at all.... i have tried the famous 5 R's suggested on the apple support website... i have the most up to date itunes, i have tried every usb port on my machine... i have triep the file swapping suggestion in the windows/inf file.... i have tried deleteing the cache1 file.... i have done so much more on top of that....NOTHING WORKS
my ipod is still recognised as a usb mass storage device and not as Dave's Ipod! I have looked through nearly every message board online and every fix that has been suggested, every little idea has come to no avail... i am stuck with my incredibly slow home desktop computer and its one song an hour rate of uploading onto my ipod!