Device installation, help!

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bigstusexy

2[H]4U
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Jan 28, 2002
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This is a windows issue I'm sure of it


i'm trying to install a network card into windows, someone this became FUBAR way before I touched it and its still so. The problem was that windows had a fantom card, it was saying that the current network card was the seond one of its kind in the system, not that there were two but the second. Like if you install a card (network) and them move which slot its in, windows will somtimes recognize it as a second card and even though it won't show you the first it still believe that its comming back. This card is intergreated into the board so that wasn't what happened.


Long story short, I removed the card from the registry, booth of them and uninstalled the drivers and any instance I saw in device manager, I went to reinstall it now I'm get this generic, Can not find file specified error, tried anoter card (3com was the only thing I had on me) this card should have drivers 100% built into windows, it gives the exact same error when trying to install it. I have a usb to ethernet adapter... works fine.


Anyone seen this before or have any leads on how to resolve this?
 
download drivers, my 3com card isnt supported by windows... many of them arent.. plug a realtec one in there and it'll work with windows
 
Assuming your using XP, if it didn't automatically detect your 3COM NIC, something is wrong. Or your using an ancient card. I've never seen a 3COM card not auto-detected by XP. Not sure what Mauli is talking about....must not be familiar with the 3COM brand.

You also haven't given nearly enough information. What version of Windows? What do you mean by second card? Did it show two instances of the card, or did you just notice two LAN connections in the Network Connections? What's listed as the alleged phantom card?
 
I'm betting
I removed the card from the registry
Click to expand...
that was your fatal mistake.

Any idea what keys you touched?

If you don't know we can't really help you. There are about a bajillion (I have counted them, and this is a technical term ;) ) things you could have removed that would prevent you from installing a new card.

FYI, in the years and years of support I have done, I rarely need to edit the registry. When I do, I'm either REAL careful, or I don't care much about the OS load, and editing it is a last resport before ghosting the system.
 
djnes said:
Assuming your using XP, if it didn't automatically detect your 3COM NIC, something is wrong. Or your using an ancient card. I've never seen a 3COM card not auto-detected by XP. Not sure what Mauli is talking about....must not be familiar with the 3COM brand.

You also haven't given nearly enough information. What version of Windows? What do you mean by second card? Did it show two instances of the card, or did you just notice two LAN connections in the Network Connections? What's listed as the alleged phantom card?
Click to expand...


I have it in my computer dude, im using the kv8.max3 and mine isnt supported by XP. Im talking about personal experience here, i need to get drivers for it to work
 
Mauli said:
I have it in my computer dude, im using the kv8.max3 and mine isnt supported by XP. Im talking about personal experience here, i need to get drivers for it to work
Click to expand...
Your "many of them aren't" statement isn't correct. 3COM is widely supported by windows. If a card comes comes out after XP is released (like perhaps yours) then it won't be included.
 
did i say many? oh well im sorry for that statement then, this one isnt supported. Seing that windows is now 3 or 4 years old, many cards arent supported...
 
Mauli said:
did i say many? oh well im sorry for that statement then, this one isnt supported. Seing that windows is now 3 or 4 years old, many cards arent supported...
Click to expand...

Many 3COM cards are also based upon the same overall chipsets, so they work with basic drivers, but need updated drivers for full or special functionality. That's why I made those comments and said you weren't familiar with the brand. I have several 3 COM adapters built into laptops and mobos that came out after XP. But, they can use basic XP drivers until I load the real ones. I would verify your facts before you try to shoot someone down....it helps.
 
Ok people stop bickering in my thread its my probelm lol, just kidding.

Lets see I hope I address all the questions.

Windows 2k sp4, is the OS

I explain what I ment by second card but I'm going to say it again. Its like as if you installed the card, then moved what PCI slot is in, windows will list the card as <vender><cradtype>#2
will create Local area connection 2.

The card that was the first phantom card was... the same as the second, bah if I can remeber it, its the 3c920 intergreated it syas compabable with (3c905c-tx) something like that. If you want to look it up its on a Dell Optiplex Gx240 look for 3c920 thats the one.

I have the official drivers from 3com, the drives that came with the dell installation, the ome*.inf files in windows. None of them do it.

The second card was a 3com 3c905b These cards have been in windows for quite a while now I believe.

All drivers are WHQL

I removed the card by the HKEY-LM\System\currectcontrolset\enu\pci\ the two vendor description where the description matched the problem card. As i've come to understand (could be wrong) These key are automatically created by windows and tell it the information that has been identified to be in this system. right here the card was listed twice, no where else, I call the first card a phantom because it was not listed in the Device mnanger, no Connection Icon, no connection icon for the second becasuse the card isn't working. It was enumerated twice, I believe that this method is suggested by ms for just the problem I was describing I'll have to look that one up again.


Bah I'm trying to get out the door to work now, if I've missed anything, got more questions or suggesting tell me. I've got a higher version of the drivers (5.3) is what its saying is installed, and 5.1 is whats on the CD set of drivers I have and 5.4 is what I've gotten from dell and officially from 3com now (the other 3com driver came via driversguide)

The thing that makes me think its windows being stupid is that the second 3com I threw in there does the same thing, I know that card is as simple as an inf file and a few system files, where as the original (3c920) isn't as simple it seems as though the installation thats on there not only has a device service drivers (normal) but it aslo has a regualar system serivce as well that needs to be started, bah this is driving me nuts, then I can figure out this persons UT moust problem I'm feeling like a tech failure... but I shall fix something else today that will make me fell good... rambling, Later
 
Without knowing what exactly you did in the Registry, I'm starting to think that might be the problem. Never in the last 8 years have I ever had to muck around in the registry to remove a NIC or it's drivers. I've had to go into various directories and delete actual files, but never in the registry.
 
I'm leaning towards something in the registry that's hosing the install, I doubt it's a driver issue.

However, what you did in the registry doesn't appear to be a bad edit. Removing those keys should remove the deice from device manager. I just don't know if that's all the keys that you need to remove. If you missed some that may be it. Anyways, at this point we'll need someone better at the registry than me looking at this.

On a side note, if we don't find a solution, you *may* be able to fix this with sysprep. Actually, now that I'm thinking about that, I think Ranma_Sao posted the keys to delete to reset device manager. Lemme check.

edit: Sorry! The administrator has specified that you can only do one search every 60 seconds. :(

edit2: Took a while to find the thread I was thinking about, but it was just the keys for mounted devices. IIRC there is a branch you can delete that will get rid of most of the device manager and make it redetect things, but at this point I would look at doing the following:

Sysprep. Have the drivers handy for the system, esp the network card drivers. You can follow the guide I wrote in the sticky above. Since I'm thinking this is going to be a harder one to troubleshoot you may be looking at a reinstall anyways, so this is worth a stab.

Repair reinstall. I don't have a lot of confidence in this as I'm not sure if it'll rebuild the registry. I think it does replace certian keys, and maybe it's the ones you need.

Reinstall.
 
OK I'm going to look at the stikie and try sysprp, I've brought the box in to the house for a full image restore, I thought this was going to happen anyway, its one of thoes issues though that you may encounter later and want to find a way to fix without a image resotre, Like rebuilding the Network stack to fix winsock errors.
 
I blew windows away and much to my supprise it worked! Hmm... now this isn't right I've tested teh card several ways outside of windows and it didn't work so whats up now?


Turns out that its faulty and seems to work when the dell Chassis is open! So we have a dell tech comming but... its 2:11 local time and I'm gone at 4:30 they were supposed to be here by now. Anway thought I'd let you know.
 
Glad you got it figured out. Just as soon as you say something like "This is a windows issue I'm sure of it" you can almost guarantee it isn't.

You really cursed yourself there. :D
 
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