Why does Windows need to reinstall drivers after plugging in USBwireless network adapters?

[Ant]

Hello.

I have a question which is a strange usability. How come Windows XP
Professional SP2 and 2000 SP4 (both OS' with all updates) need to
reinstall the driver after disconnecting and reconnecting an USB network
adapter? It doesn't matter if I do it when I am in Windows or when the
computer is off. I had seen this happened with an old D-Link AirPlus
DWL-120+ USB Adapter and a Hawking Technology's Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G
Adapter (Model: HWU54D).

Is there a way to avoid this? Thank you in advance.
--
"I am afraid that I am convinced that a community of human beings is a
far more useful thing than a community of ants, and that if the human
being is condemned and restricted to perform the same functions over and
over again, he will not even be a good ant, not to mention a good human
being." --Norbert Wiener
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[Dave Lowther]

I have a question which is a strange usability. How come Windows XP
Professional SP2 and 2000 SP4 (both OS' with all updates) need to
reinstall the driver after disconnecting and reconnecting an USB network
adapter?

Is there a way to avoid this? Thank you in advance.

If you mean unplug from USB port and plug in to a different USB port it's
probably because the USB device does not have a unique serial number. There
is nothing you can do about this AFAIK. It should only ask once per USB
port, if you unplug and plug in to the same port and get this then it's not
the problem I'm talking about.

Dave.

 

[Ant]

I have a question which is a strange usability. How come Windows XP

If you mean unplug from USB port and plug in to a different USB port it's
probably because the USB device does not have a unique serial number. There
is nothing you can do about this AFAIK. It should only ask once per USB
port, if you unplug and plug in to the same port and get this then it's not
the problem I'm talking about.

It happens for both old and new ports.
--
"Only two great groups of animals, men and ants, indulge in highly
organized mass warfare." --Charles H. Maskins
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx & http://aqfl.net
| |o o| | E-mail (nuke ANT if replying privately to a newsgroup
\ _ / post): (e-mail address removed) or (e-mail address removed)
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Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

This is sopposed to only occur the first time a USB device is connected to a
USB port. Windows "seems: to maintain a sequence list of devices per USB
port. Whenever an USB device is connected, it "scans" this list and
installs the drive as needed. If you where to re-connect the USB device
back to the very same port, it will not re-install the drivers.

The only true way to not have to have the device drivers re-installed, is to
connect the USB device to esvh USB port one after the other.

 

[Phillip Pi]

Yves, what do you mean by ESVH USB port?

This is sopposed to only occur the first time a USB device is connected to a
USB port. Windows "seems: to maintain a sequence list of devices per USB
port. Whenever an USB device is connected, it "scans" this list and
installs the drive as needed. If you where to re-connect the USB device
back to the very same port, it will not re-install the drivers.

The only true way to not have to have the device drivers re-installed, is to
connect the USB device to esvh USB port one after the other.

--
Phillip Pi
Senior Software Quality Assurance Analyst
Norton SystemWorks (PC)
Symantec Corporation
www.symantec.com