paulb said:
How do i tell what my device is to find the correct driver?
Hi Paul,
Uh, well ... that's one of the things you, as the operator, are supposed to
know about your own machine. But obviously this can be difficult, for
non-specialist users.
The first thing would be to check the documentation that came with your PC.
This would probably list the major hardware components and drivers required.
If the machine is under any kind of support contract, you can also contact
the manufacturer (Dell, HP, Lenovo, whoever) and ask them. If you don't have
documentation and no support avenues, you may need to identify the component
by examining the machine yourself.
Look in Device Manager. Go to Control Panel, System, and click on Device
Manager in the left-hand column. Enter the administrator consent, if
prompted. When the Device Manager window opens, go down to the "Storage
Controllers" branch. You'll be looking for a device with a name like
"Adaptec U320 Host Controller" or similar. The device identified here is the
device you need to download the driver for. Highlight the device,
right-click and choose Properties. Under the Driver tab, click Driver
Details - you'll probably see ASPI32.SYS listed as one of the driver files.
If your machine is a slightly older model, it's possible the ASPI driver is
being used for a CD-ROM drive on an ATAPI interface; rather than by a real
SCSI card. Early CD-ROM drives used ASPI as a kind of emulation layer, even
though they are not actually true SCSI devices. Check the driver details for
your CD-ROM drive - if ASPI32.SYS is listed, you may need to check with the
manufacturer of the CD-ROM drive, to see if they have updated drivers for
Vista (they would probably have licensed code from Adaptec and re-packaged
it into their own driver package).
If you are having trouble identifying the right device using Device Manager,
you may find a third-party inventory tool easier to use. I highly recommend
the very excellent SIW (System Information for Windows), written by Gabriel
Topala - and, it's free!:
http://www.gtopala.com/
If all else fails, here's the technique I use to analyse unknown hardware.
First, empty your mind of distracting thoughts and focus on an imaginary
beam of light, streaming from the centre of the Cosmos down into your brain.
Then place your hands onto the outside case of the machine in question. Now
think very deeply, about the information that you need to know. Focus on the
knowledge you seek. After a short while, you will find that the information
arises spontaneously in your mind, and you will have the answer. This has
worked for me, many times! although I must admit, less technical users often
have only limited success.
If this technique doesn't work, then ... sorry, I dunno. I guess you might
need to find a computer literate buddy locally, to come look at the machine
for you and work out what is going on. Alternatively, drop me an email
offline and I'll tell you how to send me a hardware inventory from your
machine. I may be able to identify the device in question - but no promises,
as I am pretty busy at the moment with work, family and stuff.
