sktn77a said:
I'm setting up a notebook computer (IBM Thinkpad 600E)
with a 3COM 3CRWE62092A 802.11b wireless network card and
Windows XP/SP1 Pro. The 3COM setup disk (dated January
31, 2002) says that the native XP driver does not work.
Well, I confirmed that it doesn't on my XP/SP1 Pro
install. Unfortunately, when you add the card, the XP
hardware wizard insists on auto-installing the driver
that doesn't work (no wizard shows up - it just installs
the old driver in the background). When you try to
update the driver with the current one from the 3COM
site, the wizard says it can't find a better driver than
the (old, no-functional) one.
What can I do???
Keith
This problem occurs when the INF file on the update disk
is older than the INF file in WXP.
To confirm that the INF file on the update disk is actually
newer than the one currently in use by WXP, open the INF
file in an editor (eg: Notepad) and confirm the revision info
at the top of the file shows a version number or revision
date newer than the INF file currently in use by XP.
If the INF file on the update disk is actually newer, then
use a file-redate utility to change the date on the INF file
on the update disk to a date later than the file currently
in use by XP.
With the above change in place, you should then be
able to update the drivers -- as WXP will then see the
update disk as a "newer" driver set than currently
installed.
Wrinkles and "gotchas":
1. By default, WXP is "blind" to any driver update that
is not signed with a security certificate. This means
that even a "newer" unsigned update will not be shown
as available -- no matter the date on the INF file.
To use a non-signed driver-set in the presence of a
signed driver-set, it is necessary to do a complete
manual-install. You do this by *not* using the "find
a better driver" option. Use the "I will specify the
driver myself" option instead.
2. It is possible that using an unsigned driver update may
put you in a position where you have mixed driver-file
versions. (Signed driver updates ensure that "newer"
drivers always have newer file-versions as well -- to
ensure that WXP actually does replace the driver
fileset with newer files.)
If the driver set on the floppy disk has file-versions
which are older than those on your WXP installation,
it is possible that you may get the "newer" INF without
actually getting the "newer" files -- or you may get a
mixture of new and old. This usually causes WXP to
get major indigestion. Since this is drivers we are
talking about -- problems of this type can include
failure modes up to and including failure-to-boot.
Ensure you have a full backup of the machine in its
previous state before attempting to "fool" WXP into
using a driver that it has decided is inferior to the
one currently in use.
Best I can do for now. <tm>
Bill
