Found new hardware wizard always fails...

[Mark]

Found new hardware wizard always fails...

I then select Install from Spicific location and select "C:\WINDOWS\INF" and
in most cases it then finds what it needs.

However as part of some installs the system will hang, unless I restart and
then when the wizard pops up I know that I have to manually select
"C:\WINDOWS\INF" and all is OK.
Where is the setting / reg entry that tells the Hardware wizard where to
search? such that I can fix it..

Thanks

 

[Elmo]

Found new hardware wizard always fails...

I then select Install from Spicific location and select "C:\WINDOWS\INF" and
in most cases it then finds what it needs.

However as part of some installs the system will hang, unless I restart and
then when the wizard pops up I know that I have to manually select
"C:\WINDOWS\INF" and all is OK.
Where is the setting / reg entry that tells the Hardware wizard where to
search? such that I can fix it..

Thanks

This is from
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html#xp_asks_for_drivers which is
a solution for USB devices asking for drivers, but it looks like it
should apply to the default location for any drivers.

"The registry key that points to the INF folder is corrupt.
Start the Registry Editor (Run, Regedit). Check if under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion the item
'DevicePath' points to '%SystemRoot%\inf'. Additional items, separated
by semicolons, are ok but '%SystemRoot%\inf' has to be one of them.
Then delete the file C:\WINDOWS\inf\infcache.1 - XP will recreate it.
The INF folder and the infcache.1 file are 'hidden'. To see them in the
Windows Explorer:
Menu 'Tools', 'Folder Options'
Tab 'View', mark 'show hidden files and folders'
If it still doesn't work after a restart, the files in C:\WINDOWS\inf
might be corrupt. A Windows repair install helps then.

Another thing to check is if the values 'FactoryPreInstallInProgress'
and 'AuditInProgress' are set to '1' under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Factory

They should be 0 or non present. "

 

[Mark]

Thanks..

It helped, as it looks like I must have been hit by somthing or got my reg
all twisted.

 

[tony]

Thanks for posting this answer! I've had this problem on one PC (windows XP)
for over a year and it was driving me crazy. Far too many hours of searching
turned up nothing. (who knew "hardware wizard does not look in
C:\WINDOWS\inf" would be so rare?)

The Found New Hardware wizard was not looking in C:\WINDOWS\inf unless I
directed it explicitly. Sure enough, under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion,
'DevicePath' was corrupted. A simple edit to make it '%SystemRoot%\inf' did
the trick.

Thanks!

 

[Kevin]

Elmo,
You are my hero too.
Worked like a champ.

If I had figured out better search terms to use in Google I would have found
your answer a day sooner and a headache less.

Thanks for posting the answer!!!

 

[Elmo]

Elmo,
You are my hero too.
Worked like a champ.

If I had figured out better search terms to use in Google I would have found
your answer a day sooner and a headache less.

Thanks for posting the answer!!!

Great news! Thanks for reporting back.