Hardware Found Wizard on XP-Prof Startup

[Tarek]

Hello all.

I am sure this has been answered before because I remember looking it up
on this newsgroup and I think Cari had answered it. However, I browsed the
group and couldn't find the answer. Also I am not able to get to Cari's
website for some reason.

The problem is the following.

I am using an IBM laptop with Windows XP Prof installed. I dock it at the
office and use it with a wireless connection at home. I have several printers
configured on it.
1. Three networked printers at work.
2. HP Deskjet 842C in the docking station at work.
3. Adobe acrobat and distiller
4. My HP All-in-one deskjet at home (shared through my home desktop)

All the printers work fine. However...

Every time I power up the laptop the Hardware Found Wizard starts up. Somehow
it finds a "Printer". Just like that without a specific model. I usually dismiss
the wizard with a Cancel. Several times I tried running it and checking the box
to say "not to detect this any more", ... but it keeps coming back.

A couple of months ago I remember reading an article by Cari about this and
visiting her website to trouble shoot this. I tried several things but had not
yet finished all the possible choices (my wife needed some shopping done and my
kids wanted to spend my *our* money). I never got back to finish this issue.

It is sufficiently annoying that I really want to get rid of it now.

Last time I got into looking at some files in Windows\System32, I think and
trying to analyze which of the files was bad or needed a reinstall.

I understand that in XP you have to install the drivers before attaching the
printer. But I need to know which printer.

Can someone help with this, or direct me to the correct website?

\tarek

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Try the simplest solution first.... change the LPT port settings in the BIOS
to EPP (rather than the often found ECP)..

See if that cures the problem. If not, post back!

Cari
www.coribright.com

 

[Tarek]

Tried that. It was set to Bi-directional and my choices where
disabled, bi-directional, ECP, EPP. Could not put it on EPP.
So I switched to ECP. Problem still exists.
\tarek

 

[Ian]

I get the same add hardware wizard problem, twice every
time I swith PC on. BIOS is already in EPP. Tried all
other things suggested on this newsgroup..
Please help!!
Ian.

 

[Tarek]

It gets worse. I went on your site, then found your friend's site
that supports printers (don't remember the name). I actually deleted
all the printers, all the registry entries and all the files that he
recommends. The only thing I couldn't figure out where the inf files.
So I didn't touch those.

Anyway, after a reboot and without being connected to any
printers I figured that I would be clean. Guess what? I still get a
"printer" detected everytime I boot up.

I have since reconnected all my printers and reinstalled them. They
work fine. But that annoying wizard comes up every time I boot the
machine.

\tarek

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

And it's a standalone PC, not connected to a network where there might be a
printer on another PC??????

Cari
www.coribright.com

 

[Tarek]

It is a laptop. But this problem exists whether I am on the docking
station at work (on the network) or at home on the wireless network
or just as a standalone laptop.

\tarek

 

[Tarek]

More on this.

Yesterday I was had my laptop in a building with WiFi. However, I did not
have the SSID or key to get into the network. So essentially, my laptop was
stand-alone. On powerup, again the hardware found wizard came up with a
"Printer".

I am at my wits end trying to track down this ghost printer in my system
setup. I am almost to the point where I want to reinstall my Operating
System.

\tarek