unknown device -- how to identify?

[JClark]

Hello Group:

I installed windows 2kP/sp4 on a friend's computer (Dell Inspiron
8100)...formatted HD and did clean install with fresh installation of
all hardware. Got all drivers, chipset, hardware, etc from Ma Dell's
site and installed without trouble.
Only problem is a solitary "unknown device" in device manager which is
driving me crazy. I have all the hardware accounted for, so I don't
think pulling PCI cards one at a time is going to help. I've checked
in administrative tools\computer management\system
information\components and there are not "problem devices".

I've run the zhangdou program which is supposed to identify unknown
devices:

http://www.zhangduo.com/udi.html

It lists a gazillion devices, but does not tell me which one, if any,
is the problem one.

Likewise with aida32:

http://www.aida32.hu/aida32-download.php

Beautiful information summary, but of no help in identifying the
problem driver or device.

I've read the microsoft bulletin 244601:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244601&Product=win2000

Again, a lot of interesting general information,but no specific help
for my problem

All the stuff seems to be working fine, but I'm going mad trying to
get that damn yellow question mark and exclamation point out of my new
work of art!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Jack

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hello Group:

I installed windows 2kP/sp4 on a friend's computer (Dell Inspiron
8100)...formatted HD and did clean install with fresh installation of
all hardware. Got all drivers, chipset, hardware, etc from Ma Dell's
site and installed without trouble.
Only problem is a solitary "unknown device" in device manager which is
driving me crazy. I have all the hardware accounted for, so I don't
think pulling PCI cards one at a time is going to help. I've checked
in administrative tools\computer management\system
information\components and there are not "problem devices".

I've run the zhangdou program which is supposed to identify unknown
devices:

http://www.zhangduo.com/udi.html

It lists a gazillion devices, but does not tell me which one, if any,
is the problem one.

Likewise with aida32:

http://www.aida32.hu/aida32-download.php

Beautiful information summary, but of no help in identifying the
problem driver or device.

I've read the microsoft bulletin 244601:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244601&Product=win2000

Again, a lot of interesting general information,but no specific help
for my problem

All the stuff seems to be working fine, but I'm going mad trying to
get that damn yellow question mark and exclamation point out of my new
work of art!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Jack

I've used AIDA several times when I had such problems.
After examining its report in detail I was always able to
identify the unknown device.

Alternatively, you can disable the unidentified device, or
perhaps even uninstall it. I know that this might spoil
your beautiful work of art but sometimes we have to
be pragmatic.

 

[JClark]

I've used AIDA several times when I had such problems.
After examining its report in detail I was always able to
identify the unknown device.

Alternatively, you can disable the unidentified device, or
perhaps even uninstall it. I know that this might spoil
your beautiful work of art but sometimes we have to
be pragmatic.

Pegasus:
Maybe I am not using AIDA or the zhangdou programs correctly. I'll
study them again.
When I disable the unidentified device, windows no longer nags to get
drivers for "new hardware", but I still have the ugly yellow mark in
device manager...admittedly only an esthetic concern for practical
purposes. I'm also going to try the old mechanical method of pulling
one card at a time...ugh!
I'm wondering if there is some "on board" device which needs drivers.
I thought I had installed everything which Dell provided for the
original system, with newer win2k drivers, of course. I don't
recognize anything like that in the "original system" info I
downloaded, but I may be missing something. Dell support, by the way,
once hearing that I had installed a new OS, politely told me to flake
off. Glad it's not my box, but I've put a lot into it now and want to
pursue the problem.
I appreciate your thoughtful input, as always, and will follow up.

Jack

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Pegasus:
Maybe I am not using AIDA or the zhangdou programs correctly. I'll
study them again.
When I disable the unidentified device, windows no longer nags to get
drivers for "new hardware", but I still have the ugly yellow mark in
device manager...admittedly only an esthetic concern for practical
purposes. I'm also going to try the old mechanical method of pulling
one card at a time...ugh!
I'm wondering if there is some "on board" device which needs drivers.
I thought I had installed everything which Dell provided for the
original system, with newer win2k drivers, of course. I don't
recognize anything like that in the "original system" info I
downloaded, but I may be missing something. Dell support, by the way,
once hearing that I had installed a new OS, politely told me to flake
off. Glad it's not my box, but I've put a lot into it now and want to
pursue the problem.
I appreciate your thoughtful input, as always, and will follow up.

Jack

Under Aida32 I always check the items listed under "Devices".

Seeing that you've spent so much time to create a perfect system,
have you given any thought to protecting your (or your customer's)
investment? Last week I spent 7 hours configuring a brand new
Dell laptop to my client's satisfaction. At the end I created an
image file of drive C:, using Acronis' TrueImage. If the machine
goes south for some reason then I can restore it to its current
condition within less than one hour. My client likes the idea.

 

[JClark]

Under Aida32 I always check the items listed under "Devices".

Seeing that you've spent so much time to create a perfect system,
have you given any thought to protecting your (or your customer's)
investment? Last week I spent 7 hours configuring a brand new
Dell laptop to my client's satisfaction. At the end I created an
image file of drive C:, using Acronis' TrueImage. If the machine
goes south for some reason then I can restore it to its current
condition within less than one hour. My client likes the idea.

Pegasus:
I decided to accept your advice and "be practical". I just disabled
the unknown device and my friend will have to put up with that yellow
mark in Device Manager.

Yes, I agree with you about a sector copy program. I use one on all my
family's computers (I'm not a pro...just a home enthusiast). I have
Acronis True Image for my office computer and it's very user friendly.
But I stick to Ghost for my own computer...prefer to run it from DOS,
and I use Drive Image on my wife's computer, and prefer to run it
from DOS as well. It's really no problem with NTFS, despite what you
might think.

Those sector backups are wonderful to have if you ever really get into
deep mess. I also have a batch program (with a desktop shortcut) to
Xcopy all the data files from various programs onto copy folders on
another hard drive. I use switches to copy subfolders, overwrite older
files, and skip confirmation. If anyone would like to see a skeleton
of that batch program, I'd be happy to post it.
With those two backups, in a worst case scenario, you format the boot
drive, restore from the Ghost or Drive Image or Acronis, then restore
the most recent data files saved with your batch program....problem
solved.

Thanks again for your advice!

Jack

 

[Jack Carlson]

Hello Group:

I installed windows 2kP/sp4 on a friend's computer (Dell Inspiron
8100)...formatted HD and did clean install with fresh installation of
all hardware. Got all drivers, chipset, hardware, etc from Ma Dell's
site and installed without trouble.
Only problem is a solitary "unknown device" in device manager which is
driving me crazy. I have all the hardware accounted for, so I don't
think pulling PCI cards one at a time is going to help. I've checked
in administrative tools\computer management\system
information\components and there are not "problem devices".
<snippage>

You're describing what I went through a while back for two of my friends
who owned Dell systems. What I did was to connect each system to the
internet and log onto Dell's site where (sorry, don't have the link
handy) some program on the site will run a program identifies all the
installed components. Worked in my case at any rate.

 

[JClark]

You're describing what I went through a while back for two of my friends
who owned Dell systems. What I did was to connect each system to the
internet and log onto Dell's site where (sorry, don't have the link
handy) some program on the site will run a program identifies all the
installed components. Worked in my case at any rate.

Jack:
Yes, I did use that Dell program. Also, it will give you the original
system components, although the terminology is a bit confusing.
Likewise the install CD which comes with the system has a lot of
drivers on it (for ME in my situation) but they are named with numbers
and it's very difficult ...no, impossible...to figure out what they
are. I get the feeling that Dell wants their customers to do it the
Dell way and therefor the system is not for pros or home enthusiasts.
My friend is happy with the new win2k system (bought an OEM cd from
buycheapsoftware.com)....so I guess we'll all just have to ignore that
ugly yellow mark in device manager, as Pegasus suggests.

Best regards,

Jack

 

[John John]

Does he have a so called "E Button" on that machine? That's a "hot"
button to connect via the internet to the Dell support site for help &
troubleshooting. If he does have an "E Button" it needs a driver and
that is most likely the unknown device. The driver is on the Dell OEM CD.

John

 

[JClark]

Does he have a so called "E Button" on that machine? That's a "hot"
button to connect via the internet to the Dell support site for help &
troubleshooting. If he does have an "E Button" it needs a driver and
that is most likely the unknown device. The driver is on the Dell OEM CD.

John

Hi John:
No, I wasn't aware of the "e" button. I did contact Dell, but once
they learned I had put on a new OS instead of the one it was sold
with, they became acutely uninterested in helping me.
Now, I've given the box back to my friend and he is enjoying it, so
I'll try to remember your advice should I ever get another Dell system
to upgrade.
Thanks.

jack

 

[Steve Nielsen]

JClark wrote:

Hi John:
No, I wasn't aware of the "e" button. I did contact Dell, but once
they learned I had put on a new OS instead of the one it was sold
with, they became acutely uninterested in helping me.
Now, I've given the box back to my friend and he is enjoying it, so
I'll try to remember your advice should I ever get another Dell system
to upgrade.
Thanks.

jack

All Dell covers is the hardware they sold you, not the OS or software
they pre-installed or anything you do with or to it. Their's is OEM
version of the OS and in accordance with M$'s OEM program they are
responsible for providing support for the OS, which according to their
warranty statement they do not. It's a bunch of B.S. and I'd never buy a
Dell just for this reason.

From the Dell website, standard warranty info:

This limited warranty does not cover:

* Software, including the operating system and software added to
the Dell-branded hardware products through our factory-integration
system, third-party software, or the reloading of software
* Non-Dell branded and Solution Provider Direct products and
accessories
* FreeDOSTM operating system shipped with Dell n-Series systems
* Problems that result from:
External causes such as accident, abuse, misuse, or problems
with electrical power
Servicing not authorized by us
Usage that is not in accordance with product instructions
Failure to follow the product instructions or failure to perform
preventive maintenance
Problems caused by using accessories, parts, or components not
supplied by us
* Products with missing or altered service tags or serial numbers
* Products for which we have not received payment


Steve

 

[JClark]

JClark wrote:




All Dell covers is the hardware they sold you, not the OS or software
they pre-installed or anything you do with or to it. Their's is OEM
version of the OS and in accordance with M$'s OEM program they are
responsible for providing support for the OS, which according to their
warranty statement they do not. It's a bunch of B.S. and I'd never buy a
Dell just for this reason.

From the Dell website, standard warranty info:

This limited warranty does not cover:

* Software, including the operating system and software added to
the Dell-branded hardware products through our factory-integration
system, third-party software, or the reloading of software
* Non-Dell branded and Solution Provider Direct products and
accessories
* FreeDOSTM operating system shipped with Dell n-Series systems
* Problems that result from:
External causes such as accident, abuse, misuse, or problems
with electrical power
Servicing not authorized by us
Usage that is not in accordance with product instructions
Failure to follow the product instructions or failure to perform
preventive maintenance
Problems caused by using accessories, parts, or components not
supplied by us
* Products with missing or altered service tags or serial numbers
* Products for which we have not received payment


Steve

Steve:
Yes, I'm with you and would never buy a Dell product for those
reasons. It is beautifully put together, however. But again, the
problems for a pro or a home enthusiast who likes to tinker with the
machine outweigh other considerations. If you are not an enthusiast
and just plan to use is as is, I guess it's fine.

Jack