USB/ webcam driver problem

[JR Meneses]

Recently, I had to restore windows XP. Since then,
everything has been fine (much less blue screen errors,
hangups). I only had to manually search for drivers for
peripherals upon first time use (i.e. printer, scanner,
digital camera, portable mp3 player, etc...), usually in
I386, or Windows/system32. However, I am having a hard
time loading drivers for my 3com Homeconnect USB webcam,
and the USB portion of my Panasonic Palmcorder PV-DV702.
For the panasonic, when the computer boots up, I see the
notice that says Found New Hardware- USB Device, then I
get "Cannot Install This Hardware. The hardware was not
installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary
software.", even though I have the manufacturer's CD. I
also tried dl'ing the driver from the website, but even
though I run the setup.exe to install the driver, it's
still not installed after I reboot the computer. When I
use the firewire with the Panasonic it works fine, but
there are certain tasks I need to use with USB (webcam).

For the 3com, I'm supposed to be using the Vicam driver
from the website b/c the original drivers don't work with
XP, but like the Panasonic, after I run the exe to
install the driver, it's not installed after reboot.
Please tell me there's an easy solution for this problem.

The problem is not the USB port either, because I've
tried different ports and other peripherals have worked
with these same ports.



I've manually searched folders I386, windows/system32;
installed drivers from manufacturer's cd; installed
drivers downloaded from website; uninstalled/ reinstalled
all driver software; tried different USB ports.

 

[D.Currie]

Recently, I had to restore windows XP. Since then,
everything has been fine (much less blue screen errors,
hangups). I only had to manually search for drivers for
peripherals upon first time use (i.e. printer, scanner,
digital camera, portable mp3 player, etc...), usually in
I386, or Windows/system32. However, I am having a hard
time loading drivers for my 3com Homeconnect USB webcam,
and the USB portion of my Panasonic Palmcorder PV-DV702.
For the panasonic, when the computer boots up, I see the
notice that says Found New Hardware- USB Device, then I
get "Cannot Install This Hardware. The hardware was not
installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary
software.", even though I have the manufacturer's CD. I
also tried dl'ing the driver from the website, but even
though I run the setup.exe to install the driver, it's
still not installed after I reboot the computer. When I
use the firewire with the Panasonic it works fine, but
there are certain tasks I need to use with USB (webcam).

For the 3com, I'm supposed to be using the Vicam driver
from the website b/c the original drivers don't work with
XP, but like the Panasonic, after I run the exe to
install the driver, it's not installed after reboot.
Please tell me there's an easy solution for this problem.

The problem is not the USB port either, because I've
tried different ports and other peripherals have worked
with these same ports.



I've manually searched folders I386, windows/system32;
installed drivers from manufacturer's cd; installed
drivers downloaded from website; uninstalled/ reinstalled
all driver software; tried different USB ports.

With USB devices, there is usually a specific order you need to install
things to get them working. Usually you install part of the software with
the device unplugged, then plug in the device later, sometimes with a
reboot.

Your best bet would be to completely uninstall those devices, reboot without
them plugged in, then dig out the manuals to see what the specific
instructions are. In some cases, a normal uninstallation of the software
isn't sufficient, and you need to edit the registry and/or use some sort of
software to get rid of the vestiges of the previous install.

The easy answer MIGHT be that you can uninstall the USB ports, reboot, and
let it redetect the ports. Then let it detect the additional hardware
attached to the ports.

 

[JR Meneses]

To uninstall the USB ports, I would do it from the Device
Manager? And I would uninstall the Root Hubs and the
Universal Host Controllers? You wouldn't know how to
edit the registry to clear it of all the remnants of
previous installations of these devices, would you?

Thanks for all the info

 

[D.Currie]

To uninstall the USB ports, I would do it from the Device
Manager? And I would uninstall the Root Hubs and the
Universal Host Controllers?

Yes

You wouldn't know how to

edit the registry to clear it of all the remnants of
previous installations of these devices, would you?

hkey local machine and look for remnants of the hardware. Then to get rid of
the software, you'll probably have to search for the name of the
manufacturer or any cute software name it might use. Be careful of what
you're deleting; if you mess up badly enough, the computer may not boot.
Once you press that delete key in the registry, there's no going back.

Good luck.