XP hardware list disappeared!

[Simon]

Hi,

I have just bought a new mouse (Gyration Ultra). The manufacturer website
specifically says that there are NO special drivers necessary for the mouse,
that it will be automatically detected by windows ("100% plug and play"). I
plugged the mouse into my computer AT WORK, and it immediately started
working. So the manufacturer is correct.

My problem is this - when I plug it into my computer at HOME, XP loads,
finds the hardware, and then tells me to search for the frickin drivers!
(This did not happen on my computer at work). I delved deeper and saw that
the list in Control Panel | Add hardware | Manually select from list | Show
all devices, the list is fricking empty! My Windows XP driver cache is
bloody gone! It has NO drivers for ANY hardware.

How do I get it back?!?!?

I tried system restore and it achieved nothing. The DRIVER.CAB file is
sitting in my \Windows\Driver Cache\i386 folder but it's doing nothing!

Please help, I am SO frustrated.

 

[Courtney]

Relax. When you do that, XP scans the driver list for drivers that match the
device, it never shows you all drivers. (If all the drivers were gone, you
system wouldn't boot.)

Your problem stems from a misconception. Windows will find drivers for a new
USB device provided at least one USB device has already been installed.

To solve your problem: Boot XP and wait until it comes completely up (i.e.,
no hard drive activity.) Plug in your mouse. XP should load three drivers:
HID Compliant device, USB Human Interface Device, and the device driver for
the mouse (HID-compliant Mouse).

Once this happens, you should be able to use your mouse. Be patient. If you
don't want to wait, open the Device Manager/Universal Serial Bus
controllers, right click on each USB Root Hub, and Scan for Hardware
Changes.

courtney sends....

 

[Simon]

Courtney,

Thanks for responding. I did what you said: rebooted, plugged mouse in, and
still the "Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard" (after which, no matter
what I do, it _cannot_ find the necessary drivers and the wizard fails).
Then I went to Device Manager and did a Scan for Hardware Changes, and the
same thing happens. Windows detects the "Gyro RF Technology Receiver" (the
mouse is an RF device) and brings up the "bubble" from the system tray, but
the following wizard reckons it can't find the damn drivers!

I took the mouse over to a friend's house, who has a similar setup and
WinXP, and as _soon_ as I plugged the mouse in, it started working. I
really think what I said earlier about the "default" WinXP driver list on my
computer "disappearing" is very near the truth. The actual drivers for
equipment that are already connected to my computer (.sys files) are
obviously working fine, it's new hardware that the friggin OS just won't
detect. (As I said before, the Control Panel | Add hardware | Manually
select from list | Show all devices list is empty!)

Seriously, I really think this problem is only going to be solved with a
reinstall, and I am just beside myself over the fact that that's necessary.

Thanks for the help - if you have any further suggestions, please share
them!!

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Try this:

Insert your XP CD, click on Start-Run-Copy and Paste this in there:

XCOPY X:\I386\DRIVER.CAB C:\WINDOWS\DRIVER CACHE\I386\

Also, navigate to that file and extract it to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\

Nathan McNulty

 

[Frank]

Hi,

I have just bought a new mouse (Gyration Ultra). The manufacturer website
specifically says that there are NO special drivers necessary for the mouse,
that it will be automatically detected by windows ("100% plug and play"). I
plugged the mouse into my computer AT WORK, and it immediately started
working. So the manufacturer is correct.

My problem is this - when I plug it into my computer at HOME, XP loads,
finds the hardware, and then tells me to search for the frickin drivers!
(This did not happen on my computer at work). I delved deeper and saw that
the list in Control Panel | Add hardware | Manually select from list | Show
all devices, the list is fricking empty! My Windows XP driver cache is
bloody gone! It has NO drivers for ANY hardware.

How do I get it back?!?!?

I tried system restore and it achieved nothing. The DRIVER.CAB file is
sitting in my \Windows\Driver Cache\i386 folder but it's doing nothing!

Please help, I am SO frustrated.

You may have a proprietary OEM version of XP; Compaq, Dell, HP or
some such OEM PC. You may be SOL.