USB Driver Sobstory

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general,microsoft.public.win2000 (More info?)

About three or four weeks ago my HP scanner went on the blink. Worked
like a champ until then, no glitches worth mentioning. I suddenly
started getting "Undefined program error 2117" from the TWAIN
software, or something like that.

So I tried reinstalling the software several times, without any luck.
I finally came to the conclusion that I might be dealing with some
malware. I installed a copy of PC-cillin, which did detect a trojan
of some sort. After cleaning that up, I tried to reinstall again,
with no better luck.

I made sure the scanner still works. I've been debating installing
Linux on the old PC, but luckily hadn't done anything like that so
far. Cabling up the scanner was the work of moments. The old machine
(WinME) booted without trouble and allowed me to make scans. So the
scanner hardware is working fine, as is the cabling.

A visit to HP.com later I had instructions for completely cleaning
out the HP drivers and software, which I followed carefully. (Does
anyone ever follow them carelessly? ^_^) I also downloaded HP's
latest driver installation program for the scanner.

A cleanup later I reinstalled, and found that now the software
won't install at all. After running the installation program I
restart the computer, connect the scanner, and then I get that
"Required section not found" error message. Arrgh! Even the
original CD doesn't work anymore. I use a switching hub, but
eliminating that doesn't make any difference.

I just got off the phone with HP's rep, who says that something
has gotten corrupted in the USB drivers, and I have to try to
extract the correct files from the disk to fix them.

I've already tried the obvious, which is to disconnect all USB
equipment, uninstall all USB drivers, and then reconnect the USB
stuff one at a time to get the drivers reloaded. Apparently there's
stuff that the uninstall doesn't remove, and the reinstall doesn't
replace. (HP's rep warned me of that.) Now it gets complicated,
since my system is a homebrew, and I don't know how to find which
files Windows installed when it initially set up the USB drivers.
Is there an installation log file I could look in?

I only wish the INF error message were more helpful. Which required
section is missing? It doesn't say. (I think that's why the HP rep
suspects a corrupted file.)

For what it's worth, I've run the Norton WinDoctor, which found and
removed a large number of bad keys from the registry. Shouldn't
there be a way to find missing driver linkages, or corrupt INF or
PNF or SYS files?

To make matters even more complicated, my USB jumpdrive and my USB
connected Cannon printer work fine - as long as the scanner's
software isn't installed, and the scanner is not connected.

Is OS reinstallation really the only option?

I'm running W2K SP4. I describe the hardware as homebrew, but it's
really pretty standard, just no brandname for the box, and no
"tested for Windows" sticker. Since it mostly works fine (and the
scanner in fact used to work fine, too), I can't imagine that'd be
an issue.
--
Helge Moulding
mailto:hmould...@gmail.com Just another guy
http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name

 

[Rick]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general (More info?)

Did the scanner work at any point after you installed SP4?

<hmoulding@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1111218077.878643.157600@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> About three or four weeks ago my HP scanner went on the blink. Worked
> like a champ until then, no glitches worth mentioning. I suddenly
> started getting "Undefined program error 2117" from the TWAIN
> software, or something like that.
>
> So I tried reinstalling the software several times, without any luck.
> I finally came to the conclusion that I might be dealing with some
> malware. I installed a copy of PC-cillin, which did detect a trojan
> of some sort. After cleaning that up, I tried to reinstall again,
> with no better luck.
>
> I made sure the scanner still works. I've been debating installing
> Linux on the old PC, but luckily hadn't done anything like that so
> far. Cabling up the scanner was the work of moments. The old machine
> (WinME) booted without trouble and allowed me to make scans. So the
> scanner hardware is working fine, as is the cabling.
>
> A visit to HP.com later I had instructions for completely cleaning
> out the HP drivers and software, which I followed carefully. (Does
> anyone ever follow them carelessly? ^_^) I also downloaded HP's
> latest driver installation program for the scanner.
>
> A cleanup later I reinstalled, and found that now the software
> won't install at all. After running the installation program I
> restart the computer, connect the scanner, and then I get that
> "Required section not found" error message. Arrgh! Even the
> original CD doesn't work anymore. I use a switching hub, but
> eliminating that doesn't make any difference.
>
> I just got off the phone with HP's rep, who says that something
> has gotten corrupted in the USB drivers, and I have to try to
> extract the correct files from the disk to fix them.
>
> I've already tried the obvious, which is to disconnect all USB
> equipment, uninstall all USB drivers, and then reconnect the USB
> stuff one at a time to get the drivers reloaded. Apparently there's
> stuff that the uninstall doesn't remove, and the reinstall doesn't
> replace. (HP's rep warned me of that.) Now it gets complicated,
> since my system is a homebrew, and I don't know how to find which
> files Windows installed when it initially set up the USB drivers.
> Is there an installation log file I could look in?
>
> I only wish the INF error message were more helpful. Which required
> section is missing? It doesn't say. (I think that's why the HP rep
> suspects a corrupted file.)
>
> For what it's worth, I've run the Norton WinDoctor, which found and
> removed a large number of bad keys from the registry. Shouldn't
> there be a way to find missing driver linkages, or corrupt INF or
> PNF or SYS files?
>
> To make matters even more complicated, my USB jumpdrive and my USB
> connected Cannon printer work fine - as long as the scanner's
> software isn't installed, and the scanner is not connected.
>
> Is OS reinstallation really the only option?
>
> I'm running W2K SP4. I describe the hardware as homebrew, but it's
> really pretty standard, just no brandname for the box, and no
> "tested for Windows" sticker. Since it mostly works fine (and the
> scanner in fact used to work fine, too), I can't imagine that'd be
> an issue.
> --
> Helge Moulding
> mailto:hmould...@gmail.com Just another guy
> http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general (More info?)

Rick wrote:
> Did the scanner work at any point after you installed SP4?

Yes.

I got this computer two years ago, to replace my old HP
Pavillion. The place that built it installed the OS, complete
with SP4.

I installed the old scanner software, hooked up the scanner,
and it worked. (Later I read that the scanner software wasn't
compatible with W2K, but I ignored that since the scanner was
obviously working fine. The new software I downloaded from HP is
supposed to be compatible with W2K. The old software does send
WinXP into bluescreen mode; I tried it on my laptop.)

Since then I've added a switching hub (to print from my laptop
without disconnecting the printer) with no trouble.

The scanner stopped working a couple of weeks ago or so, when my
daughter was scanning pictures. I wasn't there when it stopped
working, so I don't know what specifically was going on, but it
wasn't the addition of hardware that caused the problem.
--
Helge Moulding
mailto:hmoulding@gmail.com Just another guy
http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general,microsoft.public.win2000 (More info?)

>For what it's worth, I've run the Norton WinDoctor, which found and
removed a large number of bad keys from the registry.

Did you try WinDoctor before or after the problem? If Before, i
suggest you go into the repair history and undo changes made.


Shouldn't there be a way to find missing driver linkages, or corrupt
INF or PNF or SYS files?

Kinda. See below.

>Is OS reinstallation really the only option?



No. There's a few "big stick" approaches you can try.

1) Find your original Win2000 Cd. Go into the Command prompt.

type
sfc /scannow
with the cd in the drive
This will restore your system files to the original state.

2) Boot with the original cd in the drive. Select the option to repair
your installation.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general,microsoft.public.win2000 (More info?)

paulmd@efn.org wrote:
> > For what it's worth, I've run the Norton WinDoctor, which found
> > and removed a large number of bad keys from the registry.
> Did you try WinDoctor before or after the problem? If Before, i
> suggest you go into the repair history and undo changes made.

It was a move of desperation, long after the struggle started. I
hoped that perhaps somehow WinDoctor would remove the keys that
shouldn't be there, you know, the ones that uninstalling the
software apparently had not removed. I was frankly surprised at
the large number of bad keys (no idea what they used to be
connected to) there were, besides the ones that refered to stuff
I no longer have installed.

> 1) Find your original Win2000 Cd. Go into the Command prompt.
> type sfc /scannow with the cd in the drive
> This will restore your system files to the original state.

Will it undo SP4? I also wonder if the Win2K CD I have is in fact
the one they used to install the software. It's still in
shrinkwrap.

> 2) Boot with the original cd in the drive. Select the option to
> repair your installation.

I've been wondering if that's safe. My data is all backed up on
a separate HD, but I'm not looking forward to reinstalling all my
software. I mean, if that's what it boils down to, I guess I'll
have to...
--
Helge Moulding
mailto:hmoulding@gmail.com Just another guy
http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.hardware,microsoft.public.win2000.general,microsoft.public.win2000 (More info?)

pau...@efn.org wrote:
>>> For what it's worth, I've run the Norton WinDoctor,
>>> which found and removed a large number of bad keys
>>> from the registry.

>> Did you try WinDoctor before
>>or after the problem? If Before, i suggest you go into
>> the repair history and undo changes made.

>It was a move of desperation, long after the struggle
> started. I hoped that perhaps somehow WinDoctor would
> remove the keys that shouldn't be there, you know, the
> ones that uninstalling the software apparently had not
> removed. I was frankly surprised at the large number of
> bad keys (no idea what they used to be connected to) there > were,
besides the ones that refered >to stuff I no longer
> have installed.

Leave be, then. Don't be too suprized at the large number of bad keys.
Improperly uninstalled programs can leave behind hundreds of such.
(dozens, anyway)

>> 1) Find your original Win2000 Cd. Go into the Command
>> prompt. type sfc /scannow with the cd in the drive This >> will
restore your system files to the original state.

Will it undo SP4?

No, though it used to uninstall hotfixes. Its a little more
sophisticated now.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;814510

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;222471


> I also wonder if the Win2K CD >I have is in fact the one they >used
to install the software. It's >still in shrinkwrap.

Likely not. But it's a twin brother. It'll work fine.

>> 2) Boot with the original cd in the drive. Select the
>> option to repair your installation.

I've been wondering if that's safe.

There is a risk. A small one. Try sfc first.

> My data is all backed up on
>a separate HD, but I'm not looking forward to reinstalling >all my
software. I mean, if that's what it boils down to, I > guess I'll have
to...

Lets go there only if the first two don't work.


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