right-click install menu option only sometimes works

Hi all

right-clicking on an INF file produces a menu with an option "Install "; sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't

does this depend upon how the particular INF file is written (TweakUI always seems to install OK like this) - or is there an enable/disable option somewhere which is preventing me from using other INF files in the same way

TIA & best wishes, HJ.

 

Hi HJ,
If you are expecting to install the .inf file then reboot and Windows will find and install the drivers automatically it will only be automatic if Windows can read the hardware's information and be able to relate it to the drivers.

Installing the .inf file will add the hardware's model under the manufacturers name in the hardware list . When you run the Add New Hardware wizard (or reboot and Windows "found new hardware ") you will be able to find the model in the "select your model from a list ". If the driver files have not been installed by an installation program you will need to direct Windows to the files using the "have disk" button.

It pretty much depends on how well the driver program is written and how well the hardware identifies itself to Windows. If Windows cannot ID the hardware well enough to relate it directly to the drivers, you will have to direct Windows to the drivers manually.

Fun, eh?

Matt

 

Something I have picked up. If you have run an installation program and Windows cannot "see" the drivers, try unchecking all the boxes in "where should Windows look for the drivers ". This will make Windows search through it's own system files. Works sometimes.

Matt

 

Hi Matt

cheers for the replies

good one

(another "trick" I've found helps sometimes - if Windows can't find it on the Windows CD, try pointing it down to the Win98 folder, rather than the root of the CD. Doesn't seem necessary on a fresh install; more relevant if changing hardware later on)

It's really tedious going through the "in a specific location" process - which is usually what I'm trying to do. By comparison, right-click on the INF and choose "Install" would be far easier - but most times it just doesn't want to know

must be behind why some of the INFs will install from the right click menu and others don't I suppose, then

"New hardware found" is posing a bit of a problem, I have a network card (Realtek8139) which Windows keeps on getting wrong. Even when I've installed the (I'm almost sure are) correct drivers and it says "the device is working properly - and it does, I can get data through the card fine - every once in a while Windows will "find new hardware" and misrecognise the card as a different model (8129 - which is in the Windows 98 database - but I don't think the 8139 is). It does this on average every ~10th boot. I'm wondering whether this points to other hardware problems - contention with another card perhaps - and will investigate further when I get a chance...

...but right now must try to fix a scanner with a yellow splodge...

very best wishes, HJ.

 

Don't you love Win98 ? (although it still has a wide (the widest?) range of driver information).

Guess what? My LAN card is a Realtek 8139 (if that helps?? ). Can't remember if there were any big dramas installing it. It has worked quite well.

I would suggest you boot into Safe Mode. Look in Device Mangler and remove any/all of the Network Adapters. Reboot and try some the suggestions I said. Windows has about 10 different ways of installing drivers. If you remove any old installations it may recognise the card properly this time and will not try installing the wrong ones (fingers crossed).

Have you been to the Realtek site to get the latest drivers: www.realtek.com.tw ? It might even be worth physically removing the card, boot to Safe Mode and remove it in DM. Reboot to normal Windows. Run the drivers program. Shutdown and reinstall the card.

While in Safe Mode, look for double entries of hardware. These are the ones Windows is having trouble with. It may be that there are similar or updated files for the drivers that are confusing Windows. If you remove them be prepared that Windows may reinstall a bodgie set. You will then have to look for an updated version so that Windows can tell them apart from other updated files. (You update one set of drivers only to find it has corrupted the driver files of another piece of hardware).

May as well get rid of the splodge ( ) while you are in Safe Mode and see what happens.

Matt
PS doing right-click -> install may do nothing more than put the model number into the "list ". You then have to to make Windows eat the drivers manually .
Also try going to DM, highlight the hardware and hit the Properties button. Install the drivers from the drivers tab -> update button.

Matt

 

Matt -

(grovel, grovel) sorry, I've wildgoosechased you with the

- the splodge isn't on device manager, it's on the images! - and regrettably it looks as though it's not either dirt, or the lamp which is doing it - 'coz I've cleaned it and reversed the lamp, and 'coz it goes slowly with use. More investigation to do here but I think it has to be the CCD on the way out

meanwhile: the drivers I was using for the Realtek were the uptodate versions winme98se-rtlnic(616).zip byte-identical to the ones I just downloaded from the link you gave (according to fc /b)

I now suspect the motherboard has a problem, and am trying to rebuild from scratch (without cards) to see what happens.

best wishes, HJ.

 

what happens is that I (still) do have a problematic yellow question mark in Device Manger - the main problem being that I haven't a clue what device is being identified which isn't anything to do with the right-click INF thing so I put it in another thread over here

best wishes, HJ

 

update to this

have been using that 8139 for a while now, and every once in a while it goes wrong - when the computer is powered off (but the network card must still have power as there's a "wake on LAN" capability) (which I don't use)

I can tell when it has done this because the orange LED on the Belkin comes on green instead - indicating 10 rather than 100...

...and guess what? whenever this happens, Windows misidentifies the card as an 8129.

But the rest of the time it works fine.

The solution to powering up in the wrong mode appears to be to remove the power from the computer altogether for 20 seconds or so, then reconnect.

if I ever find out what's behind it all I'll post back

best wishes, HJ

 

This may actually be useful, or so much excess baggage. I haven't decided. But the "Infstaller " allows you to run an inf file as though it were a setup file. It "installs" whatever inf file is in its folder at the time, and comes with a sample inf that installs a text file to your Start menu, and also puts an entry in Add/Remove.

 

Tony - I tried shuffling the cards when it first happened, doesn't seem to make any difference... note, this always happens when the computer is shut down (and not that frequently - say once a week at most) it's never failed while Windows is actually running. Yet!

there's another 8139 in another machine which works fine (connected to the same Belkin) - I shall swap with this card, see if the fault transfers or stays. Both were installed from the same drivers (as in post above)

mains (line) power is filtered well and none of the cable runs is unduly long (<2m)

both these machines do a "visible" PCI scan at POST; it flashes past but I can get a glimpse of vendor 10EC, device 8139... I'm trying to keep an eye on this now, would be interesting if it ever says 8129 instead. Only since I've been watching it the thing's refused to go wrong!

Abraxas - thanks for the link - will investigate...

what I was really after was to see whether there was an enable/disable option lurking somewhere which I was missing

thanks again and best wishes, HJ.

 

at last it did it - managed to catch a glimpse as the PCI scan went flashing past: 8129

(haven't swapped the NICs over yet, trying that next)

best wishes, HJ.

 

Yes, I realize that your question was never really answered. I'd be curious to know the answer, too. But at least we have devised workarounds for those times when the right-click seems to do nothing at all.

I suspect it may have something to do with registry entries related to the particular application's installation. IE, for example, does not install on this machine using ie.inf, but rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 C:\windows\inf\ie.inf does reinstall it. It may require a different API.

 

Hi again HJ,

Maybe something that will help you catch the PCI scan. At the second screen (which should be the POST configuration screen), press the Pause key. You should be able to run through the POST one screen at a time (then press Enter/Pause, Enter/Pause...).

Hope you can get a solution.

Matt

 

Matt -
that has got to be one of the most thoroughly useful commonsense tips I've ever been given! Thanks masses

grieflings, but I'm thick someimes - had never occurred that "Pause" key could be used before OS start...

Abraxas -
from what you say then, I'm maybe looking at the difference between rundll.exe / setupx.dll (16 bit) and rundll32.exe / setupapi.dll (32 bit)?

==

8139s swapped: no anomalies on either spotted since - probably because I'm watching them too closely

best wishes, HJ.

 

actually there is something odd going on with those NICs, but as it's notalot to do with right click menus etc I've re-started it separately over here

best wishes, HJ