USB Root Hub conflict that won't go away.

Dang, I was hoping we were able to upload pictures here! I took a screen shot of the choices I was given in the right pane, from my Dell CD. Well. I
ll describe it to you as best I can. In the left pane, the file is called autorun.inf, then the right pane has a list of about 8 folders, one of them being drivers. Do I open that one? If I do, what do I choose? When I tried to have it browse the actual Dell Devices CD. it said..'the specified location does not contain information about your hardware', so I guess the browse 'E' was the right place to go. The problem is, I still don't know what to do from here (as usual!). I'm so sorry!

PS - I swore I wouldn't edit this one!

 

Good, it seems like you are in the right place (I don't have experience with Dell driver disks).
You select the drive using the drop-down under the right pane.
You open folders by double-clicking on them, so yes, try directing it into the drivers folder. Autorun.inf is not the correct file, it is the file that starts the CD automatically when you put the disk in the drive, you need to search in the sub-folders.
If you drill down too far, just double-click higher up on the folder tree.
If you make a selection, Windows should tell you if it is the correct file or not.

It seems like you are doing everything right, keep searching.

Matt

 

matt,

I clicked on most of the drivers in the Win98 folder, (there are several folders under drivers), and every time I double clicked on a driver, then clicked 'ok', nothing happened, and it just remained with 'ok' highlighted. Is this Windows way of saying it is not the right driver, or am I doing something wrong?

 

I just checked something that seems odd. When I tried to update the driver for the USB Root Hub, using the Dell Devices disk..again, it said, the best driver Windows found is already installed on your computer. The location it gives is C:/Windows/Inf/USB.inf. I looked in there, and all it is is a text file! Shouldn't the location be C:/Windows/System or C:/Windows/System/Vmm32?? I found this kind of odd!

 

It is saying that the "best" files are installed. The problem is that those files may be corrupted or the versions may not match and we want to reinstall them back to the originals.

I will post back later (after work).

Matt

 

OK...mmmm. It is telling us that the best drivers are installed, although the drivers do not seem to work.

Let's try and start on a clean slate.

Go into Safe Mode-> Device Manager and delete everything listed under Universal SB Controllers. Reboot. When the New Hardware wizard starts, click Cancel. When you are in normal Windows, run the Dell drivers CD. Install everything possible, unless you are certain that your computer does not have that particular piece of hardware installed/connected. Reboot, even if it does not ask you to. Reboot again, if you see new hardware was installed a second time.

Question: the computer did orginally come with that version of Windows or has it been changed/upgraded?...because...we may be fighting to install the wrong drivers. Are there any modifications that you can think of that may cause these hardware problems?

I worry that the HP software may have corrupted the drivers and after getting the drivers/hardware working, if you were to reinstall the software, the same thing would happen all over again. When you do install the HP software again try not to install anything that does not relate to the basic running of the scanner. Install that latter if you think you need it.

We should maybe hold off till you can get the resources checked. That may be a root cause to the problems and no amount of driver reinstallation will solve it, although I think you have now come across other ways to install drivers and as I said, don't be afraid to completely remove drivers if you have a replacement set available. I hope you may be seeing some of the non-conventional methods of driver installation that needs to be used sometimes.

That link I posted with the problem with the HP scanner on the Dell computer may mean there is a conflict. We may have to seek help at Dell or HP.

Matt

 

Thanks again for the great response, matt.

I'd like to start (well, not really 'like') by saying the BIOS and PCI thing didn't work, much to the chagrin of me, and the pal that did it for me. We were so sure that was going to fix it. I think I need to take more of a negative attitude..LOL

Having said that, my computer came installed with Windows 98SE..no other OS has been put on this computer. Now, for the Dell device CD remedy, after I uninstall in safe mode, and then cancel the 'new hardware' setup (although, if I recall, when it's installing new Hardware, my cursor is useless (I think, that is... I will have to try it and see). What would I install off the Dell CD? All the drivers from the driver folder? Anything else? Once again, Lisa is befuddled (and I hate talking in third person) LOL

 

Lisa, glad to hear you are not letting it get you down, although you may yourself sick from laughing

Anything that is specifically related to the drivers or the hardware. Not software that may not help our cause and may in fact result in more problems, concentrate on drivers. Install any that are related to the chipset/motherboard first...look for any labelled Intel. After that install the drivers for the graphics/video (although these should not be relevent). Install any other drivers after that and particularly any that relate to USB.

I have never used a Dell drivers CD. You mentioned that there was an autorun.inf file. If the CD starts automatically or you can start it through My Computer, you should only need to run whatever program installs the drivers. There should be instructions about driver installation in the manual/User Guide.

That is not a good sign if it is indeed the case. Anyway, you can select the buttons using the arrow keys and then press Enter.

I will see if I can find information at Dell or HP.

OK found this:
http://support.dell.com/support/top...ent?dn=1016572&l=en&langid=1&c=us&cs=19&s=dhs
and
http://support.dell.com/support/top...ent?dn=1034306&l=en&langid=1&c=us&cs=19&s=dhs

Matt

 

UGH! I cannot believe this. I spent two to three hours trying everything you said, and everything pertaining to my problem in those wonderful links, and still, nothing worked *sigh* I'm so sorry that you've been putting so much time into helping me, and we haven't yet resolved it. I'm beginning to wonder if a Windows Update did something to my USB Root Hub, because one day it was fine, and the next..completely broken.

Having said that, I just remembered something -- when I first looked in my device manager, to check for conflicts, since I was having some freezing trouble (this was about 3 mos ago), the USB Root Hub did not have the conflict, yet the Intel Controller above it did, as did my keyboard (even though it was working fine at the time). I fixed those two conflicts without a hitch (by following the update driver option), and then suddenly, after I rebooted, my Root Hub had the conflict. I should have checked my scanner before I fixed those other two conflicts! I wonder if updating those drivers did something to the Root Hub software/driver?

 

Lisa, you have done really well! I think we will have to admit defeat in the battle and consider our options for winning the war.

You mentioned it may have started when you did some Windows Updates. When you go to the Windows Update site there is a selection on the left-hand side to view what updates you have installed, see if you can find the ones that may be the cause. Put a post in the Win 98 forum and ask how to reverse them. PeteC may be able to help us with this .

Next possibility, a partial surrender . Get a PCI USB card and disable the onboard USB, although there would be no guarantee that the same problem may occur with that. PCI USB cards are not expensive and you could use it in a future computer as well. (If it worked), you should combine this with a self-powered USB Hub to reduce the power load on your power supply. Maybe $US50 all up.

Your Windows install is getting quite old and it may be getting cluttered with junk files and registry information. I would back up the data and first try a reinstall of Windows. This is where you reinstall Windows over itself, it reinstalls the original files.

If the reinstall did not make everything "peachy ", then do a format and clean install.

If you are ready for a complete revamp, backup and clean install, load a good set of drivers, update Windows, then try installing the scanner again....that should do it!

Let us know what you think.
Matt

 

Thank you, matt If it weren't for you though, I wouldn't be doing everything right! I can't thank you enough for all the help and fantastic advice you have been giving me.

Anyway, regarding Windows updates that could have caused this...wouldn't it be bad to remove any of them, since they're 'supposedly' needed? I know the Windows updates for 98 SE will probably end soon, so upgrading to Windows XP is probably a better idea, instead of reinstalling 98SE. I contacted Dell about possibly needing a Windows XP upgrade from them, since, like you said, it would have all the correct drivers. They sent me an email saying they have an XPS T team on staff, and to call a number to get answers. I'm no longer under warranty (6 years already..LOL), so I have a feeling this would be a call that would cost me. I'll check it out anyway, and if it is, I'll pass. If they can't answer a simple question about upgrading, and most of all, ordering the CD from them, without trying to make more money, then I'm not going to take the bait.

As for the PCI USB card, I'll run that by my somewhat 'techie' friend, and see if he can do it for me. I'll let you know what happens with Dell..and all other stuff..asap.

 

Not if it will tell us what the problem is. We may be able to find a solution or even a work-around, if we know what the cause is.

Regarding the upgrade to XP. If you do get an "upgrade" disk and actually upgrade Win 98 to XP, you may carry over whatever is causing these problems. XP may not be the magic fix for an old install of Win 98...you may end up needing to format and install XP from scratch. My sister was thinking along these lines when her system started to break down. I got her to look at backing up her data (the harddrive could fail at any time). We then formatted and reinstalled Windows, it went well and she had all her information and data. We have gone on to better things and now I am building a new computer for her with Win XP (I still use and prefer Win 98). She is now happy to change the OS when ever it suits her (not me! ). She thought she could not live without her "old" system, but as I explained, if the HDD failed there would no longer be any "old system ". Always be prepared that something like that could happen.

If you install XP it may (possibly) work as an upgrade (XP is a lot bigger). Personnally I would not expect it to work well installed over a 5 year old installation of Win 98.

If you backup your data, the world is your oyster (so they say). You can format and install whatever you like (or in my case, whatever my sister likes ).

Some food for thought.
Matt

 

God! I wish you were my brother! Want to come to NYC and do it for me? LOL. I used the Windows XP upgrade Advisor to see what would be compatible and not compatible regarding my software and such. Not too many things were incompatible, so that's a good sign..I think.

Like you said, I worry about this old problem still existing even after the upgrade, and I almost want to call the Geek Squad and have them do it for me (a clean install, that is), but even a tech phone call with them is 80 bucks, so I can't even imagine what it would cost to have someone come here and do it!

After some research, I went to this site..http://www.theeldergeek.com/upgrading_to_windows_xp.htm. and it really helped as far as knowing what to do and what not to do, but I don't think he recommends 'upgrading' over a clean install.

On my D drive, I have backed up all the files that are important to me. I even backed up C:/Backup and C:/ Rescue. There's no operating system on drive D, so in case something bad happens, at least I still have everything I need on D. Then again, maybe I (well, someone who knows how) should do a clean install on drive D, making it my new drive C, and if successful, erasing everything on the former C drive..formatting it (???) and using that as my new backup drive to save everything that's important to me?

 

My sister had better watch out, I might adopt a new one...especially if she has any complaints about her new computer .

You have some very good ideas. I would like to confirm that the D: drive is a separate harddrive and not a partition of a single drive. Can you confirm this?
You can find out by booting into the BIOS settings by tapping the F2 key at startup (it says what key to press to go to Settings when you see the Dell splash screen, it should be F2). The harddrives will be listed on the first screen or in the first menu.

If you have a second blank (apart from your backups) harddrive that is great. You can remove the current harddrive, connect the second drive as primary master and install Win 98 or Win XP onto that. Install your drivers the way I said before, then install your scanner. With a little luck it will all run fine and then you can install your favourite programs. If you have missed something that you have not backed up it will be on the old drive and if you want to go back to the old system it will still be there until you decide that you no longer need it, then you can use that drive for backing up. That would be the way I would do it.

It appears to be a big step changing to a new system, but you should be pleased with how well it runs compared to the old one. Don't add extra software unless you need it, keep it lean and mean if you can.

Matt

 

My D drive is a separate drive which I had to F disk, to get my system to recognize it. As a matter of fact, the people here helped me, and if you look up threads under my nick, you will see it. Would I have to F disk again if I switch the D drive to C, and the C drive to D? I remember how scared I was, and the jubilant feeling I had when it went without a hitch

Like I said in my previous post, my D drive has about 8 folders on it, several containing loads of files that mean something to me (including Favorites(bookmarks), and photos etc), and several 'in case of emergency' folders, Backup, Rescue, Application Data, Program Files (I use Roboform, so I definitely need that folder in program files when I reinstall it on my new system..(so many passwords I'd never remember on my own!), and such. That is all that's on the D drive, so installing Windows XP on it would be ok, then adding what I need from those saved folders on it, would also be ok?

Like you said, I don't want to inundate my new OS with all the junk from my old OS, so I guess I would delete everything else once I took what I needed and reinstalled them?

As for reinstalling the drivers when Windows XP is 'cleanly' installed on D, wouldn't XP do that for me? if not, how would I go about that? Should I contact Dell about it first? ($$$$$) LOL

 

Lisa, I am going round in circles at the Dell support website. Example, I thought this sounded promising "How Do I Install the Microsoft® Windows® XP Operating System on My Dell™ Dimension™ XPS? ", resulted in "The KB document does not exist or is unavailable."

If Dell are going to charge you for giving you information about your own system, trying using the Dell Community Forums first, at least that is free.

There should be Windows XP drivers disk the same as your current drivers disk (BTW, there isn't a Windows XP folder on that disk, like you said there was Windows 98 folder). I am only guessing, you will need information from people with that system.

Check through the User Guide/manual.

You only need to run the septup to install Windows. You won't need to Fdisk or Format, just install Windows to the C:\Windows folder after you remove the current harddrive and make the new harddrive the primary master. Your other folders will remain intact as. Do the installation with your old harddrive removed/disconnected, that way there is no chance of your old system being damaged by a mistake. Once the new Windows is running OK, add in the old harddrive, it will appear as the D:\drive. If you want to go back to using the original system, just swap them again as primary master.

If upgrading to Windows XP turned into a money-making exercise for Dell, I would save my money for a whole new system. It was the same story for my sister's HP machine.

Maybe you should stick with Win 98 for the moment (do your backups in case something happens and do not make yourself vulnerable...I don't use online banking, etc). Get ready/investigate a new computer that will have Windows Vista installed or you may find you are in the same boat when XP runs out of service life (it's 5 years old now ). If you want upgradability, don't get a branded computer.

Matt

 

Concerning the original problem presented in this thread (USB crisis), I am having very similar issues with a USB flash drive and a six-year-old Dell computer running Windows 98 SE. I guess Dell won't be getting any more of my business in the future.

There are some differences with our situations: I never installed any Windows Updates (dang things cause more problems than they solve), and have never been able to get anything to work with my USB slots.

Anyway, a possible fix I got from a SanDisk tech-support-guy involves going into the Registry and deleting some entries. I'm a bit worried (okay, terrified) about fooling around with the Registry, so I haven't actually tried it yet. But, in case it might help, I'll reprint it exactly:

I hope that helps you guys.

 

Once again, matt, you were a wealth of information I was thinking, once you mentioned Windows Vista, the new OS coming out, maybe I should wait for it, and see what the reviews are, then install that instead! This way, like you said, I don't end up with another 'old' OS. Besides, I can do without my scanner, it's not like it's imperative, and a pal who lives upstairs from me, has one that I can use if I need to scan something. Having said that, do you know when the new Windows is coming out?

On another note..thank you for your input, Jetfire, it looks promising, but like you said..SCARY. since it involves the registry!! matt, what do you think of Jetfire's remedy? Is it taking a huge risk, or worth trying?

 

Lisa, I think you are going to need a new 'puter for Vista. If a PIII runs it, it will run it very slowly. You won't need to check reviews, Microsoft are plowing thousands of man-hours into making certain that it works. Whatever doesn't work well will be fixed with updates. It will be their mainstream system and it has to work .

Yes, thanks to Jetfire for a possible solution, I am not a "registry" person though. I follow registry hacks that are proven to work in most (all ) cases. I went out on a limb the last time and tried a "maybe ". I backed up the registry and made the changes, next boot, no Windows. I tried to reinstall the registry backup using DOS...would not work. I ended up reinstalling a complete system backup. Wish we knew how well that registry hack worked . I am not really qualified to comment. My logic, if you are in a situation where you have a choice between doing a clean install and a registry hack, try the registry hack, if it fails just do the clean install.

Matt

 

matt,

Sorry it took so long to get back, as some family stuff came up that couldn't be avoided, practically deleting any computer time I could have had.

Anyway, since the registry thing scares me, and the last thing I want to do is have to reinstall windows 98se ( I wouldn't even know how!), I figured I'd wait until Windows Vista came out, and buy a puter with it installed. The question is..do I stick with Dell, or can I purchase a puter with everything ready to go (OS, drivers, sound/video cards) that isn't a brand name? Everyone says using a brand name is bad, and it's better to have one where you add things..although, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to put in soundcards, driver and such, which is why I asked if I could get a non brand that already has everything set.