My WinXP Thinks It Has a New Device

[BobH]

Some time within the last week, my laptop running WinXP Pro SP3 has been showing the New Device Found panel on startup. There are NO new hardware devices installed. I can dismiss the wizard panel but it reappears on the next boot. When I look at the Device Manager, I see a device with a yellow question mark. I have uninstalled the unknown device but it reappears the next time I boot.

Can someone tell me what might be at play here?

TIA

[Bigaldoc]

Can you give us a screenshot of what you see in Device Manager? Don't know if it'll help, but ...

[BobH]

Thanks, BigAl!

I made a SS of the Device Manager. Do I have to post the file somewhere and point to it or can we attach pics to our posts? If the latter, how? If the former, what photo site do you recommend?

[Claude]

Thanks, BigAl!

I made a SS of the Device Manager. Do I have to post the file somewhere and point to it or can we attach pics to our posts? If the latter, how? If the former, what photo site do you recommend?

You can indeed attach a picture in the full editor like so:

attach.gif

hope this helps,

[BobH]

I've uninstalled the unrecognized device several times but when I boot up - with no devices attached to the laptop - it reappears as does the Unknown Device wizard panel.

I often attach my iPhone4 and my WD Passport external HDD and bypass the wizard and navigate using program file options or Windows File Explorer. I've never had this persistent 'new device' notification before.

I'm running WinXP Pro SP3 fully updated on an HP 530 Notebook computer.

[Claude]

whenever I have similar problems on my laptop, I unplug the power source and shut it down, remove the battery and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. Restarting after putting the battery back in generally fixes the problems. Alas, don't ask why it works, I have no idea

[BobH]

Thanks, Claude!

[Bigaldoc]

I've uninstalled the unrecognized device several times ...

Advice was given to me long ago by one of the Admins that a .PNG screenshot is easier to read onscreen than a .JPG (where TEXT is the primary content) and I usually crop out the empty space like so:

[Leif]

Maybe not applicable in your case, but a laptop I had would occasionally signal a new USB device, or a device not working, which I eventually tracked down to being the DVD drive. From memory, I think the drive was removable, hence showing up as a USB device, but I can't remember what the final outcome/solution was...

[Doc Watson]

Some time within the last week, my laptop running WinXP Pro SP3 has been showing the New Device Found panel on startup. There are NO new hardware devices installed. I can dismiss the wizard panel but it reappears on the next boot. When I look at the Device Manager, I see a device with a yellow question mark. I have uninstalled the unknown device but it reappears the next time I boot.

Can someone tell me what might be at play here?

TIA

"Can someone tell me what might be at play here?" - Windows... Microsoft ???

Seriously, as others have noted, the "what" may never be determined here. Have you tried a System Restore to a time before the problem started ??

[BobH]

Is this better, BigAl?

I have not yet done a System Restore in hopes of finding the cause and avoiding the same problem in the future. Restoring will simply make the problem go away and I will have learned nothing (and not for the first time,either )

[Doc Watson]

Is this better, BigAl?

I have not yet done a System Restore in hopes of finding the cause and avoiding the same problem in the future. Restoring will simply make the problem go away and I will have learned nothing (and not for the first time,either )

I understand your reluctance, but there are many times in the "Windows World" that the reason is not worth the research. This sounds like one of those times.

Windows OS's are notorious for "features" that do strange and often unwanted things for no apparent reason. Often the best "remedy" for these is to make them go away and forget they ever happened. (until they happen again, of course. )

[DaveA]

I have run into this on several machines, most have a "Memory Stick" slot and for some reason the driver has been lost.
Check with the OEM of this machine, and see if there are any divers for a memory stick.

[Argus]

Is this better, BigAl?

I have not yet done a System Restore in hopes of finding the cause and avoiding the same problem in the future. Restoring will simply make the problem go away and I will have learned nothing (and not for the first time,either )

Well, it doesn't help much just looking at the question mark. Since Windows XP SP2 it's possible to view the "advanced details" in the properties for the different devices (without using an environment variable). What do you see in the properties' Details tab, if look at the Device Instance Id? It could be as Dave says, or Leif, or Doc, etc. but with a little more information perhaps some knowledge can be gathered.

[BobH]

Just to follow up with a post telling how I resolved the problem.

After Argus suggested that I look at the details on the device (duh!), I discovered the driver ID that was causing the flagging. I did a simple Update Driver from the web; and upon completing it, the problem went away. I did google the driver id before updating and found many different complaints involving this driver ID but on a plethora of different machines.

Anyway, just wanted to close the loop on this one and post my results in case they should help someone else.

[Bigaldoc]

Way To Go, Bob! Glad you found the solution and thanks for posting.