[swiftdemise]

I recently reinstalled Windows Vista, and I have a weird problem... Vista isn't able to locate any generic plug and play drivers for anything I plug into the USB port. This wasn't happening in my previous installing of Vista - everything installed fine automatically. Can anyone help?

[DaveA]

Are these "Generic USB devices" USB type 2 compliant?
As Vista requires USB @.

[swiftdemise]

Yes, they are. They installed fine on my previous installation of Windows Vista. I reformatted and now it's not working.

[DaveA]

Why did you need to do a new clean install if things were working so well?

[swiftdemise]

I installed a faulty driver that made Vista unbootable. =(

[DaveA]

Is this copy of Vista a Retail or a OEM copy?

[swiftdemise]

Retail.

[Rollin' Rog]

The typical location for these is:

c:\windows\INF

The INF directory is a hidden one, so to see it you have to have "show hidden files" enabled in Folder Options > View.

Check to see that it is fully populated. There should be numerous "usb*.inf" files there.

Try pointing it there if prompted for a location

[swiftdemise]

Hmm.. the INF folder is full of INFs. Pointing the device installer to that folder still doesn't work.

[Rollin' Rog]

Does the "Enhanced" Controller show up in the Device Manager? Is it "working properly"?

And is one of the USB INF files: usbport.inf as well as usb.inf and usbstor.inf?

?

If the enhanced controller is not working properly, does the driver usbehci.sys exist in

c:\windows\system32\drivers

(or anyplace else for that matter)?

[swiftdemise]

I see "Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller" in device manager, and it says it's working properly. Also, the INFs you listed do exist in my C:\Windows\INF folder.

[DaveA]

Provide a list of these devices and model number then we may be of more help.

[Rollin' Rog]

Are you connecting them directly to the port or to a hub of some kind?

One thing you might do is a clean install of the USB tree in the Device Manager.

These directions apply equally well to Vista except that System Restore is accessed slightly differently in Vista than in XP.

USB CLEANUP

First set a System Restore point and test it: start > run: msconfig > Launch System Restore.

The standard approach to these problems is to remove all the USB devices in the Device Manager and let Windows reinstall them. But there is a special technique to it.

I am uploading a registry patch you will need to download, unzip and run. Confirm the merge to the registry.

http://forums.techguy.org/attachment.../usbghosts.zip

It is the patch described in JohnWill's note here:

http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/4...ml#post3435808

Once you have installed the patch, follow the rest of his instructions.

Note: in some cases Windows does not have the proper install path for the information files required. If the New Hardware Wizard prompts you for an install location, point it to:

c:\windows\INF

This is a hidden directory, so you will need to have "show Hidden Files" enabled in Folder Options > View to see it.

>> System Restore can be used to recover from any problems -- which are rare but not unknown when following the procedure.

[swiftdemise]

I tried doing a USB clean up, but Windows wasn't able to install drivers for the hardware I already had connected and installed before... I had to do a System Restore. =/

DaveA: I'm trying to install a cheapo no name brand keyboard that I've been using for the past year. However, I can't install any new devices I plug in.

[Rollin' Rog]

Try adding "c:\windows\INF" to the "Installation Sources" data value in the registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

If this isn't working then it seems like Vista is just not identifying the hardware correctly. I don't know why this would happen -- but I had a similar issue recently with a USB drive that seemed to be related to the cable I was using. In your case it may be a defective port or controller. Make sure you are trying different ports.