Devices not recognized

I took over my PC from Directweb(now B2000.net) and I reformatted the disk in order to get rid of all their controls and tried to start new load of Windows98. The only trouble is that I can't get Windows to recognize any of my external devices;
not the sound card, not the modem, and the Display only has two color options.
I have tried to go through Add HDW and nothing I try works.
The system came with a CD containing device drivers for the three items above, but when I go thru the "Have Disk" option, I get an immediste respons that "specified location doesn't contain info about your hdw". It always returns to aprompt with the A drive as rhe specified disk, and it doesn't appear to try the D drive that I specify.
I tried inserting another sound card, but merely got the same results.

 

Try turning the machine on and going into BIOS. Check the screen for which key or keys to press. It may be DEL or F2 or something else depending on the BIOS maker. Once there, look for a line that says PnP or Plug and Play Aware OS. If it isnt already, set this to Yes. Save your changes and see if Windows detects your hardware. If not you can do a manual install of the drivers one device at a time.
You will also need to browse the CD that contains your drivers so you can enter the full path when Windows asks for the location of the driver. The CD should have folders such as Display, Modem, Sound etc. so if for example Windows asks for the location of the sound driver you would enter "d:\sound". This is whether you do a manual driver install or are prompted by Windows finding the device itself. Windows cannot find the driver path without help.
If the devices worked before the reinstall and the CD is the one that came with the machine there is no reason that the drivers arent on the CD, it may just take a little searching.

 

Thanks for your reply Monk!
I tried what you suggested including provided the full path when adding manually; The path being "D:\Sound Card\Yamaha\719\Win98. I tried different versions of this, but to no avail.

Where I changed the PNP OS Install from "NO" to "YES", I noticed
two other lines; They are:

Resources Controlled By - Manual
Reset Configuration Data - Disabled

I tried Resources both set to Manual and to Auto. I did not try to change The Reset Configuration Data.

I noticed also that in Device Mgr., the configuration is presented hierarchically, while on my Compac Presario, all hdwr is presented in one line under the C:
In the hierarchy, tried adding the sound card under:

C:
PCI Bus
?PCI Multimedia Audio Device

The problem seems to be that even when I choose to add manually, I have to select from a limited list that doesn't include my specific device. I always get the message that Windows was unable to find a driver for the specified device.

 

In a manual install, when you get to the screen that lists available devices, click Have Disk, then enter the complete path to the driver, or Browse to it. Once you have done this a list of devices should appear, select the one that matches your card and the install should proceed from there.

 

Hi Monk,

I've tried that, but my specific Yamaha sound card is not listed. I've attempted to use each of the ones listed, but the results are always the same.

AV

 

If you know the model number or chipset of the card you can search the web for the latest drivers and d/l them. This is a standalone card right? Not onboard sound.

 

I was about to try that when I tried to load AOL, I discovered that the mode, also, was not recognized.