Vista USB driver problem! Help!

[Steve101]

Hey guys.

My laptop has been acting strange for the past few months. It refuses to let USB devices work!
I've tried loads to try to get them to work, but nothing helps.

The problem is that when I plug in the USB device it is recognised, but I always get the error message that it could not install the correct drivers! Although, some USB drives work and so does my USB printer.

Does anyone know a solution to this problem? Is it a quick fix with placing a file in the windows folder, or is my USB controler broken?

Also the computer has become sluggish. Could anyone recommend any programs for vista that will sort it out.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Fastmix]

In regards to the usb stick..I would check the manufacturer website, maybe you need a speacial driver or hotfix.

For restoring the performance of Vista...You could try "Tweak VI, Vista manager, Vista smoker or Advance vista optimizer" they are all good.

 

[Kreij]

Make sure that your computer is free of any malware (viruses, etc.), make sure your HDs are in shape (defrag, chkdsk) and clean out any crap you don't need (CCleaner or something).

Some USB devices are junk and will simply not work or die early. Try the devices on another computer to verify that they are in working condition. Vista should have no problem recognizing just about any USB device.

 

[Steve101]

Cheers for the reply. I will check out TweakVI.

It isn't just with USB sticks, its also with USB mice, webcams and MP3 players. Even if the drivers are installed they still wont work :/

 

[Kreij]

Did they work before and you are just now having problems?
If so, something changed on you system.
Finding out what is the fun part

 

[Steve101]

Make sure that your computer is free of any malware (viruses, etc.), make sure your HDs are in shape (defrag, chkdsk) and clean out any crap you don't need (CCleaner or something).

Some USB devices are junk and will simply not work or die early. Try the devices on another computer to verify that they are in working condition. Vista should have no problem recognizing just about any USB device.

Im currently running asquared to check for bad things. Going to run Spybot, AVG, Adaware and Hijackthis after. Hopefully going completely overkill will flush out any rubbish.

I've cleaned out junk files with CCleaner, got about 400mb of rubbish and a bunch of registry files.

I just stumbled upon this on fix (second to last post)on google, hopefully it will work.

 

[Kreij]

Let us know how everything goes.
Sometimes it is easier to just backup you data and reload the OS when things get gunked up.
I've never had any problems with Vista (32 or 64) recognizing devices. I was actually surprised when it saw my Nikon D300 and knew what to do with everything.

Make sure you have the latest BIOS for your mobo and drivers for all your hardware.

 

[Steve101]

I've had a breakthough, although not the one i was hoping for! lol

Seems that fix on the links kind of worked. The USB device will start installing but then I get an incredibly STUPID error saying-
"The driver installation file for this device is missing a necessary entry. This may be because the INF was written for Windows 95 or later."

That angered me. Im using vista! lol.

Would it be worth trying to copy windows XP INF files into my windows directory?

 

[Kreij]

What the heck kind of USB device are you using?
No, I would not install XP stuff until you get the problem nailed down.