installation error on XP - message: device is missing a necessary entr

[doobop]

Hi,

I'm trying to install a driver on a couple of laptops. On one laptop I occasionally get an error message: "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. Contact your hardware vendor." But, if I reinstall or an "update driver", I can get the driver to install properly and the device is recognized. On the second laptop I always get the error.

So, my question is what entry is windows looking for that is causing it to give this error message?

The target operating system is XP SP2 in both cases.

Thanks.

[Mordac85]

I've never seen a driver behave this way, but you may be trying to use an older, or incorrect driver. I'd recommend checking the INF to see if the signature="$Windows NT$", plus the date and version of the driver. If it has "$Windows 95$", then obviously it's not an XP driver.

Otherwise, check the Details tab of the device in Device Mnager check the PCI ID string to make sure it's listed in the INF properly. You should find the first portion of the ID string in there somewhere. For instance, if your NIC has an ID string of PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_1600&SUBSYS_01C81028&REV_02\4&378EDFA4&0&00E2, you should find PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_1600 or PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_1600&SUBSYS_01C81028 in the INF.

The INF may also have a section specifically for XP, called out in the Manufacturer section, and will usually look something like this:

[Manufacturer]
%BRCM% = Broadcom, NTx86.5.1, NTamd64

Where the NTx86.5.1 is specifically for XP and there will be a section called, in this case, Broadcom.NTx86.5.1 and your ID string needs to be listed there for the driver to instlal properly.

[Birdy]

I had a similar problem installing a bluetooth usb dongle. Every time I tried to (re)install the driver, Windows tells me:

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. Contact your hardware vendor.

- I tried to uninstall unnecessary (hidden) drivers having the devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices set.

- I tried to run SFC /Scannow in order to verify that all protected Windows files are intact.

- I tried to uninstall all USB Root Hub drivers.

All without success, finally I just started reading the driver's INF file and noticed this section:

[BCBTUsbDriverInstallXP.NT]
Include=Bth.inf
Needs=BthUsb.NT

So I went to see if \Windows\inf\Bth.inf existed... It didn't! It was renamed to Bth.inf.0001. I think some uninstaller (WIDCOMM?) may have done that, anyway, renaming the following files back solved my problem:

- Bth.inf.0001 --> Bth.inf

- Bth.pnf.0001 --> Bth.pnf

Thanks Mordac85 for suggesting to search the INF file for clues to the nature of the problem!

Edited September 4, 2009 by Birdy

[jaclaz]

- Bth.inf.0001 --> Bth.inf

- Bth.pnf.0001 --> Bth.pnf

Just for the record, the .pnf file is NOT necessary, it is automatically created when the driver is installed and or whenever it is needed from the .inf file:

http://www.windowskb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/wi...F-file-question

Having a pre-made .pnf file may even create problems, as it could be a "mismatch" with the corresponding .inf file.

jaclaz