Device Manager Headache

[HoppaLong]

I thought copying or cloning my 98SE system from a desktop

to a laptop would be a nightmare. Everything went smoothly

because I deleted every driver file specific to the old desktop

where the system resided. I made sure I had all the driver

packages for the laptop, which is an IBM ThinkPad T23.

Lenovo had everything, except the latest chipset drivers

which I downloaded from Intel.

Frankly, I thought everything that could go wrong, probably

would go wrong! If I could just resolve two problem items in

the Device Manager I'll consider this job a complete success.

Under "Other Devices" I've got the dreaded yellow circle next

to "PCI Ethernet Controller" and "Unknown Device." There was

a third item, but it vanished when I installed the chipset drivers.

I tried an app called "Unknown Device Identifier." Seconds after

it launches some strange error message appears about "not

having enough memo space," whatever that means! It also

causes the the system to freeze up, while it attempts to scan

all the system devices.

Maybe it doesn't matter if I can't fix these two problem devices,

but it sure would be nice to see an error free Device Manager.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

What hardware devices or components does your laptop have that is missing from device manager? The PCI device could be wifi or card reader or ethernet port or maybe sound system. You might want to delete the PCI(?) device from device manager and see if it comes back upon restart. Also, you might want to start the system in safe mode and take a look at device manager and see if there are duplicates of certain things - or maybe stuff (like CD drive, video cards, etc) that show up that the system does have. I delete stuff like that when I see it.

Also what I'll do is search the entire system for all .inf files and copy all of them to a single directory (c:\allinf for example) and then in device manager, go to the problem device, select install or update driver, select have disk, and point it to the allinf directory. It might find what it's looking for that way.

Is your laptop video driver functioning ok - is your screen resolution set to match the specs of the laptop's screen?

Also, do this: right-click on my computer, select properties, performance. Does it say "Your system is configured for optimal performance" or does it say that your hard drives are operating in DOS compatibility mode? At the bottom of that screen click the File System button and change the settings to "Typical role: Network Server" (I think this is the best setting for "modern" hardware - even if it's a laptop) and remove the "search for floppy" check (unless your laptop does have a floppy drive).

[HoppaLong]

Great reply wsxedcrfv! Thank you.

Reg hacking, tweaking, and optimizing Windows

95 and 98 were all I cared about when these

systems were king. In fact, all the bugs that

Microsoft didn't fix or care about is the only

reason I kept tinkering and having fun at the

same time!

Many of your suggestions are classic tweaks, like

setting the typical role to Network Server, not

searching for the floppy drive, etc.

This ThinkPad and all its drivers are working like

new. Used and refurbished ThinkPads in good condition

are in great demand. The design and contruction of

this IBM series is first rate. I wish modern laptops

were as rugged as refurbished ThinkPads.

The monitor is crystal clear. It's possible the screen

element was replaced during the refurbishing process.

I certainly did try deleting these items from the Device

Manager. They always come back, along with the New

Hardware Wizard after the reboot. I also deleted the

subkeys directly from the registry. They refuse to go away!

Your idea about copying all the inf files into one directory,

is something I never would have thought of. I'll definitely

give it a try.

I'll keep plugging away at this problem until I see a "clean"

Device Manager.

Thanks again wsxedcrfv.