BleepingComputer.com: Blocking driver installation

How to prevent XP altogether from TRYING to install hardware for which drivers are not available ?

a. Remove the hardware.

b. Disable the hardware in the BIOS, if applicable.

c. Disable the hardware in Device Manager.

Either of the above ought to do the trick.

Louis

Disable the Plug and Play driver in System Devices should do the trick. That will disable all autoconfiguration changes to drivers, and also stop the installation of all drivers for new devices. You probably won't be able to hotswap USB devices either. It won't try to load any new drivers, as it won't detect new hardware. Though why you wouldnt want windows to know when you got new hardware is beyond me.

You can also install the default null driver for a device and let it stay as "Unknown Device" in your device manager, then it will never ask again.

This post has been edited by Gabrial: 29 September 2010 - 01:41 PM

Gabrial, on Sep 30 2010, 04:37 AM, said:

The last suggestion sounds like just the one. I'd like help with the details - never having heard of 'null drivers'. Then problem is the unsettling sight of three dialog boxes after bootup, which, at this stage, we can only deal with by 'cancel'ing.
<<why you wouldnt want windows to know when you got new hardware is beyond me.>>
Let me put it in your reach. MY going-on-for-eighty-years-old brother has recently learnt computing skills in WinXP. He bought a new laptop (Compaq Presario CQ60 120TU) as well, but found that the Windows Vista it came loaded with, did not take kindly to his WinXP skills, so with difficulty you would not believe, I installed a WinXP Pro slipstreamed-for/with-SP3-and-SATA-drivers, on a NEW HDD (the Vista HDD has been put aside). Device Manager showed 9 problematicals, which I managed to reduce to 3 with the loading of suitable drivers - two for audio and one for modem. They have defied all my labours and good intentions at being 'installed'. I think/hope the modem is for dial-up and therefore obsolete. He has good sound systems so does not rely on the laptop for audio. I/we do NOT object to having that hardware as functioning items, but have simply been unable to achieve that - nor do we object to Windows detecting new hardware.

Hamluis - much as I'd like to rip out the unresponsive hardware, I do NOT think it is an option in laptops.

Funny...I don't see that mentioned in your inital post , maybe I was just supposed to know that .

Those options are individual, not collective. You take your choice, not all 3...I think I indicated that but I don't mind being redundant.

Louis

you could always suppress the alerts. This way if needed you can always launch Device Manager if a manual install is called for.

Windows XP 32 bit:

1. Open regedit > navagate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

2. Right click the windows key > create new sub key "DeviceInstall"

3. Right click DeviceInstall key > create new sub key "Settings"

4. Create REG_DWORD named "SuppressNewHWUI" with a value of 1


See Here.. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938596/en-us

This setting will suppress alerts regarding newly detected hardware. It will also generate warnings in event log.

You don't have to hit cancel. You could just keep hitting next until the driver install failed to find an appropriate driver and it became an "unknown device". Then it wouldnt prompt you again for the driver until you went into Device Manager and removed it. The "Unknown Device" driver is called "null driver" in some of the windows driver installation logs.

If you get the "Unknown Device" in your device manager, and would like me to help look for drivers, you can post the device id's and i'd be happy to search around for you.

This post has been edited by Gabrial: 30 September 2010 - 03:24 AM

Gabrial, on Sep 30 2010, 06:21 PM, said:

Gabrial - Thank you for the offer. I will have to take a raincheck on this, as the system has been overtaken by a greater disaster that has to be fixed first (AND WILL BE]. THEN I will post what Device Manager listed, as I have been unable to get more detailed information from hardware monitors.

Ok. Let me know.