USB devices not working after Device Manager spring clean

mojorising · 30 Apr 2018

I had a spring clean of my Device Manager devices (I am having some major issues for the last 2 months with the Win 10 1709 upgrade.and this was a suggestion) and now various USB devices (harddrives, mice, keyboards) will not work when plugged in.

Take the spare mouse for example.

It is a simple standard plug-and-play Logitech wired mouse which was not connected to the laptop at the time I did the 'spring clean'.

When I bought this mouse last year my laptop had never seen it before. I plugged it in and it immediately worked.

I figured if I clean out the Device Manager devices it will be OK since they will automatically reinstall when the device is re-connected for the first time just like when I first bought them.

But this is not happening. After the 'spring clean' the devices are not automatically reinstalling when plugged in.

They show up in Device Manager as devices that are not working due to no driver.

How come these items set themselves up automatically when they are first purchased but will not set themselves up on first connection after Device Manager clean up?

I can get them working for one session by selecting them in Device Manager (they have the yellow warning symbol) and selecting Update Driver.

If choose 'Search automatically...' there are never any results.

If I choose 'Browse My Computer' then 'Let me pick from a list....' then I can sometimes get lucky and get the device working using a generic Windows driver. But it only works for one session. As soon as I unplug the mouse/keyboard/whatever and plug it in again I am back to square one and it is not working.

How do I get these devices to work again like they did when I first plugged them after buying them and before doing the DM clean-up ?

(this Win 10 1709 upgrade nightmare has cost me about 30 hours of wasted time before i even tried this device manager clean up suggestion)

EdTittel · 30 Apr 2018

Do you have access to a backup made prior to the clean-up? If so, you have numerous options open to you. If you do have a backup, please let us know when it was made and using what backup software, and we can provide further remediation advice.
HTH,
--Ed--

slicendice · 30 Apr 2018

Welcome to TenForums @mojorising

It seems your spring cleanup did something more than just remove some devices from your system. Please first answer Eds question and then we'll try to figure out the best course of action.

If there is something else you did during your cleanup, please let us know. Do you remember exactly what you did to cleanup the devices? (This could be important information)

mojorising · 30 Apr 2018

Thanks Ed.

No I do not have a backup (doh!)

I can get most of the devices working again by choosing default windows drivers from inside Device Manager.

But when I remove and then re-insert the device it is not working again and I have to go back into Device manager and repeat the exercise.

How can I get Windows to remember that the default driver works for this device?

mojorising · 30 Apr 2018

Here is a list of all the devices I removed using Device Manager
There were many many duplicates so I have put the number beside each device type (e.g. I removed 13 separate HID compliant mouse devices)

Device Manager:-
Printers:-
Uninstalled HP 1110 Laser Printer
Uninstall Canon MG2900 inkjet
Uninstalled bluetooth speaker

HID Devices:-
Uninstalled 13 HID Compliant Mice
Uninstalled 9 HID Compliant Keyboards
Uninstalled 20 HID Input Devices
Uninstalled 40 USB Input Devices

Display Devices:-
Uninstalled 4 generic displays

USB Devices:-
Uninstalled 4 Unknown USB Devices
Uninsatll Huawei Mobile Connect
Uninstall 20 USB Composite Devices
Uninstall 20 USB Mass Storage Devices
Uninstall 30 VMWare USB Devices

Portable Devices:-
Uninstalled 15 Drives and phones

Other Devices:-
Uninstalled Unknown Device

EdTittel · 30 Apr 2018

Your best bet might be to perform an in-place repair upgrade install. It will find and reinstall all (or at least, most) device drivers as it does its thing. Check out this TenForums tutorial: Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade. It only takes half an hour or so. If it works that would be much faster than manually running down and trying out all of your missing drivers.
HTH,
--Ed--

PS: once you get your system sorted, one lesson you should take away with you from this adventure is the need for, and value of, a current/valid backup. Be sure to grab a good backup tool such as Macrium Reflect Free (the free version is adequate for most users, though I'm inclined to support them by buying their licenses to support their excellent work). Make sure you do this soon!

zbook · 30 Apr 2018

In addition to the above:
Open the website for Lenovo > enter product or serial number or model > select the operating system > view drivers > post a URL or hyperlink into this thread.
Run the automatic driver update > post results into the thread.

slicendice · 30 Apr 2018

Exactly as @EdTittel recommended. Something is really off, on your computer since you have/had duplicate drivers and now nothing works. Before you do the "Repair Upgrade", reboot your computer using this command from command prompt or the Run dialog (WINKEY + R):

Code:

shutdown /r /t 0

That will reboot your device immediately and will make sure you have done an absolutely clean system startup and no old data should be cached anywhere in RAM. (solves issues with Fast Startup, that sometimes can cause a lot of havoc on some systems)

Let us know how goes.

mojorising · 30 Apr 2018

zbook said:

In addition to the above:
Open the website for Lenovo > enter product or serial number or model > select the operating system > view drivers > post a URL or hyperlink into this thread.
Run the automatic driver update > post results into the thread.

Thanks, I installed Lenovo System Interface Foundation from:-

Error

Seems to have got a mouse and keyboard working but some other mice and HDs not working.

Want to try the repair but I need a 1703 iso to do a repair.

The download links are only available for 1709 now.

Trying to download 1703 makes you join Sign in to your account

But then it still does not let you have a 1703 iso link

Anybody know where I can get a 1703 iso?

I have got the 1709 ISO (one of my many failed attempts at doing the upgrade from hell) but that is no use as it is the upgrade that is not working and has caused this 2 month long saga.

mojorising · 30 Apr 2018

zbook said:

In addition to the above:
Open the website for Lenovo > enter product or serial number or model > select the operating system > view drivers > post a URL or hyperlink into this thread.
Run the automatic driver update > post results into the thread.

Thanks, I installed Lenovo System Interface Foundation from the Lenovo website

Seems to have got a mouse and keyboard working but some other mice and HDs not working.

Want to try the Windows repair option mentioned by Ed but I need a 1703 iso to do a repair.

The download links are only available for 1709 now.

Trying to download 1703 makes you join the VisualStudio community.

But then it still does not let you have a 1703 iso link

Anybody know where I can get a 1703 iso?

I have got the 1709 ISO (one of my many failed attempts at doing the upgrade from hell) but that is no use as it is the upgrade that is not working and has caused this 2 month long saga.