sound card installation inconvenient

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Apparently it's quite common for sound cards, and other devices, under the
newer Windows versions, to be installed by first installing the drivers,
then opening the box, installing the card, rebooting, and completing the
"New hardware found" wizard. That can work well if you're installing for the
first time. But what can you do if you need to reinstall the OS, or perform
some similar action?

I have such a situation with the M-Audio Revolution 7, which I'm using under
Windows 2000. It seems crazy to have to re-open the box, remove the card,
install the OS, reinstall the card drivers, then reinstall the card, and
reboot and go through the New Hardware Found bit.

Not only is that inconvenient, but it increases the risk that something may
go wrong with the hardware.

Is there a way around that?

I read something that suggests that you can put the card in first, cancel
out of New Hardware Found, then install the drivers, then reboot, and then
you will get New Hardware Found once again, and you can complete the
installation. Does this work? And if so, does it work reliably? And finally,
what about when you're reinstalling the OS from scratch? (Which is where it
really matters.) Will it ever give you that New Hardware Found panel, or
does it just quietly go ahead and install the card drivers? If so, can you
go into Add/Remove Hardware and remove the hardware presence (with the card
in place), then install the drivers, reboot and do the New Hardware Found
bit?

This seems to be a whole new way of working. I've never dealt with it before
getting the Rev 7 last summer.

--Ron

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

> Apparently it's quite common for sound cards, and other devices, under the
> newer Windows versions, to be installed by first installing the drivers,
> then opening the box, installing the card, rebooting, and completing the
> "New hardware found" wizard.

It's not necessary to do it exactly that way, they only say that because
it makes live easier by giving you fewer steps when installing new
hardware. You install the drivers, then when plug and play kicks in and
sees the new hardware, it finds and loads the correct drivers right
away, most of the time without user intervention.

> That can work well if you're installing for the
> first time. But what can you do if you need to reinstall the OS, or perform
> some similar action?

No biggie, just reinstall the OS as you always would. Either it will
install generic drivers if they are available (in which case it's
usually best to replace them with the specific drivers that were written
for that hardware anyway), or it will not install any drivers at all.
If it does not, you will usually see a yellow exclamation mark in the
device manager. Either way, the way I usually do it is to remove the
device from device manager, run the driver setup program (if the drivers
are indeed installed this way), and then restart. In the end, you
should get the exact same result.

>
> I have such a situation with the M-Audio Revolution 7, which I'm using under
> Windows 2000. It seems crazy to have to re-open the box, remove the card,
> install the OS, reinstall the card drivers, then reinstall the card, and
> reboot and go through the New Hardware Found bit.
>
> Not only is that inconvenient, but it increases the risk that something may
> go wrong with the hardware.
>
> Is there a way around that?

yes, see above.

>
> I read something that suggests that you can put the card in first, cancel
> out of New Hardware Found, then install the drivers, then reboot, and then
> you will get New Hardware Found once again, and you can complete the
> installation. Does this work? And if so, does it work reliably?

Of course. When you cancel out, it just skips the driver installation,
and it will prompt you again on the next restart.

> And finally,
> what about when you're reinstalling the OS from scratch? (Which is where it
> really matters.) Will it ever give you that New Hardware Found panel, or
> does it just quietly go ahead and install the card drivers? If so, can you
> go into Add/Remove Hardware and remove the hardware presence (with the card
> in place), then install the drivers, reboot and do the New Hardware Found
> bit?

See above.

>
> This seems to be a whole new way of working. I've never dealt with it before
> getting the Rev 7 last summer.
>
> --Ron
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Thanks, David, I'm making a careful note of these comments, and will try
them out soon, when I install again.

--Ron

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 15:26:53 -0400, "RWG" <rgarrison1@nc.rr.com>
wrote:

>Apparently it's quite common for sound cards, and other devices, under the
>newer Windows versions, to be installed by first installing the drivers,
>then opening the box, installing the card, rebooting, and completing the
>"New hardware found" wizard. That can work well if you're installing for the
>first time. But what can you do if you need to reinstall the OS, or perform
>some similar action?
>
>I have such a situation with the M-Audio Revolution 7, which I'm using under
>Windows 2000. It seems crazy to have to re-open the box, remove the card,
>install the OS, reinstall the card drivers, then reinstall the card, and
>reboot and go through the New Hardware Found bit.

It would take less time and trouble than you've already spent arguing
about doing it

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

> If the op hasn't sufficient experience to play around with hardware
> and driver installation and clear up any messes he may get into, he's
> best advised to follow the maker's instructions to the letter.
>
> It's great fun playing around with drivers, particularly when
> something has mistakenly got installed as a generic device, or you've
> quitted installation half-way through lack of the right driver. If
> he was experienced in this game, he wouldn't have asked.

You can try to justify it any way you want, but it's simply asinine to
criticize someone for asking a reasonable question. I've been roundly flamed
on this very group, once upon a time, for not minding my manners; and after
a little reflection, I saw that I had no choice but to apologize. You should
do the same. In the meantime, I don't need any debris from the peanut
gallery. Yeah, if I knew all about how to do this, I would not need to ask.
*Duh*.

BTW (1) Your comments about "following the instructions to the letter" are
nonsense, because if you had read the instructions I have, you would know
that they were in error, and in fact self-contradictory on this point; but
no, you just *assumed* that I was trying to do something foolish, and (2)
there is no such word as "quitted."