problem with "found new hardware" wizard coming up after startup

[chunkstyle]

hi guys --

i'm having a problem with windows xp popping up that "found new hardware" wizard after startup when i haven't installed any new hardware. it's really tough to make it go away -- it wants to search online for software.

i was having a problem with my isp software (netscape connect, dialup) acting up a bit & then finally not starting at all, and thought for a while, while putzing with it this morning, that the problem might actually be with the modem (usr 56k fax/win modem). so i found this conexant generic modem driver installer i'd downloaded a while back for a different issue & tried to install it. that didn't complete properly, as the installer couldn't find some file it needed. as far as i could tell, the installation of that driver failed & nothing was changed.

subsequently, i figured out that our isp software was apparently corrupted & an uninstall/reinstall of it seemed to work fine, alleviating the problem we'd been having.

now, however, every time it starts up, windows pops up this "found new hardware" balloon near the system tray, with "conexant setup API" in it. and a dialog box pops up about the same item, wanting to install the software. i try to cancel out of it with various combinations of buttons clicked ("cancel", "next", "no", etc.), but it's really tough. eventually, it does go away, but it seems only through sheer number of times frenziedly clicking the "cancel" button, rather than thru any real correct or logical actions on my part. (maybe the bit of cursing i'm doing, while pressing the "cancel" button a million times, helps too )

how can i make it stop doing this? i assume i've got some bastardized half-install from when i unsuccessfully tried redoing the modem driver, before realizing that wasn't the problem with our isp.

any ideas? and, if it makes any difference, the modem's working fine. i can go online with it -- no problem.

thanks very much!

[rjfvillarosa]

Go to Device Manager in Control panel>System>Hardware and look to see if you have any yellow triangles next to a piece of listed hardware, if you do, right click the piece of hardware and click uninstall in the drop down menu.

[glc]

Why did you try installing a Conexant modem driver when you have a USR modem? You might want to do a system restore back to a date before you did that. You will probably have to uninstall/reinstall your connection software again.

[chunkstyle]

glc -- the main reason's that i'm kinda stupid. i know just enough about the workings of a pc to mess things up. i'm trying to learn more & improve, but it's pretty slow going. a while back, i had this problem with netsacpe connect (you're probably aware it's just rebranded aol) that i thought was the modem, because it wouldn't initialize. i downloaded drivers, as i mentioned, although the problem actually turned out to be an aol problem with xp's sp2 that they made a patch for, which took care of it. this was a while ago, and even though i label the folders containing the various driver installers i get & try to be specific about naming them for what they are, for future reference, i somehow didn't label this one too well. you know how drivers for various devices often have more to do with the brand of chipset on a board rather than the name brand on the product? that often confuses me. in this case, this conexant thing was the only installer in the place i normally put them, and since the name "conexant" range a vague bell in the back of my mind, i figured it must be the chipset on the modem & figured it was ok. dumb, i know.
but it was the best i could do at the time.

rjfvillarosa -- i did chek the device manager, and there were a bunch of identical listings for that item with the yellow exclamation point circle icon. you were right about that. after i get offline, i'll try uninstalling them & see if that helps. i'll let you know how it works. thanks!

[rjfvillarosa]

Uninstall all of the yellow exclamations at the same time, they probably refer to failed installs and are attempting to install themselves everytime you boot, the fact that there are multiple listings is probably why you have so much difficulty in canceling the install.

Originally Posted by chunkstyle i try to cancel out of it with various combinations of buttons clicked ("cancel", "next", "no", etc.), but it's really tough. eventually, it does go away, but it seems only through sheer number of times frenziedly clicking the "cancel" button, rather than thru any real correct or logical actions on my part.

[chunkstyle]

yep -- that worked. there were 15 such listings in the list & removing them has alleviated the problem.

thank you very much for your help. the willingness of all you guys to share your expertise (and patience) with us lesser computer users is very kind, and much appreciated.

[rjfvillarosa]

Glad it worked for you chunkstyle and thanks for coming back and letting us know, it helps other people when they search a problem.