Windows 7 / Getting Started

Scenario 5: No Driver Can Be Found for the device

In Windows Vista, the following steps must be performed for this scenario:

  1. The user connects the device to the computer.
  2. A balloon notification appears, saying "Installing device driver software, click here for status."
  3. A Found New Hardware dialog box is displayed, indicating that Windows Needs To Install Driver Software For Your Unknown Device.
  4. The user selects the Locate And Install Driver Software (Recommended) option from this dialog box and accepts the elevation prompt to search the driver path for a suitable driver.
  5. The Found New Hardware wizard appears with the message "Insert the disk that came with your <name of device>.
  6. Because the user doesn't have media containing the driver, the user selects Next in the Found New Hardware wizard to continue searching the configured driver path for a suitable driver.
  7. After searching the configured driver path, no driver is found for the device, so the Found New Hardware wizard displays the message "Windows was unable to install your unknown device."
  8. The user selects Back in the Found New Hardware wizard and selects I Don't Have The Disk, Show Me Other Options.
  9. The Found New Hardware wizard displays the message "Windows couldn't find driver software for your device" and provides two options for the user to choose from: Check For A Solution and Browse My Computer For Driver Software (Advanced).
  10. The user selects Browse My Computer For Driver Software (Advanced) and then specifies a local folder on the system where additional drivers are located. Unfortunately, the driver needed for the device is not in that folder, so the Found New Hardware wizard again displays the message "Windows was unable to install your unknown device."
  11. The user selects Back again and this time selects Check For A Solution.
  12. The Found New Hardware wizard again shows the message "Windows was unable to install your unknown device." After making 10 different decisions (which button to click or option to select), the user gives up and the device installation fails.

In Windows 7, the steps for this scenario are as follows:

  1. The user connects the device to the computer.
  2. A balloon notification appears with the message "Installing device driver software, click here for status."
  3. When Windows has searched everywhere in the configured driver path and does not find a compatible driver for the device, another balloon notification message appears, saying "Device driver software was not successfully installed, click here for details." Clicking this link indicates No Driver Found and lets the user choose between always automatically searching Windows Update for the latest drivers (the default) or letting the user choose what to do. For more information on these options, see the section titled "Configuring Device Installation Settings" later in this tutorial.
[Previous] [Contents] [Next]

In this tutorial:

  1. Managing Devices and Services
  2. Understanding Device Installation and Management
  3. Device Enhancements in Windows 7
  4. Display Enhancements in Windows 7
  5. Understanding Device Installation
  6. Driver Store and Driver Packaging
  7. Driver Staging vs Installation
  8. Driver Staging and Installation Process
  9. Detailed Installation Process
  10. Managing Driver Packages
  11. Using PnPutil.exe
  12. Using Dism.exe
  13. Driver Signing
  14. Driver Ranking
  15. Installing and Using Devices
  16. Enhancements to the Device Installation Experience in Windows 7
  17. Scenario 1: Driver found in Driver Store
  18. Scenario 2: Driver found on Windows Update
  19. Scenario 3: Driver in Driver Store, But Better Driver on Windows Update
  20. Scenario 5: No Driver Can Be Found for the device
  21. Scenario 6: Vendor -supplied media is available
  22. Scenario 7: Additional Device Software is Available For Download from vendor
  23. Configuring Device Installation Settings
  24. Using the Devices And Printers Folder
  25. Understanding Device Stage
  26. Understanding the Device Experience Architecture
  27. Device Containers
  28. Device display object
  29. Device Metadata System
  30. Managing Device Installation Using Group Policy
  31. Managing Device Installation Behavior
  32. Managing Driver Installation Behavior
  33. Blocking Installation of Removable Devices
  34. Managing Device Redirection Behavior
  35. Troubleshooting Device Installation
  36. Using Windows Error Reporting
  37. Using the SetupAPI Log File
  38. Using Driver INF Files
  39. Using Device Manager Error Codes
  40. Using Driver Verifier
  41. Repairing Driver Store Corruption
  42. Repairing Index File Corruption
  43. Understanding Power Management
  44. Power Management Enhancements in Windows 7
  45. New Power Policies in Windows 7
  46. Configuring Power Management Settings
  47. Configuring Power Management Settings Using the Power Options Utility in Control Panel
  48. Configuring Power Management Settings Using Group Policy
  49. Configuring Power Management Settings Using the Powercfg Utility
  50. Understanding Services
  51. Service Enhancements in Windows 7
  52. Managing Services
  53. Managing Services Using Task Manager
  54. Managing Services Using the Sc.exe Command