Vocal Voices

I do not want to leave W7 just yet, and Microsoft, realising that it is still the most popular OS on the planet have decided to keep going with security updates till 2020, though other support has finished.

Over the weekend I decided to allow the security updates to complete, then came the problems - usb problems.

It has knocked out my previously supported (15 month old) Advent 7-port powered usb hub. I have tried just about everything to recover it, including going to Safe Mode and uninstalling the updates and then updating all the drivers for the host controllers, root and generic hubs. I even uninstalled everything usb and started all over again and still nothing. The powered hub keeps coming up as an 'unknown device' and refuses, absolutely refuses, to work.

The current driver is 6.1.7601.18328 and from memory that is the one always used. I know that there have been usb exploits, but why a security update should trash a working system is beyond me. The Advent site has no new drivers as usbhub.sys 6.1.7601.18323 is the latest working version according to the forum.

Stumped and damned annoyed I am going to have to do a recovery install to see if things start working again. If they do then Microsoft can go sit on one and I will move over to Linux once W7 finally ends.

Just to ask the obvious stupid questions.

Have you checked the event viewer? Seen any odd events when plugging it in?

Do you get an unknown device in the device manager? Can you fix all unknown devices?

Have you removed all the USB controllers with "delete driver" checked?

Can you stuff an older driver down it's neck. Need to go through the manual route and select the device to avoid the version check.

If you can stuff an older driver down it's neck, can you then do a windows update after to force the driver to come to the latest level?

In Device manager did you check the "Show hidden devices" then look for anything usb related, or software devices or other entries which might relate to the hub, which you might be able to delete.

Also there is USBDview as mentioned in this post which will clear all history of USB devices. Might be useful to use.

Other options. Have you tried plugging in a different hub then daisy chaining it? Sometimes it just screws the currently remembered info and forcing a port further down can verify if it can work or not. Then USBDview might help in cleaning out the mess.

Just some thoughts, might help.

One final thought. Try changing the USB config in the BIOS and see if you can shake it loose that way. Esepcially compatibility modes for older types of ports.

And, in a note more to myself than you, one thing at a time with a log of what does, or does not, work...

Nothing of note in EV. Looked in BIOS. Tried two alternative usbsys drivers... 17184 and 27253 witn no joy. I had already removed everything USB inc drivers. With the reboot I then tried with no luck, then updated the controller and root divers, still no luck. Hidden devices holds no demons. One of the first things I did was to try other hubs - powered and unpowered. I even fired up my old XP Toshiba and everything works!

Eventually I decided on a clean install and that is when the not-such-good fun began. I am told that my HDD is not set to factory defaults, restore aborted. No problem, I will do it from boot..... except that my CD/DVD RW will not now read DVD discs. I tried the drive from the Toshiba but the connectors are different.

I was thinking of doing it via LAN and the Toshiba's drive, but it would be a one-shot option and I need this laptop working. So, I have ordered a new CD/DVD RW drive and until it arrives I can manage on a cobbled-together-wires-everywhere system.

USB key image using the Microsoft DVD tool?

It's what I use nowadays. I haven't installed from DVD in years now.

I wouldn't have thought the USB issue was impacting boot time install?

USB from boot is no problem. I have Hiren's boot disc on one and it works. However, what I want is the Acer version of W7 as it has all the things needed to drive the various hardware and software on the laptop and that is on four DVDs.

Once the new optical drive arrives I will be fine, it is just a bit of a wired mess till then.

I see.

Seems to me that the updates did more than just play with the USB. Windows has been faffing with the drive too.

So here's the deal.....

Ages ago I downloaded the W8.1 upgrade when it was free, but never installed it. Today I moved a load of files from partition, D:\, and reformatted it to NTFS. I then moved the W8.1 ISO file to D:\ and extracted it using AlZip. Once extracted I ran setup and during installation I chose 'Customise' and chose D:\ as the location and then let setup do its own thing. After a few reboots and setting up W8.1 to work my way I now have a dual boot system: W7 and W8.1.

Sooo.... In W7 the usb is still thrudged, but in W8.1 everything works just fine. Spooky.

My take is that the W7 update did the damage to USB and whatever it did is hidden deep within the Windows folder system somewhere. I have not been unable to find it, and I have looked really hard!

I will now be using W8.1, at least till my new combo drive arrives, and who knows, I might even stick with it.

OK, so I have lost a lot of Acer stuff that I liked, but on the other hand I have a working laptop.

Hard isn't it. i'm not surprised, I was finding things in W7 were starting to come apart even before the upgrade was ended. Probably their focus is now on W10 and W8.1 and they're giving lip service to W7. If they cause a problem you wind up having to live with it. XP only really stabilised when they stopped updating it and, thus, stopped borking it.

I have moved all but my virtual machines to W10 specifically for this reason. Simply put if they bork something the support for W7 is going to get less and less.

I might be able to help you with the W10 side of things if you choose to get off W8.1.

BTW and for reference, go looking for the powershell command in W8.1 and above which allows you to export all drivers to a folder on another drive. it is incredibly useful and saves no end of time.

Good to have the machine back with the USB working though....

The thing is that I have a lot of old and much loved software and hardware that will not work on W10. I run Linux in a VM and after a bit of effort Mint works with everything. I am thinking that when W7 finally dies I will go the Linux route and to hell with MS.