PLEASE HELP!!! Bad hard disk controllers in WIndows

**lost-and-found** · February 11th, 2002, 04:41 PM

I went to WIndows update. On the bottom of the page there are sometimes updated drivers. Yesterday there was one for the IDE controllers. I downloaded it and here is where the stuff started happening. I resteared and now can't get to my CD-ROM or CD-RW drives. They just don't show in My computer. ALso as you see in the image attatchment, I'm using Ali chipset on the Asus A7a266 mobo. Stupid windows update gave me Intel drivers.

Somebody help me get my system back. I can't access the mobo CD-ROM and the ALi drivers on their site are corrupted. I can't remove the bad IDE controllers cause it gives me "this device is part of the multi-part device..." Help. I moved the ALi integregated driver to a floppy and tried to install it but it still doesn't work.

OH: I'm using windows 98se, asus a7a266 mobo

**SickPup404** · February 11th, 2002, 05:21 PM

For a rather drastic fix (that some others here may NOT recommend), see http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kg7kr7/installation.htm.

The part that you're interested in: "Migrating without a backup (using your old disks)"

From Paul's

Under Windows 9x systems (including Windows Me) you can force the system to redetect all your devices by deleting a key in your registry. To do this, on your old machine, go to Start, Run... and type regedit. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE delete the folder Enum and all its subfolders. Disconnect the disk from your old machine. When you plug it into your new machine Windows will redetect all the necessary hardware devices. This should be equivalent to performing a clean installation - but obviously this is not as thorough as formatting the disk and starting again. Remember that if anything goes wrong with modifying the registry, Windows maintains backups in C:\Windows\SYSBCKUP in the files rbxxx.cab. If disaster strikes under Windows 9x, boot to the Windows Start menu and select the option Safe Mode, command prompt only. At the C prompt type SCANREG /RESTORE. This will bring up a menu of possible CAB files and their dates, to restore from. The system does the rest. Under Windows Me you can use the System Restore facility.

Basically, just the first part applies - you want Windows to redetect the HDD controller hardware.

Hope this helps!

REMEMBER - TRY THIS ONLY AS A LAST RESORT! THIS IS A BIG HAMMER! I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH - USE WITH CAUTION!

**Kuasimodem** · February 11th, 2002, 05:26 PM

In Device Mangler, highlight the controller, and click "Properties".
Under the driver tab, click "Update Driver"
Instead of search, select Display a list... and click NEXT.

Your old drivers should be listed in the next page, select them and complete the update, ignoring any warnings that Windblows gives you.

**Tom Jones** · February 11th, 2002, 06:36 PM

Lost has fixed his problem:

Ok, I am talking with Lost at the moment and he can't get a message to post on here. He has solved his problem and wants to thank all you you for helping him.....

**lost-and-found** · February 11th, 2002, 09:09 PM

Thanks all, I wish I could post sooner, but for some reason I couldn't post at all. I reisnatalled windows without formatiing and fixed the IDE problem. Thanks.

**Tazman** · February 13th, 2002, 09:39 AM

Don't I feel like a freakin' moron

.

I read this post the other day and thought, gee, that's wierd that the Windoze update site would do that.

So I'm working on an older box that just got a clean install of 98. I did the updates and checked the Intel hard disk controllers completly forgetting this thread

.

Now I can't follow the simple steps that Kuasimodem laid out. When I do the update driver in device manager and select "Display" I don't have any compatible drivers listed

.

How the heck can M$ get away with this? I normally do the updates religiously under the stupid pretense that the update site knows whats go for the computer that I happen to be working on - I guess I know better now.

BTW, I just reformatted to correct the problem instead of trying to firgure it out - seemed easier. Now watch me finish the install and do the same thing again

.

Mike