How can I find out what a PCI is trying to install?

charley4

Everytime I log on I get a "Found New Hardware Wizard" but I dont know what it is trying to install, maybe it is something important, can anyone help me please. Thanks!

nickmack

Have you added or changed any devices recently? External drives? USB devices etc?

If you go through the wizard does it tell you it has the drivers for this device or does it ask you to provide them?

charley4

Thanks for helping, I have now tried to continue,when the found new hardware wizard came onto my screen, and a message said " the hardware was not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software". I have recently brought a dell pc, and I installed it myself, so I expected to find a few things that I have done wrong, not being to clever, but determined to manage on my own with the help of techi chat rooms.

Dack

If you press the windows key and then the 'break' key at the same time then click on 'hardware' and 'device manager' what devices are shown as having question marks or crosses next to them?

charley4

thanks Dack, yes i found the device manage and all had Xs next to them ,except next to PCI device there was an exclamation mark ! then a troubleshooting message stating, "The driver may be corrupted or missing (39) this device isn't using any resources because it has a problem". Now I am not sure what to do. (I'm the one with the problem!)
I had never noticed the break key on my pc before, so I have learnt something.

albertross_2

Go through all your PCI devices (the big cards that fit in slots on the motherboard), and see if there is a device listed in device manager for each one.

If for example you have a PCI network card, and it is not listed in device manager, that will point to a hardware problem with your card, a conflict with settings on a different card, or a corrupt driver. I'd try downloading the latest driver for whatever card it is as a starting point..

another way of diagnosing it would be to unplug (with mains off), each PCI card, one by one, until the message goes away.

charley4

Thanks Albertross, but I am a duffer, so this is all to complicated for me, I wouldn't know how to start going through my PCI devices. thanks for trying.
I belong to a group called "Timebank" where we share jobs without payment, and I will find myself a computer expert to do this for me, and I will probably do some sewing in return.
But please tell me where the motherboard is?

scheming_gypsy

the motherboard is the big board inside the computer that everything connects to,

Till you can get it looked at just go back into device manager, right click the device with the exclamation mark and disable it. It'll stop the hardware wizard coming up each time you boot up.