There's a ton of post about Windows 10 drivers not working out there. This one is different!
After the upgrade from windows 8.1, like most everyone else it seems, I struggled with drivers for older
devices and some newer ones.
In most cases I was successful by trying Windows 8, Windows 7 and even Vista drivers.
In other cases, not so much. In a couple of those cases here's what worked. (not the best solution, but something)
Here the scenario (I've seen this a lot and I bet you have too)
1. Plug in a USB device and windows reports something like "The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)"
or "Windows cannot start this driver" Even though the correct device name is clearly detected.
A good example of this is my brand new LG Model L41C Android smartphone.
(I have downloaded and tried all the recent drivers from the LG site)
Here's my fix: (please share this with your friends)
1. Plug in the device, windows fails to load the driver.
2. Open up device manager.
3. Find the listing for the device (clearly marked with the dreaded yellow exclamation mark)
4 Right-Click and choose "Disable" (NOT Uninstall)
The device will still be in the list but sort of grayed-out
5. Leave Device Manager open and unplug the device. (it will disappear from the list)
6. Plug the device back in. It will re-appear but still disabled.
7. Right click on it and choose "Enable" Like magic the driver will load and function.
I've used this trick on several devices. Doesn't work all the time but sometimes it does.
This seems to rule out the problem being with the device driver itself since it will load and function after this trick.
I've also found that the same driver will load without this trick if the device happens to be plugged in at boot time.
One of the USB devices I use frequently is a USB-Serial converter.
I have several of these and I'm careful to get the ones based on the CP2102 chip.
I've had the best luck with the manufacturers drivers for these devices.
(if you have the PL2303 kind, I'm sorry, I feel your pain search for an old VISTA driver set and try to force it to load)
Anyway, several weeks ago I was happily transferring data with these devices and a notice popped up about a major
Windows 10 upgrade (sorry I forgot exactly what it was but it was labeled "Build {some bug number}" )
So I let it install, it took a long time so I went to bed.
The next day ALL of my USB-Serial converter devices would no longer work.
This is actually how I discovered this trick. I rebooted, and only the devices plugged in worked.
Another of the exact same kind when plugged in afterwards would not load the driver.
I fiddled around and discovered the Disable - unplug - plug - Enable trick but that's way too much trouble considering the frequency I use these devices. A lot of searching around the internet provided me with instruction on how to REVERSE the
Windows 10 update (I'm running Windows 10 Pro. the article suggested it might not be available for all versions of Win 10).
This restored the function for those devices but I still struggle with others.
As I mentioned before, I feel this is clearly NOT a driver issue but a Windows 10 change that invalidated a bunch of previously working device drivers.
I hope you find this useful and hope Microsoft will fix this soon.
After the upgrade from windows 8.1, like most everyone else it seems, I struggled with drivers for older
devices and some newer ones.
In most cases I was successful by trying Windows 8, Windows 7 and even Vista drivers.
In other cases, not so much. In a couple of those cases here's what worked. (not the best solution, but something)
Here the scenario (I've seen this a lot and I bet you have too)
1. Plug in a USB device and windows reports something like "The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)"
or "Windows cannot start this driver" Even though the correct device name is clearly detected.
A good example of this is my brand new LG Model L41C Android smartphone.
(I have downloaded and tried all the recent drivers from the LG site)
Here's my fix: (please share this with your friends)
1. Plug in the device, windows fails to load the driver.
2. Open up device manager.
3. Find the listing for the device (clearly marked with the dreaded yellow exclamation mark)
4 Right-Click and choose "Disable" (NOT Uninstall)
The device will still be in the list but sort of grayed-out
5. Leave Device Manager open and unplug the device. (it will disappear from the list)
6. Plug the device back in. It will re-appear but still disabled.
7. Right click on it and choose "Enable" Like magic the driver will load and function.
I've used this trick on several devices. Doesn't work all the time but sometimes it does.
This seems to rule out the problem being with the device driver itself since it will load and function after this trick.
I've also found that the same driver will load without this trick if the device happens to be plugged in at boot time.
One of the USB devices I use frequently is a USB-Serial converter.
I have several of these and I'm careful to get the ones based on the CP2102 chip.
I've had the best luck with the manufacturers drivers for these devices.
(if you have the PL2303 kind, I'm sorry, I feel your pain search for an old VISTA driver set and try to force it to load)
Anyway, several weeks ago I was happily transferring data with these devices and a notice popped up about a major
Windows 10 upgrade (sorry I forgot exactly what it was but it was labeled "Build {some bug number}" )
So I let it install, it took a long time so I went to bed.
The next day ALL of my USB-Serial converter devices would no longer work.
This is actually how I discovered this trick. I rebooted, and only the devices plugged in worked.
Another of the exact same kind when plugged in afterwards would not load the driver.
I fiddled around and discovered the Disable - unplug - plug - Enable trick but that's way too much trouble considering the frequency I use these devices. A lot of searching around the internet provided me with instruction on how to REVERSE the
Windows 10 update (I'm running Windows 10 Pro. the article suggested it might not be available for all versions of Win 10).
This restored the function for those devices but I still struggle with others.
As I mentioned before, I feel this is clearly NOT a driver issue but a Windows 10 change that invalidated a bunch of previously working device drivers.
I hope you find this useful and hope Microsoft will fix this soon.
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