What is Unknown Devices and How to Fix it

INTRODUCTION:
Base on my experience troubleshooting computers, sometimes the computer system (windows) unable to detect the hardware changes whenever we plug in storage (like thumb drive, memory card, etc). Or after installing all drivers there are still driver missing which listed as "unknown device" in device manager.
So here i would like to share my experience how to solve this problem because there are many reason why your computers get the unknown device problem.

IF you have the error and prompt with " Disk management console view is not up to date" whenever you insert memory card or usb drive you can refer my tutorial here:
http://laptop-driver.blogspot.com/2010/12/disk-management-console-view-is-not-up.html


CONTENT:

1. Unknown device - in device manager
Devices that detected as unknown device after installing windows.

2. Unknown device - USB storage and New Hardware
Unknown device appear after inserting USB storage such as thumdrive into the USB slot or other computer port.

Note: to open device manager click START and on the serach box type DEVMGMT.MSC and press ENTER. In windows 8 right click on lower left corner at the power user start button and select device manager.

1 - UNKNOWN DEVICE - IN DEVICE MANAGER
You will see picture like this.

 

 NOTE:
The solution is step by step process, which is say A didnt work, so move to solution B.
If you didnt find unknown device and theres no hardware detected after insert the USB device into the USB slot, click VIEW in device manager and select SHOW HIDDEN DEVICE.

1A: INSTALL AND UNISTALL
1. Right click on the unknown device. Select uninstall. It will disappear from the list.
2. Right lcik again on any device there and select scan for hardware changes.
3. A new hardware found displayed and select automatically install driver.

1B: IDENTIFYING THE UNKNOWN DEVICE AND GET THE APPROPRIATE DRIVER.
1. To identify what is the unknown device, first we must get the hardware ID.
2. To get the hardware ID you can read my tutorial here:
     http://laptop-driver.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-check-hardware-id.html
3. After you get the hardware ID refer to the list below:

ACPIHPQ0006
ACPIHPQ0007
HP Quicklaunch Button : Download link -  SP45058

ACPI/HPQ0004
HP Hard Driver Smart Protection Download link - SP45501

ACPIENE0100
ENE CIR Reciever (Infrared) Download link - sp45308

ACPIAWY00012&DABA3FF&0
Away Mode Driver Download link - http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_winxp_15.26.html
or: http://data.versiontracker.com/drivers/manual/msi/AMDAway_MB.zip

ACPIVEN_HPQ&DEV_6001
HP Wireless Button Driver : Download link : sp58720
If you cannot enable f12 function use this driver: sp59199



ACPIIFX0102
Ifineon trusted module: Download link 

USBVID_138A&PID_003D&REV_0104
Validity Fingerprint sensor driver : Download link

My hardware ID is not listed here, what to do?
-post your hardware ID here and i will recommend the compatible driver for you.
Another trick: Google the hardware ID and you will get the information about the device and drivers.

2. USB STORAGE AND NEW HARDWARE.

This section will discuss the problem with USB drive such as thumb drive and memory card which detected as unknow device.

SECTION 2A:
1. First thing to do is similar with previous post section 1A.
2. Try to plug the USB into other port.
3. If still didnt work try the USB on other computer, if still detected as unknow means there are problem with the hardware. It may refer to faulty hardware.
4. If it work on other computer and not yours, maybe you are missing USB driver/OS patch/upgrade/fix which you can download from your computer manufacture site.

SECTION 2B:
1. Open drive management by click start and type DRVMGMT.MSC and press ENTER.
2. Look at the drive listed and see if the disk is detected. If not means there are problem your your hardware. Test it with other computer and if detected on other computer you must try with different usb slot on your computer.
3. For memory card make sure you computer can support the size of the card, example some computer only can read up to 2GB memory reader, and unable to detect or read higher than that.
4. Malware and virus maybe one of the cause but it never happen to me and no report from users about this.

EXPERT MODE:

Generally speaking, people who like computers love to try anything to fix and test.

I always have multiple OS in my computers and normally if i have problem with USB detected as unknown i will test it on Ubuntu or other linux distribution such as linux mint. (I always change my linux OS). If you have Mac OS it will not detect storage in FAT and NTFS.
If my linux can read it, i backup the file and reformat the USB. So far there is only 2 result i got, if it detected reformat than when i plug in windows OS no more unknown and the USB work perfectly. If it not detected in LINUX mean it is hardware Faulty.

If you have suggestion to improve this post Im really happy to hear it.
Comments and feedback are most welcome.

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What is Computer Driver

A "Compute Driver" is a software which enable the computer accessories / hardware to communicate for desire processing results of specific hardware. In othe words we can say that computer driver tell the operating system, how to work with this hardware.

There are many drivers are installed (added) into a computer to process the system accurately.

Similarly, When we install new hardware like a mouse, graphics card, printer, modem, USB devices and so one, we must need to install the drivers associated with that program otherwise Windows will not recognize it and it will not work properly. Keyboards and Mice use drivers, but most of these are included in the Windows operating system.

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What is Kernel Memory Corruption

What is Kernel Memory Corruption?:
If you have ever experienced the blur screen of death, then you have most likely been a victim of kernel memory corruption. Figuring out what happened is almost like solving a crime. The bad guy did the damage and is long gone leaving you to clean up the mess and salvage whatever you can salvage.
As we discussed before, kernel memory corruption can be caused by either hardware of software problems but it is usually the result of a poor quality or incorrect device driver. There are several tools available to help diagnose and repair these problems.
Let’s look at the memory architecture so you can understand what is actually happening in that mysterious memory world where the players are like ghosts that you know are there but never really can see.
Most drivers run in high memory in either the paged or non paged memory pool. A pool is just a block of addresses reserved for a specific purpose. Data residing in paged memory may be ion the RAM or it may on the hard drive in the memory swap file. Data residing in non-paged memory is always in the RAM. The picture below shows the allocation table for a block of memory.

Of course this picture means nothing to most people.
Each row is a bock of memory that has been allocated to specific data. Notice the last one is marked as free which means any application that is allowed to write to this part of the memory can use this block for its data. Each block is marked with an four character identifier called a tag that and the size of the data. The memory manager uses this information to find the requested data.
The most common error caused by poor driver software is for the program to write to it allocated block and then write to the next block overwriting data that belongs to someone else which causes an immediate crash With the stop error code similar to STOP 0×0000001e
If the memory manager tried to read the memory location later, it will probably crash with one of the following error codes:

Bug Check 0×19: BAD_POOL_HEADER

Bug Check 0xC2: BAD_POOL_CALLER

Windows 7 has added a guard page that is similar to the guard bands used in digital transmission. It is a small area of memory that no process can write to so that if a faulty driver overflows its memory block, the system won’t crash.

How to fix the Problem

There are tools that can go in and remove bad data, mark bad sectors in RAM “bad” so no process attempts to write to them. For the professional these are a good investment but for the rest of us. A hard reboot, which means a complete shutdown, should clear all memory blocks. If it doesn’t then there is some other problem with the memory.
As cheap as memory is today, it makes more sense to take your RAM chips to a dealer and have them tested. If they have any bad blocks, replace them.
After you install your new memory, run a good registry cleaner, cleanup and then defrag your hard drive. Next update all of the hardware drivers to the latest versions and your computer should run good as new.

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60 Million Computers…say what

60 Million
Lenovo released this press release a little while ago (I copied and pasted it below). The numbers of this article are very astounding, 60 million ThinkPads? That would be one in five Americans on average has owned a ThinkPad laptop. The crazy part is this is just talking about the ThinkPad line, otherwise known as the business standard. Half of Lenovo’s laptops are IdeaPad models that do not count towards this number.
Other than just pointing out this major milestone, Lenovo has decided to add the NVIDIA Optimus Technology to the popular T410, T510, and T410s. While Optimus Technology may sound like something complicated, is just means that it has two graphics cards. One of them is discrete with its own graphics RAM while the other one is integrated in the chipset. The motherboard can then switch between the two graphics cards depending on what the current situation demands. The discrete graphics card offers higher performance at the expense of battery life.  So when working on something that does not need a high end graphics card such as a word document, the lower end graphics card will be engaged so more battery life can be achieved. This really makes a difference in laptops like the T410s which typically do not have a discrete graphics card because the smaller structure cannot usually hold it, and do not have the battery capacity to match it. This allows these thinner machines to still keep battery life high when using applications that are not graphics demanding.

Press Release
Lenovo Reaches Major Milestone – 60 Million ThinkPad Laptops Sold
Introduces Industry’s First Business-Focused Laptops with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – October 5, 2010: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced that sales of ThinkPad laptops will surpass 60 million this month. More than 14 ThinkPad laptops are now sold every 60 seconds, contributing to Lenovo’s position as the fastest-growing major PC company1. Throughout its 18 year history, ThinkPad has recorded many ground-breaking innovation firsts – like the first spill resistant keyboard and protective roll cage. Today, Lenovo is still innovating and is announcing elevated graphics performance by adding NVIDIA Optimus technology on ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops.
“Long recognized as a hallmark for innovation and excellence, ThinkPad has been the trusted laptop brand for business users around the world for nearly two decades,” said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Think Product Group, Lenovo. “With Lenovo, ThinkPad has grown even stronger for quality, reliability and performance, and we’ll continue to drive our commitment to innovation further as we design future ThinkPad laptops.”
Record of Innovation
With more than 2,000 design awards under its belt, ThinkPad has helped transform laptop computing and changed the way people use their PCs. Famous firsts include:
· First modern laptop to fly in space
· First with a spill-resistant keyboard
· First with built-in CD-ROM
· First with built-in DVD-ROM
· First with built-in wireless
· First with embedded security subsystem
· First with built-in fingerprint reader
· First dual screen mobile workstation
Watch, Play and Win with ThinkPad in October
In celebration of this milestone, Lenovo is rewarding customers with a Customer Appreciation Event featuring up to 15 percent discounted pricing on select ThinkPad models purchased in the U.S. The promotion begins today and runs through Oct. 8.
Log onto Lenovo’s Facebook page to match major ThinkPad milestones to their date in history for a chance to win a ThinkPad laptop. Learn more at this page and watch a video about past and present innovations and what the future holds for ThinkPad design. And read personal stories about users’ oldest ThinkPad laptops at Lenovo Blogs.
Killer Graphics Performance Plus Extreme Battery Life
NVIDIA Optimus technology helps make graphics automatic, instantaneous and seamless. Users no longer have to manually force switching to reduce performance and save battery life. Now they can have extended battery life and electrifying multimedia performance. By switching automatically between high performance and energy saving graphics, ThinkPad laptops with Optimus achieve up to 33 percent longer battery life over discrete only mode2. That adds up to one extra hour of battery life per charge3. ThinkPad also supports Optimus technology to drive four displays via select ThinkPlus docks.
“New technologies like NVIDIA Optimus are making ThinkPads even smarter,” said Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook Products, NVIDIA. “Never before has there been a solution that so effectively eliminates the tradeoffs between riveting graphics performance and long battery life. Visual content is the most popular and important form of data today, and we’ve built the NVIDIA NVS 3100M graphics CPU to be the perfect CPU for the task.”
Visit Lenovo Blogs for more information.
Pricing and Availability3
The ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops with Nvidia Optimus technology are available immediately through business partners and www.lenovo.com . Pricing begins at approximately $1,299 for the T410 and T510 and $1,849 for the T410s.
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook .
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com .
1Based on IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker for 2Q 2010 compared to Dell, HP, Acer, Apple and Toshiba.
2ThinkPad T410s with Nvidia Optimus versus T410s with current Nvidia switchable graphics using MobileMark 2007.
3Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

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