winchendon Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 so I updated most of my drivers today with drivermax. something screwed up my firewire driver I guess. in device manager there is no driver for unibrain 1394 pc is missing a driver (theres a ?), as well as my wd hdd.so I downloaded what I thought to be the right driver from the wd site. no luckand I downloaded a firewire driver from the unibrain site. no luckany ideas?ive been looking through this and other forums. this forum has been very helpful so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 The first thing I would try is to delete the three ?/! marked devices, then let Windows find the best driver for you. You may need to run the Add Hardware applet from the Control Panel.If that does not resolve the problem...Usually, if you update a device driver, you can roll it back if the new driver doesn't work. However, since you have already installed two or three over the original one, that method will no longer work. Instead, use System Restore to set your system settings back to a time before you updated the driver(s).P.S. I just remember that DriverMax has an Export and Import drivers function. If you exported the drivers before you started the update, you can import the original drivers back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I know people disagree with this view but I NEVER update drivers unless there is a good reason for doing so.It seems folly to me to update (change) a functioning software item merely because some website or other tells you to.I've been in this game a long time now and the number of malfunctioning computers I have been asked to look at because of injudicious messing around - like updating drivers - does not appear to diminish.If you feel the necessity to do any software alterations on a computer, ALWAYS make a full backup of the system or, at the very least, a System Restore point so that if (when) things don't work out as they should, everything can be quickly put back in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I too have never had any reason to update drivers. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchendon Posted April 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I did in fact create a restore point before I updated.( 16 drivers)but I know I should just go back but I kind of want to fix it without going back.also I have tried using the add hardware wizard tool but I never works right. it says it will look online at the ms website with my permission but I never does asks me. I can tell it just searches my computer. Anyone know how to make it look online?- also why update drivers? some say its better to, some say they never do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Did you delete/uninstall the broken drivers before running the Add Hardware wizard?Also, it should find the correct driver on your computer. Or does it not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchendon Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 no I didnt delete or uninstall the old drivers before updating.I don't think the add hardware wizard knows where to look. I can hear it try to look for a cd then about 2 seconds later it says cannot be found Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Was there any need to update drivers in the first instance? Was anything wrong? This is my third computer and I have NEVER EVER needed to update a driver. The originals have always carried on working fine. Pops has probably built more computers than the rest of the members put together, and if he says don't bother, then that's more than good enough for me. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 I would definitely delete/uninstall the three drivers with the yellow ?/! before running the Add Hardware wizard; I think it will know where to look once it finds devices without drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchendon Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 yes I have deleted the 3 ? drivers. 2 of them were for my WD external drive and the other one is for the firewire (unibrain). and still the add hardware wizard doesn't know where to look. Its only the firewire driver that is needed.why is there so many updated drivers if they are not really needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I don't know that device, so I don't have any experience how to install it.If I had that device and your situation, I would try two thingsuse DriverMax to find the driver for your unknown device (Identify unknown hardware); -OR-go to the Unibrain website and download the driver for your hardware; make sure that it matches 100%!Why are there so many driver updates, even if they seem not to be needederror fixes, additional functionality, performance improvementsupport for newer devicesYou certainly don't need to install a new driver that just supports newer devices, if it already supports yours.However, if it is a updated driver with error fixes, additional functionality, or improved performance, then you may seriously benefit from the latest driver. But as you already know, there is always a chance of failure, therefore any kind of backup before the update will make sure that you can roll back to a usable state.P.S. there is a saying, often quoted in regard to driver updates: if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Very true, it is. But if a new driver contains error fixes, then the old driver was broken, and the fixed update needs to be installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchendon Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Well I was hoping I was going to get better performance thats why I updated.a. drivermax cannot find any unknown devices.b. unibrain doesnt have the driver I need online , ive emailed but no return yet.c. Windows hardware wizard cannot help. that seems like a horrible tool no?d. I looked on the sony site for factory drivers but I don't see what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 It would appear to be pretty obvious that NO improvement has been forthcoming. Do you not have a back up in Acronis or similar? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchendon Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 so after all what I did was restore to the restore point I made right before updating drivers, then exported my drivers with drivermax, then undid that restore, then I just imported my drivers from before.long story short, restore and export your drivers before updating. and don't update your drivers unless you need to.(I don't know how you would know you need to update your drivers if they currently work.)anyway thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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