can't install any hardware (inf problem)

[pedal_steel]

Since doing a clean reinstall of my OS (Windows XP Home) I've been unable to reinstall my HP printer, Creative Lab webcam or any other hardware. The wizard always says "An error has ocurred during the installation of the device. The required section was not found in the inf. I've tried installing from the manufacturer's installation disks and also from their online downloads. The results all fail. I'd be most grateful if someone can help me with this as I've been working on the problem for the last three days and even the tech at HP was stumped after spending a great deal of time trying to help me get my printer up and running. Many thanks!

Neil

[bobbyraw]

try connecting the printer and when windows detect it point the add new hardware to the location of the files.

[pedal_steel]

try connecting the printer and when windows detect it point the add new hardware to the location of the files.

Thanks but the moment that I connected the printer to the usb port a pop up appeared "Found new hardware wizard. There was a problem during the installation of the device. The required section was not found in the inf.[/COLOR]

[bobbyraw]

co to control panel, >add new hard ware> let it search then select yes i have already connected the device> next> scroll all the way to the bottom of the list then select add new hardware wizard.>select the second option Select the hardware from a list(advance) then next scroll down the list to printer highlight printer then click next,the next box that comes up with give you the option to select the port that the print is on make selection then click next the next box that come up will be a list of printer and manufacturer..click on the bottom that say HAVE DISK then browse to where the files are for the printer...... select the Correct INF file, base on your operating system ,,,IF you have Winxp Select the directory for that operating system.

what is the name of your printer so we can do a search to take a look at the inf file

[pedal_steel]

Thanks so much for all of your help Bobby. I followed your instructions to the letter and was able to get the printer operational but only by allowing the installation of a non authorized driver which as the warning lets you know in advance is unstable. To make a long story short, it won't allow the scanner to work or for the HP Solutions package to be recognized. The printer is a Hewlett Packard All In One F 4140. I might point out that a Hewlett Packard technician worked online with me in control of my computer for five hours on Thursday night and another three hours the next evening. He was unable to install it either from the HP website or from my CD rom. I'm convinced that there's nothing wrong with the unit and that the problem lies squarely in my computer. Sure wish I had the answer. I might check with Microsoft tomorrow if I can't figure it ot.

[bobbyraw]

Just to iterate when you did the clean install, was the HDD formated or you left the file system in place....I would just try a new clean install and ensure the HDD is formated.

now that you install the driver for the printer you can try installing the other softwares, browse the cd and double click on the setup file it will install the other software when you do use the customized option and put a check mark beside all items in the list of items to be installed.

This will install all you need to work with the printer.

[pedal_steel]

Bobby when I said that I did a clean reinstall I meant that I formated the hard drive and started with a clean slate. Quite frankly I wish that I hadn't. Windows seems to be inacapable of reading the drivers on the installation disks for my printer, my webcam and my Garmin gps. It also can't seem to find any drivers whatsoever that have Bill Gate's seal of approval. Something is really wrong and I wish that I knew what it was.

Neil

[pedal_steel]

Hello again Bobby,
Thanks one more time for all of your efforts to help me out. My webcam finally got installed without an error message after ten attempts and I thought I'd try installing the HP Deskjet printer for the umpteenth time from my CD installation disk. This time it installed after I proceeded to ignore the Windows warnings that the drivers were not didgitally signed or approved by Microsoft. The bottom line is that the printer works just fine but the scanner dooesn't. Will be in touch with HP later this evening.