Member Avatar for Fred Wright

I previously tried 2 programs (TuneUp WinStyler and AVG7 virus checking programs. They were uninstalled. Now "Wizard" tries to help me everytime I open! Help!! I tried Search and deleting all I could + Add & Remove to uninstall.. Nothing helps; I even tried deleting them in the Safe Mode. Any advice?

  • 2 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 293 Views
  • 3 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Fred Wright

Dani AI

Generated

Good follow-up from and thanks to — the behavior matches leftover, non-present device/driver entries left behind by incomplete uninstalls. Removing those entries stopped the repeated "Found New Hardware" wizard; the steps below explain how to find hidden remnants and finish the cleanup so the problem does not recur.

To reveal and remove non-present devices (useful for similar cases in the future): open a command prompt and run the two commands below, then use Device Manager to uninstall any faded/hidden entries.

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc

In Device Manager choose View -> Show hidden devices. Non-present drivers show as faded; right-click them and select Uninstall, then reboot.

After uninstalling, remove driver/INF traces and take precautions. Inspect C:\Windows\inf for matching oem*.inf files: note the device/vendor string shown in Device Manager, open candidate oem files in Notepad, and search for that string before deleting. Create a System Restore point and export the registry first. Persistent entries live under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum — editing those keys is advanced and risky, so export the key before any change.

For safer automated cleanup use vendor removal tools (for AVG there is an official remover for leftover components) or utilities such as DevManView and Autoruns to spot drivers/services that survive normal uninstall. A full antivirus/anti-spyware scan is also prudent when unexpected devices reappear. These steps explain why the wizard kept appearing and how to remove both the visible Device Manager entries and the hidden driver traces so the detection stops for good.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for dcc

Do those continue to show up in search after being deleted?

Member Avatar for Fred Wright

HI: I just searched for the 2 programs (WinStyler TuneUP and also AVG7 Update and neither appeared..however, when I opened Windows XP a few mins ago the Wizard "Found New Hardware" appeared for both. Any help would be appreciated. fred wright

Member Avatar for dcc

Have you run any AV or spyware?

Member Avatar for Fred Wright

Thanx for all the help I got from dccarnes.. this am I found the 2 culprits that hung around even though I thought they had been uninstalled (I used the Add/Remove XP, then Search then right click delete on them), but they were like imbedded fleas. Any rate, dcc mentioned someone he contacted said try Device Manager..(in yellow) and Shazam!! there those 2 were until I removed them..No more unwanted Hardware Wizard screens since. Thanx again. Fred Wright

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.