"Unknown Device" in Device Manager

[phife757]

I'm running Windows XP Pro on my T60 8744-5BU ThinkPad.  I am getting a yellow question mark "unkown device" in the Device Manager.  I believe I downloaded and install all neccessary drivers, but it is hard to say because there are 95 links under drivers in support.  I tried using Unknown Device Identifier (http://www.zhangduo.com/udi.html) but i can't tell which one is the unknown device.  I also tried installing all updates, including optional updates, in Win XP.

Does anyone have any advice on identifing this mystery device?

[icantux]

Hi, Welcome to the forums!

That's a commonly asked question. The issue you're having there most probably deals with the ATMEL chip driver not being installed for the TPM. 

You will find the appropriate driver for your machine type here: Trusted Platform Module driver for XP

 - read the instructions at the bottom of the page carefully for proper installation.

Hope this helps!

Steve

[phife757]

Steve,

I right clicked the unknown device in the Device Manager and Updated the driver at the ATMEL TRM driver path.  Under system devices in the Device Manager, i have two Atmel TPM entries but now one has a yellow exclamation point next to it.

Also, I now have a "PCI Device" Hardware Wizard at startup. Under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers it says "PCI Device" with a yellow exclamation point next it it.

What do I do now?

Thanks,

Matt

[icantux]

Hi

Regarding the double "TPM" entry, you can delete the one with the exclamation point or install Lenovo's Client Security Solution 8.1 and that will fix that second TPM entry.

Regarding the PCI device, it could be a number of things. Did you install the Storage Matrix driver - I suspect that XP is asking you for the inf files for the Storage Matrix (if you haven't downloaded and installed those, the link provided leads you to the drivers - follow the installation instructions on the screen listed below the driver download section)...  On the other hand, it could relate to the motherboard Intel Chipset Support drivers (again, follow the installation instructions on that driver's download screen). Those two would be the probable causes of the missing "PCI entry".

Otherwise, there are two options and things to keep in mind:

Option 1:

Install Lenovo's System Update utility and let it download and install all the drivers for your system

 - you'll need Microsoft's .NET framework 2.0 for System Update to work

 - after installing .NET 2.0, you can then install and use ThinkVantage System Update 3.14 and let it install all the software required for your system. You can choose what to install and what not to install, but it will detect what you need to install on the system.

Option 2:

When performing a "clean install" of XP, you should always download the drivers for your system beforehand and then after installing XP, install the drivers for the devices on your computer in the following order - the device drivers for your exact system are all found here: ThinkPad T60 8744-5BU

1) Chipset drivers
2) Intel Storage Matrix
3) ACPI Power Management Driver
4) Video driver
5) hotkey driver
6) ethernet (Intel pro-set)
7) wifi driver
8 ) High definition audio patch Q888111 (depending on whether you're installing SP2 or SP3)
9) audio driver (soundmax)
10) modem driver
11) ATMEL (TPM) driver
12) Trackpoint
13) bluetooth
14) whatever else you need - including all other "KB" and "Q" hotfixes listed for your machine.

Reboot after each step. (no joking! ) 

Hope this helps

Steve

Message Edited by icantux on 07-04-2008 02:25 PM

[biowizard]

I've put up with "Unknown Devices" ever since Win95, and still have a number on my current ThinkPad, HP and S10 machines. This is because I always start out zapping everything on a new computer, and installing a clean new Microsoft Windows version from my MSDN subscriptions.

Right now, my fingerprint reader and Verizon broadband does not function, but because I can type, the former isn't a worry, and because I live in the UK, the latter wouldn't work even with drivers.

So these items (and a few others) are listed either as "Unknown Device" or as things like "Biometric Coprocessor", with yellow or orange warning flags in Device Manager.

But my machines work the way I want, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. The only time to worry about downloading and installing new drivers is when you want a function that you know is physically present in hardware, but doesn't seem to be working.

Or, to put it another way, If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Brian

[jerrydaughtrey]

I had the same problem and used your advise and solved the problem.
Thanks

[HelloMoto]

Hi Incantux, I have the same issue with my clean install of XP pro. Can you provide the driver list (like option 2 from your earlier response) for my T60 700WX9 ?

Like everyone else, I have downloaded all the drivers but do not know what is needed or what order to install them. Also, I don't have internet at home. So, option 1 is a great idea if the software can detect everything after a clean install, but no internet "is a bummer" Thanks in advance.