can't load drivers for existing or new hardware, not sure when problem started

[jeep4str]

I have an Acer computer with a Pentium R Double with 1 Gig of memory, Windows XP SP3. I'm not sure at what point it happened but my optical drive no longer has any drivers and I can't load drivers for any new hardware either. I have gotten my two optical drives and my extra hard drive installed with the Hardware Manager but, every time I restart my computer it finds new hardware and wants to load the drivers for it but can't find them even if I have the disk. My joystick which is XP ready,the computer can't load its drivers either. When I plug it into my other computer, XP loads it right up. I have tried all of the fixes for hardware and drivers I could find on the Microsoft site and nothing has worked. Please Help!

[jeep4str]

I need to add some information:  Acer S285, Pentium(R) D 2.8

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

What joystick is it?

[jeep4str]

I have a Saitek ST290 Pro and I also tried my Microsoft SideWinder, they are both XP ready. They are both ready for use within 15 seconds of being plugged into my other computer that is also Windows XP. Thank You Dudeoxide.

[jeep4str]

I have allready gotten the the new drivers from Saitek and tried to load them. It says to plug the Saitek device in and it will find this device and automatically load the drivers, But once I have plugged the joystick in this device driver program does nothing.
I have tried uninstalling and letting XP reload the device to no avail. Every time my computer starts it tries to load 7 new pieces of hardware but can't find the drivers for any of them. I have 7 yellow Question marks under other in the Device Manager. I loaded a new copy of Windows XP Home as an alternate boot and the joystick along with all the other hardware loads right up with no problems. I may be wrong but I think the problem is in the registry.   Thanks for your time, I appreciate it very much.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

What are these Yellow Question Marks?

[patio]

If you installed XPHome did you remember to re-install your MBoard drivers as well ? ?

[jeep4str]

Yellow question marks are in the Device Manager under Other devices
               -? Other devices
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Saitek ST290 Pro
                   - ? Unknown device
                   - ? Unknown device

I only loaded Windows XP Home to see if a clean install would allow my computer to load drivers normally, to see if the problem was the computer or the software. The drivers did load just fine for devices that needed them, and the joystick was ready to use within a few seconds after plugging it in, without even needing any drivers.

The Windows XP Home copy belongs to another one of my computers, this computer has an oem copy of Windows XP Pro on it, and I'm hoping I won't have to start all over with a clean install of it. I'm not sure if the problem started before I installed SP3, or before SP2.

I also had a problem burning cds and dvds with Nero because of Itunes, I had to remove the lower filters and the upper filters from the registry to get it to work. But of course now that I did that, I can no longer burn anything with Itunes.    Oh the fun of it all!!!
 Thanks.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

You're going to want to go to the Acer website, look for your exact computer model, and find drivers for your motherboard and all your non-functional hardware.

[jeep4str]

I had checked the Acer site before but I went ahead and tried it again, there are only a few drivers there and none of them were for any of the hardware devices that aren't working.

[patio]

XP does not need drivers for Optical drives...

Travel to Device Manager and right click the following and select "Remove/Uninstall"

                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Saitek ST290 Pro
                   - ? Unknown device
                   - ? Unknown device

You will recieve a warning...ignore it.
Make sure the Saitek is un-plugged.

Do a few cold boots and check your optical drives for proper operation.
If it works you have found the culprit.

Finally power down and re-boot ...install the Saitek software with the stick still unplugged...it will prompt you for when to connect it.

Good Luck.

[jeep4str]

The optical drives are both working. I had to go to the Disk Manager and install them manually. They both work fine except for the problem with Itunes. I can only burn disks with Itunes or another program, but not both. I have to add or remove upper filters in the registry to change back and forth.
 I had already tried uninstalling and rebooting to load the joystick, but I went ahead and tried again. When the driver program tells me to plug the joystick in, I plug it in but it does nothing, it doesn't recognize the joystick. The computer recognizes it but the drivers program doesn't.
 Although the optical drives work, every time I cold boot the computer, as it starts up it detects them both as well as several other hardware items, and it tries to load the drivers for all of them. It always says it can't find any of the drivers and that the hardware may not work. But the optical drives always do work. 
 Thank You for your interest in my problem.

[patio]

How many USB devices do you have hooked up ? ?
Are you using front ports for the Saitek ? ?
They need lots of power...move it to the rear and try.

[jeep4str]

I am using three usb ports including the Saitek. I have tried all of the usb ports front and back, same results on all six ports.

[patio]

XP does not need drivers for Optical drives...

Travel to Device Manager and right click the following and select "Remove/Uninstall"

                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Magic device
                   - ? Saitek ST290 Pro
                   - ? Unknown device
                   - ? Unknown device

You will recieve a warning...ignore it.
Make sure the Saitek is un-plugged.

Do a few cold boots and check your optical drives for proper operation.
If it works you have found the culprit.

Finally power down and re-boot ...install the Saitek software with the stick still unplugged...it will prompt you for when to connect it.

Good Luck.

Have you tried this yet ? ?