Frakin' Driver! HELP!

[AintNobody]

My RK2918 Driver refuses to work. It shows up in Device Manager under "Other devices"->"rk2918" with the dreaded yellow question mark. I've tried uninstalling, system restores, reboots, etc. and still when I try to re/install the driver (from a variety of sources, so I know it's not just damaged files) all I get is "Cannot Install this Hardware", "The hardware was not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software". This despite me leading it right down to the "32bit\xp" directory. WtF? Can anyone tell me how to correct this error?

Thanks!

[snakekiller]

My RK2918 Driver refuses to work. It shows up in Device Manager under "Other devices"->"rk2918" with the dreaded yellow question mark. I've tried uninstalling, system restores, reboots, etc. and still when I try to re/install the driver (from a variety of sources, so I know it's not just damaged files) all I get is "Cannot Install this Hardware", "The hardware was not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software". This despite me leading it right down to the "32bit\xp" directory. WtF? Can anyone tell me how to correct this error?

Thanks!

1) I usually remove the SDCard while the unit is off before I start
2) Plug in the USB cable to the Arnova and to your PC.
DO not worry if the tablet is on. It may power on when you plug in the cable anyway.
3) Make sure the power cord is connected! This is important in case your battery is low.
4) While holding the UP volume button stick a pin in the reset hole and hold both volume up and reset
5) After about 5 seconds you will hear your PC dong that it found hardware.
RELEASE the reset button but keep holding volume up.
6) While holding volume up you should again hear your PC dong that it found new hardware.
It's OK to release the volume up now. The screen should be black at this point.
7) Windows should complain that it could not install the device and may ask to look for drivers.
That's OK. Close and driver dialogs, etc.
6) Open the device manager in control panel. You should see a device listed as unknown with a yellow symbol in it
RIGHT click on it and select "Update Driver".
7) You will get a dialog asking to search or browse my computer for the driver. Click Browse
8) On the next screen click the browse button. A file manager will open.
Now remember I told you to unzip this package to somewhere you know how to find it like the desktop?
Using the file manager point to this package, Click on the driver folder.
Then click on the folder for 32bit or 64bit depending on your OS.
Now click on your OS version, e.g. Win7, etc.
The OK button should now be available to click OK.
At this point the driver should install. If not start over
9) Once the driver installs you should now see a device at the top of the list called"
Class for rockusb devices. If you expand that it will show a RK29 Device. Do not worry about the ? on it.

[AintNobody]

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain all that, but that's not my problem. It originally installed just fine - I had the RockUSB class there earlier (very briefly) and it stopped working. I even tried cleaning out the registry a little by searching for the ClassGUID (79DFC2A8-2574-493C-AE71-52958E41BB00) listed in the driver .inf file and "Rockusb" and deleting the associated keys (after altering the permissions on some of them). Nothing I seem to do seems to get it to a state whereby I can re-install the driver.

Also, I know I didn't specify this before, but I have a NextBook 7P, not an Arnova - therefore there's no volume button to push - I've been using the power button instead, or should it be one of the four touch buttons on the front?

BTW, I know you're used to helping noobs (and you are apparently very kind and patient in doing so - although your post looks a bit like a cut-n-paste from elsewhere due to references to statements that were supposedly made to me before, but I've never seen), but I've been futzing with computers since before even my first computer - a VIC-20 in the early eighties, upon which I learned about 6502-based assembly, etc. Later work experience also included SCO UNIX experience as well. While I haven't stayed in the IT world, I still know and understand more than the average user today.

TL;DR version: Not trying to be snarky because I really appreciate any help I can get, but I do have some idea what I'm doing -- I've already done all the obvious basics (as well as some non-obvious ones) and still cannot get the driver to work or re-install.

[Damo]

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain all that, but that's not my problem. It originally installed just fine - I had the RockUSB class there earlier (very briefly) and it stopped working. I even tried cleaning out the registry a little by searching for the ClassGUID (79DFC2A8-2574-493C-AE71-52958E41BB00) listed in the driver .inf file and "Rockusb" and deleting the associated keys (after altering the permissions on some of them). Nothing I seem to do seems to get it to a state whereby I can re-install the driver.

Also, I know I didn't specify this before, but I have a NextBook 7P, not an Arnova - therefore there's no volume button to push - I've been using the power button instead, or should it be one of the four touch buttons on the front?

BTW, I know you're used to helping noobs (and you are apparently very kind and patient in doing so - although your post looks a bit like a cut-n-paste from elsewhere due to references to statements that were supposedly made to me before, but I've never seen), but I've been futzing with computers since before even my first computer - a VIC-20 in the early eighties, upon which I learned about 6502-based assembly, etc. Later work experience also included SCO UNIX experience as well. While I haven't stayed in the IT world, I still know and understand more than the average user today.

TL;DR version: Not trying to be snarky because I really appreciate any help I can get, but I do have some idea what I'm doing -- I've already done all the obvious basics (as well as some non-obvious ones) and still cannot get the driver to work or re-install.

This may be a bit of a long winded way, but install windows 8 consumer preview from the Microsoft website, as long as you have a spare partition it will create a dual boot system, if not use easeus partition manager free to create one(way better than the rubbish windows partitioner) now install the drivers In windows 8. I know this works as I have the drivers installed on windows 8 and flashing works perfect

Download here

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/download

Sent from my CUBE U9GT 2 using Tapatalk 2

[AintNobody]

This may be a bit of a long winded way, but install windows 8 consumer preview from the Microsoft website, as long as you have a spare partition it will create a dual boot system, if not use easeus partition manager free to create one(way better than the rubbish windows partitioner) now install the drivers In windows 8. I know this works as I have the drivers installed on windows 8 and flashing works perfect Download here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/download Sent from my CUBE U9GT 2 using Tapatalk 2

Well, that's certainly a possibility I hadn't considered -- definitely "long-winded," as you said. Maybe I'll go the dual-boot with Linux route -- I'm comfortable enough with the *NIX command line (my finger memory from days of constant 'vi' use is still there), and I really don't like the direction MS is taking with Windows so this may be as good an excuse as any (now to find out about RockChip drivers for Linux). Up to now it's just been too much time and effort involved in finding out which desktop environment I'd care for and learning the new keyboard shortcuts. Previous attempts have left me uncomfortable enough at first blush to go running back to the familiar Windows, but MS is now unwittingly forcing my hand.

Thanks for the idea. Would still love to know how to properly solve this issue, however (short of re-installing Windows, as I had just spent time on that recently and gotten things back to just about how I like them).

[jrm]

In xp - System - hardware- driver signing --- check that you're not blocking unsigned drivers.
I use Warn & Make that the default. RK29xx warns every time; & choose to accept as needed.

/Rob

[AintNobody]

In xp - System - hardware- driver signing --- check that you're not blocking unsigned drivers.
I use Warn & Make that the default. RK29xx warns every time; & choose to accept as needed.

/Rob

Thx, but I already had it set as such. It initially installed and was working fine, but then stopped working sometime after a first pass at flashing went as expected. Now I can't get it to work again. Tab is working except for constant force-close type errors after Market upgrades itself to Play. Want to wipe the device clean and reinstall the original firmware to see if it'll work after that (or barring that, go to Finless' v1.5).

[jrm]

Then my last resort is usually System Restore to before your 1st success.
[pardon the mixed grammar.] -- after all drivers are system!

[AintNobody]

Seem to have made some questionable progress here: Now it's not saying it can't find the software right off, but when it starts installing the driver it prompts for "Rockusb Device Installation Disk #1" even though it's already reading from the directory the driver is in. After I try to point it to the same directory for the "rockusb.sys" file it claims to be looking for, it then states "Cannot install this hardware -- There was a problem installing this hardware: USB Device -- An error occurred during the installation of the device -- The system cannot file the file specified." I have no idea why it can't find the file when I've pointed it right at the very directory it resides in. Only thing I can think of is that it's running a checksum of the file and doesn't like it, but I've re-extracted it and tried several alternate downloaded driver archives, all to no avail. It just won't friggin' re-install! *ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!*

[AintNobody]

Then my last resort is usually System Restore to before your 1st success.
[pardon the mixed grammar.] -- after all drivers are system!

Yeah, tried that already (as mentioned in the first post). No joy. *sigh*

[snakekiller]

Yeah, tried that already (as mentioned in the first post). No joy. *sigh*

have you try a completely fresh install of windows?

[AintNobody]

have you try a completely fresh install of windows?

Beginning to look like that's the only option left to me - I just went through that PITA recently (and the Norton Ghost image I made after basic setup seems to have gone missing) and was hoping to avoid having to do it again as I just don't have that kind of free time at the moment (already spent waayyy more on this issue than I wanted to).

If anyone else knows how to make this work before I have to resort to that, please let me know...?

[Damo]

When you have got rid of the driver etc have you used a dedicated registry cleaner or are you just trying to manually remove the entries ?

Also try scanning the system32 folder for traces of the rockchip files, short of that you are looking at a full windows install or a repair

Sent from my SK17i using Tapatalk 2

[AintNobody]

When you have got rid of the driver etc have you used a dedicated registry cleaner or are you just trying to manually remove the entries ?

Manually.

HOWEVER: SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!! It's working!

I just so happened to notice on one of my attempts that it kept prompting for a location from a different drive letter than the files were actually on. I have the files I'm working with on an external USB drive and the drive letter apparently changed from when I first installed them. Seems regardless of where I point the damned thing it kept looking for them on that first drive letter. Once I rearranged drive letters so my external drive matched where it was coming up with in the prompt, it suddenly installed without a hiccup! Seems some crappy programming on (maybe) MS' end causes it to ignore where you point it to if it already has an idea in its silly little head where it thinks the files should be. I probably could also have solved this by going through the registry looking for that path and correcting/eliminating it, but I'm not gonna rock the boat by killing the driver again just to test that theory.

Thank you ALL for taking the time and trying to help me. Sorry it was something soooo stupid (thankfully, not MY stupidity, however...).

[Damo]

Glad you sorted it, well done

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