Software

Ask something
Question Locked

Access Denied during a device installation

0 helpful
17 replies

by herk.papadakis

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

Hello,

I am getting the following error when i try to update a device driver in the "Device Manager":

"Cannot Install this hardware. There was a problem installing this hardware:

Network Controller

An error occured during the installation of the device

Access is denied"

It appears that i do not have access to update any device drivers in the system.

It is a laptop with XPSP2 and i am login in as the admin.

Thanks in advance.

Herk.

17 replies

by thumbsup2

The system can not update a device if it's files are in use. Try disabling the network controler in device manager, reboot, then try updating the drivers before you enable the device.

by herk.papadakis

I tried your recomendation even before i posted the question. It does not work. I think there is a registry entry that i need to modify. I never had before any trouble updating a driver even if the device was in use.

I can see the devices okay. I can enable or disable without a problem. But the minute i try to update any driver for any device, i receive the "access denied" error. That's why i think a registry permission is the problem. I just don't know where.

by absolutely

Oh, sorry, I forgot, you're using a property ownership obfuscation algorithm, not an operating system.

TS

What driver are you trying to update, anyway?

by rob miners

Not sure if it will work but it's worth a try.
Go to Start Run in the Open box type in secpol.msc
Navigate to Local Policies and Security Options.
The 'Network Access: Sharing and security model for local accounts'
Try setting it to Classic.

by herk.papadakis

Here is an objervation. If i delete the device from the device manager and then try to re-install, then during the driver installation, it's when i get the error. If i just try to update a driver without first deleting the device, then it says that there is no better driver and it stops without any errors. It is just when it tries to load a deleted device or a new found device, the error occurs.

by Former member

What device are you trying to load/take off?
If you need to remove any drivers to a device to make it run/load more stable, then you will need to do this: IMPORTANT::::PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DO A FULL BACKUP OF YOUR COMPUTER BEFORE YOU DO THIS.
1) start > run type in "regedit" and then press enter.
2) In the "edit section > find" box type in the program or driver that you are trying to delete or get rid of, you will see "name, type, data. Up in the top right under "name" (default) delete these file(s) ONLY. Keep on doing this until the registary can no longer find the program or device in your computer. PLEASE be carefull not to delete anything other then the program or driver that you need to get rid of.
3)Reboot.

by herk.papadakis

it seems like everything is working okay using the driver installation wizard until it gets to the very last step. The same thing happens when I uninstall a device (any device, like video or net adapter or mice.... The "Found new hardware" wizard starts, it finds the device, then proceeds with the installation of the driver and very soon it comes back with the error "Cannot install this hardware, an error occured during the installation of the device -- ACCESS IS DENIED".

If i attempt to just update a driver it works just fine. But if i delete the device then it's like i do not have the right to install the device. It is very strange.

by absolutely

Are there any other Administrator Accounts? Try logging in as one of those. I think I vaguely recall that there can be differences in the levels of Administrators -- but don't quote me.

by herk.papadakis

Yes, there are other administrator accounts and yes i have used them all. The result is the same.

by thumbsup2

THE Administrator, not just a user account with administrator privileges?

THE main Administrator account can be reached at login. At this time, either you have a dialog screen where you can type in user names, or you have the welcome screen where you click/select the user you want to login as. If you have the welcome screen showing where you can not type a user name, press ctrl+alt+del twice to bring up the same dialog box previously mentioned where you can type the word "Administrator" (without the quotes) as the user name, then provide the Administrator password.

If this device driver issue still happens when you're logged in as "the BIG boss", you've got more problems than you realize. If that account can't install devices, nothing can.

by herk.papadakis

The result is the same. I was reading in another forum something about changing the permission in the registry under "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum" but i am not sure what to change.

Maybe you are right. I may have more issues than previously thought.

At this point I feel like I am done and I will need to rebuild the laptop.

Thanks for all your help.

by herk.papadakis

I think it is time to rebuild. I would love to take the time and try to figure it out, but I simply to not have the time to mess with it.

Thanks everyone for the help.

by Former member

Go to your windows update, when in there select "admin accounts" or something simuler, this will pring up another page with extra updates, from here select .NET3 and .NET2, just in case it is something so small as these two updates. Please post back if you have anymore problems or questions.

by skisby

I had the same problem (in Windows XP Home) attempting to reinstall USB drivers that were not working. After trying many suggestions the following allowed the devices to install without any Access is Denied errors:

Log into an account with Administrator privileges.
Click on Start, then Run. In the box type in Regedit and click OK.
In Regedit, right click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and choose Permissions.
In Permissions, give yourself Full Control. After that click the Advanced button. Check "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects" and then click Apply. Click OK for any permissions that won't change. When this finishes, exit Regedit and try reinstalling the device drivers again.

by nitojose1

had the same issue. Tried your solution. It worked like a charm. Thanks buddy. :)

This discussion is closed to new replies.