Help! Device manager installs DAT, it disappears, it appears, then is gone

[mh]

I have been trying (for hours!!) to install a SCSI Dat
drive. The Dat works on other computers (not running
XP), the cable is fine, the SCSI bios picks up the drive
and the correct ID number. There are no hardware
problems with the tape drive.

If I go to the device manager, I can install the drive
manually. For a driver I pick the latest XP driver from
the HP site. The hardware wizard finds the HP tape drive
albeit manually (I have to say, look for tape drives) and
then I install with the downloaded driver. Install is
succesful, and I reboot. Now, the device manager says
that tape drive driver cannot be loaded.

So, I uninstall it.

Now, suddenly the device manager under "Tape Drives"
shows a Dat drive on my system, and it says that this one
is working. The name of this Dat drive is different than
the one I just uninstalled. If I right-click on this
tape drive, check properties, and have the hardware
wizard check for new hardwarem the Dat drive disappears
again.

Bottom line: I installed it, it appeared, then it
disappeared, then a different named drive appeared, then
this latter one disappeared. I have gone through this
routine several times.

Help would be very appreciate!!

Thanks, Michael

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

mh wrote:
> I have been trying (for hours!!) to install a SCSI Dat
> drive. The Dat works on other computers (not running
> XP), the cable is fine, the SCSI bios picks up the drive
> and the correct ID number. There are no hardware
> problems with the tape drive.
>
> If I go to the device manager, I can install the drive
> manually. For a driver I pick the latest XP driver from
> the HP site. The hardware wizard finds the HP tape drive
> albeit manually (I have to say, look for tape drives) and
> then I install with the downloaded driver. Install is
> succesful, and I reboot. Now, the device manager says
> that tape drive driver cannot be loaded.
>
> So, I uninstall it.
>
> Now, suddenly the device manager under "Tape Drives"
> shows a Dat drive on my system, and it says that this one
> is working. The name of this Dat drive is different than
> the one I just uninstalled. If I right-click on this
> tape drive, check properties, and have the hardware
> wizard check for new hardwarem the Dat drive disappears
> again.
>
> Bottom line: I installed it, it appeared, then it
> disappeared, then a different named drive appeared, then
> this latter one disappeared. I have gone through this
> routine several times.
>
> Help would be very appreciate!!
>
> Thanks, Michael
I assume from what you say this is an HP drive. You did the right thing
checking their site for updated drivers. Now check with their tech support
as the drive is theirs and this is their issue.
--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

[mh]

>I assume from what you say this is an HP drive. You did
the right thing
>checking their site for updated drivers. Now check with
their tech support
>as the drive is theirs and this is their issue.
>--

Yes, it is an HP Dat.

How do you know that this is an HP issue as opposed to an
XP one? Is SCSI support generally straightforward under
XP? (I spend most of my time with unix). The SCSI
adapter on my machine seems to be recognized, which is
consistent with you advice.

michael

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

mh wrote:
>> I assume from what you say this is an HP drive. You did the right
>> thing checking their site for updated drivers. Now check with their
>> tech support as the drive is theirs and this is their issue.
>> --
>
> Yes, it is an HP Dat.
>
> How do you know that this is an HP issue as opposed to an
> XP one? Is SCSI support generally straightforward under
> XP? (I spend most of my time with unix). The SCSI
> adapter on my machine seems to be recognized, which is
> consistent with you advice.
>
> michael
First, SCSI is not natively supported in XP. Second, the device isn't a
Microsoft device, it's not an XP device, it's an HP device. Device support,
drivers, be they SCSI or whatever are the responsibility of the
manufacturer.

Further, support on installation issues of any device is again, the
responsibility of the manufacturer.

Not XP nor any other operating system is designed with one device in mind.
Devices and software are designed with the operating system in mind and it
is up to the manufacture whether or not they wish to support their software
or hardware in new versions or updates of operating systems.

We offer as much as we can on these boards but no matter how you slice it,
it's up to the manufacturer to make their software and hardware compatible
not the other way around and they have plenty of time during the development
and beta process to do precisely that.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

mh wrote:
>> I assume from what you say this is an HP drive. You did the right
>> thing checking their site for updated drivers. Now check with their
>> tech support as the drive is theirs and this is their issue.
>> --
>
> Yes, it is an HP Dat.
>
> How do you know that this is an HP issue as opposed to an
> XP one? Is SCSI support generally straightforward under
> XP? (I spend most of my time with unix). The SCSI
> adapter on my machine seems to be recognized, which is
> consistent with you advice.
>
> michael
I missed the part about Unix. This is as far from Unix as day is from
night. In Unix you have multiple "flavors" and usually Unix is tailored to
the system, at least that was the case when Mainframes were king.

Windows is an operating system that has an installed base that is huge and
an equally huge range of hardware configurations. As a retail or consumer
product, Windows is tested on the widest base possible before release but it
is frankly impossible for every single scenario, every conceivable BIOS and
hardware configuration to be tested, especially against all the different
applications and devices and device drivers and how they interact with each
other.

In other words, Windows isn't customized for the system, the system is
customized for Windows.

There are many users who are still wedded to SCSI and frankly have no
problem with it but all support for SCSI, drivers, tech support and all
other issues are the responsibility of the manufacturer as Microsoft began
moving away from native support of SCSI during Windows Millenium
development. We were told then that support and maintaining compatibility
would rest squarely with the manufacturers and the manufacturer's know this
as well.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/