I can't seem to find a solution anywhere else, so I thought I'd run it 
through you guys.

A few years back when I bought my new computer and was anxious to get it 
up-and-running, I purchased a shoddy, no-name keyboard from Radio Shack. 
Everything was fine until two weeks ago when the thing began to 
intermittently cut out. A cheap USB cable was to blame. Every time it 
stopped working and came back online, the device manager would fill up 
with all sorts of new entries. Three hardware installation dialogs would 
appear each time I booted up Windows, and I still get them today even 
after installing my new keyboard.

I've tried uninstalling the suspicious entries from the device manager, 
but they keep coming back. Why does Windows keep trying to install 
something that doesn't exist? How can I determine which devices aren't 
necessary, when Windows won't even provide me with a description? When 
does Plug and Play become Plug and Stay?

Attached is a screen shot of the superfluous devices. I know for a fact 
that I don't have that many peripherals. Any help, or even a nudge in 
the right direction would be appreciated...

Sam

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> Attached is a screen shot of the superfluous devices. I know for a fact
> that I don't have that many peripherals. Any help, or even a nudge in
> the right direction would be appreciated...

Unplug your mouse and keyboard in turn whilst watching device manager, 
you'll see which entry is then related to those pieces of hardware.  Remove 
everything else using device manager and reboot.  If it all comes back then 
I'd look at my startup programs (Start->Run->msconfig->Startup) and remove 
anything sounding like Virtual Keyboard Driver or related to your previous 
hardware.  Maybe it helps?

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scott wrote:
>> Attached is a screen shot of the superfluous devices. I know for a fact
>> that I don't have that many peripherals. Any help, or even a nudge in
>> the right direction would be appreciated...
> 
> Unplug your mouse and keyboard in turn whilst watching device manager, 
> you'll see which entry is then related to those pieces of hardware.  
> Remove everything else using device manager and reboot.  If it all comes 
> back then I'd look at my startup programs 
> (Start->Run->msconfig->Startup) and remove anything sounding like 
> Virtual Keyboard Driver or related to your previous hardware.  Maybe it 
> helps?

Monitoring the device manager while unplugging my input devices.... I 
should have thought of that /: Unfortunately, knowing which drivers were 
relevant didn't help. I tried uninstalling the unnecessary items, but 
they came back as quickly as I could remove them. Some of them are 
apparently mouse drivers, though why there should be more than one is 
beyond me.

The Startup tab in msconfig shows nothing keyboard-related. I googled 
everything in there, and most of the items are needed.

One of the items Windows tries to install is an eHome infrared 
transceiver. My box has remote control support, but I never use it. I'll 
  just try to install those three items; maybe Windows will stop bugging 
me...

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