Exhibition company needs help with video driver problem!!

[dancematic66]

Greetings all!

This is my first post here after browsing these forums alot, I have finannly decided to sign up :P

My name is Michael and i work for an exhibition company based in Cardiff called Applemed exhibitions.

My job here amoungst other things is to maintain and organise I.T & A.V. equipment for use on our exhibition stands.

When ever I send a computer on a job and then retrieve it upon completion of the job I reinstall windows and other applications in order to ensure that the machines are always fresh and running smoothly!

Most of our computers are moderately old Shuttle X cubes, some mac minis and an assortment of desktop pcs.

Well a few of our desktops and two of our cubes are giving me trouble.

The problem is that after reinstalling windows I am having trouble reinstalling video, sound and sometimes Ethernet drivers on a few of the machines. The cube that I am typing from wil not let me install the SiS VGA controller that i use on pretty much all our pcs after a reinstall of windows..

So in order to help you solve this problem for me I will list information about the pc system, os version, error message and an everest script (i think thats what you guys use to check the motherboard out).

Any detailed answers are greatly appreciated because as a good I.T. worker I am always thrivingt to learn more!!

System info:

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 2

Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.00GHz

224MB Ram

Error message:

The system cannot detect the device, please confirm that the device is configured properly and then restart the setup program.

Everest script

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer PAUL-C32B2EFFC3
Generator BSCI
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2007-11-05
Time 17:32


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name PAUL-C32B2EFFC3
User Name BSCI

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Celeron, 2000 MHz (20 x 100)
Motherboard Name Shuttle FS51 v2 (1 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset SiS 651B
System Memory 224 MB (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (12/02/03)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter SiS 315 Integrated
3D Accelerator SiS 315 Integrated

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter SiS 7012 Audio Device

Storage:
IDE Controller SiS PCI IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD800BB-00FRA0 (74 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive HDT722525DLAT80 (250 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 76308 MB (69849 MB free)
X: (NTFS) 238472 MB (236476 MB free)
Total Size 307.4 GB (299.1 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC (192.168.1.235)

Peripherals:
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB2 Controller SiS 7002 USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device USB Human Interface Device

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope that I have included all of the neccessary information!!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Mike.

[Monty007]

Hi, Ive posted the link for your drivers, I would thought it was a bit harsh to format every time the PCs are returned. Why not install OS and programs a make a system restore point fro there so when you get them back run some checks to see if they are running Ok and if not return them to there original restore point....just a thought. http://www.sis.com/download/

[dancematic66]

Thanks for the reply monty!

When I get into work tomorrow I will try that driver page and see if they work. I am pretty sure that I tried this site before :S

I know it is harsh but I need to make sure that the computers wont mess up during a show

[fritzi93]

Your method seems...inefficient. Better to (in order of preference):

1) Image each machine after a clean install with everything configured and working properly. Archive the images. Then it's a simple matter of restoring the specific disk image each time. For example with Acronis or Ghost.
2) Develop your own custom unattended install disc, with all drivers, programs, etc., pre-configured:

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

3) Even cloning each clean install and swapping drives would be better than a laborious re-install each and every time. Or have two drives in each machine, identical bootable clones. Change boot order and re-clone each time, turn and turn about. This would have the advantage of still booting up if one drive died.

And what's wrong with Monty's suggestion? [scratches head] Sure, one needs a clean install from time to time, but not THAT often. Or are you taking about hundreds of hours of uptime? I'd be more worried about a hard drive taking a crap.

I must be missing something.

[dancematic66]

Originally Posted by fritzi93

Your method seems...inefficient. Better to (in order of preference):

1) Image each machine after a clean install with everything configured and working properly. Archive the images. Then it's a simple matter of restoring the specific disk image each time. For example with Acronis or Ghost.
2) Develop your own custom unattended install disc, with all drivers, programs, etc., pre-configured:

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

3) Even cloning each clean install and swapping drives would be better than a laborious re-install each and every time. Or have two drives in each machine, identical bootable clones. Change boot order and re-clone each time, turn and turn about. This would have the advantage of still booting up if one drive died.

And what's wrong with Monty's suggestion? [scratches head] Sure, one needs a clean install from time to time, but not THAT often. Or are you taking about hundreds of hours of uptime? I'd be more worried about a hard drive taking a crap.

I must be missing something.

Don't get me wrong I didn't say there was anything wrong with Montys suggestion or your own either, it makes sense that I am wasting time by doing it this way. Thanks for the link I will look into it and hopefully learn a faster way of reinstalling everything on my machines.

[dancematic66]

Well I finally managed to find the correct driver, even though supported product on the driver that worked did not match this pc (SiS315)...

I don't understand why!!

Thanks for your help peeps!

Mike.