OEM Third-Party Network Drivers Cannot be Updated (165249)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q165249 SYMPTOMS
The Update button on the Adapters tab in the Control Panel Networks tool is
unusable when the network driver name and/or registry values for the new
driver are not the same as the old one.
RESOLUTION
Microsoft does not have any processes for updating OEM-supplied drivers
during a manual or unattended upgrade installation of Windows NT, even if
the driver name and registry values have not changed.
The only way to update an installed OEM network adapter card driver with a
different driver is to completely remove the adapter using the Control
Panel Network tool, restart the computer, and reinstall the Network
adapter using the new driver.
MORE INFORMATION
The process used by the Update button reads the registry to determine the
option name for the adapter, then opens the Oemsetup.inf file and checks
the [UPGRADE] section of the Oemsetup.inf file.
If the option name, registry entries, or driver name do not match the
currently installed driver or registry entries, then the operation will
fail.
If this process fails, the only option is to completely remove the adapter
using the Control Panel Network tool, restart your computer and re-install
the adapter using the new driver.
The process also fails if a third-party, or OEM vendor renames their driver
and/or rewrites the Oemsetup.inf file with different option names,
descriptions, registry settings, or driver names.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 8/8/2001 |
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| Keywords: | kbprb KB165249 |
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