How to Rerun Hardware Detection Without Reinstalling Windows (317187)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

This article describes how to detect hardware on your computer without having to reinstall Windows. This may be useful if you need help with properly detecting hardware in your computer, but you do not want to reinstall the operating system.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

You can change a registry entry, and then restart your computer so that the Hardware Detection phase of Setup runs. To start the Hardware Detection phase of Setup only, use Registry Editor to view the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio n

Right-click the SetupFlags value in this key, and then click Modify. When the Edit Binary Value dialog box opens, change the value of the first number by one. For example, you can add 1 to the first hexadecimal number in the DWORD. If the first number is 08, it would become 09, 0A becomes 0B, 0C becomes 0D, 0E becomes 0F, and so on. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer. When your computer restarts, the Hardware Detection phase of Setup runs, and the SetupFlags value is reset to the original value.