Deleted a driver. Which one? I don't know.

[Baitball Blogger]

Have you ever attempted to download a program, and discovered that you clicked a secondary program that was advertised on the same page? Well, I did that and I went to the add/remove section of windows to hunt it down. Inadvertently, I deleted the wrong program. I didn't figure it out until I shut down and restarted the computer. Now, none of my icons work. I can't click on a program on the desktop or anywhere else. I can only "sneak" on the internet using a link to a Toshiba website that is pre-programmed.

The laptop is a Toshiba L25-s1215. Which driver from the Toshiba download drivers should I download?

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/modelContent.jsp?ct=DL&os=&category=&moid=1209125&rpn=PSL2XU&modelFilter=&selCategory=2756709&selFamily=1073768663

[NYC_SKP]

1. Windows, since XP, has had a "restore" function that should help you undo a screw up like this.

That's my best advice, to see if you can restore to a point in time before you messed up.

Good luck.

[Pharaoh]

2. Try the system restore

option under systems tools and restore to a date before the screwup.

Go to accessories then system tools, then system restore.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. ^^^ that's the way to go. :) n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

4. It didn't work.

I tried to go back to the 15th, but it wouldn't make the necessary changes.

[Pharaoh]

5. Then I don't have a clue

you might have to take it to an expert, But I would be interested on how it all works out baitball.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. Try going further back. n/t

[Trajan]

6. Is there an error message ?

A dialog box ? ... a filename can be searched and a replacement driver could downloaded and copied into the proper folder ...

If not, then look into your recycle bin, and restore all files since yesterday ...

Can you start in safe mode ? ... that might help, in that it should restore windows functionality .. You may need to restore (reload) Windows, eventually .... hopefully you have the disk somewhere ....

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Nothing.

But I think I know which file I deleted.

AC97 DataFAx Softmodem with SmartCP

I already put the system through an entire Uniblue work up, and nothing.

[Phillip McCleod]

7. i'll help ya..

first do this and then report back:

go to 'start' menu and RIGHT click on 'my computer'. choose 'manage'.

when that pops up (give it a sec) you'll have a tree view. open 'devices' or 'device manager' link.

you'll see a list of device categories. IF you see one called 'other,' open it up by clicking on it and you should see your orphaned device listed with a yellow '!' triangle.

that's the driver you need to replace.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Thanks. I updated it, but i'm still not able to get it working.

It's going to the shop tomorrow.

[Phillip McCleod]

11. did it give you the 'windows is searching online for driver updates...' spiel?

b/c that's bogus or at least rarely works. fortunately once you know which driver you need you can just go to the website for the manufacturer of your computer (i.e., dell, hp, toshiba, etc..) and search for driver downloads for that particular model (ie, inspiron, pavilion, etc.) then you can try to download and install the drivers (they're packages, really)

when you take your computer in tomorrow, just remember this.. you're paying $80/hr or more for somebody besides you to download drivers and run driver installers from a website. something you can do for free and without giving up your machine for a day or more.

[Phillip McCleod]

12. on second read of your OP..

toshibas *are* big pains in the arse in the driver dept., but out of curiosity now.. which driver was deleted now that you have checked out your 'start > my computer > manage > devices > other' fields?

[Baitball Blogger]

13. That explains a lot, about Toshiba being a pain in the arse.

I updated the drivers using uniblue and it wasn't enough.

I think it may have bee modem PCM or one or the other. I don't have a good memory for these things.

[Denzil_DC]

14. Try starting up in Safe Mode

then do a System Restore to an earlier point than you did already.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Thanks,

but I can't get beyond the 15th because It's a secondary laptop and I purchased it from that date. The original owner deleted his files from that point.

[gvstn]

16. A couple of thoughts

1) Some antivirus software will interfere with System Restore. You could try turning off your antivirus and see if a Restore completes.

2) It just doesn't seem like a driver problem. Do you not get any message when you click on an icon? No "Windows does not know what program to use to open this file" message? If you go to c:\Program Files and into one of the folders like Windows Media Player. Can you click on the media player icon to start WMP from there?

[Baitball Blogger]

17. The tech said the operating system was a goner.

I'm getting it upgraded to Windows 7. I didn't know you could do that with an old unit.

[gvstn]

18. If Xp will run you can usually run 7.

Might not be able to use Aero transparency but that is no big deal.

I went to 7 on all my XP machines, it is very good OS and more stable than XP. You'll be happy you made the change.

[Baitball Blogger]

19. Thanks. Looks like I'll soon be in business again.

Just in time. The Lounge looks like it's floundering.

[gvstn]

20. i just glanced at your specs

If you are only running the original 2x (256mb) memory modules you should probably get some larger modules. 512mb total is a little small for Win7. 1gb is really the minimum for win7 and 2gb would be better. I hope your tech guy has checked this out for you. http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Satellite%20L25%20Series&Cat=RAM

[Baitball Blogger]

21. Tech guy seems to know what he's doing.

The 2 gig RAM is the only thing on this laptop that worked in my favor.