Tech Support Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Lost Bluetooth Drivers

3K views 28 replies 5 participants last post by  BIGBEARJEDI 
#1 ·
Hi, It seems that after a recent Win7 update, I lost all my bluetooth peripheral device drivers. Windows search, driver updates etc were all unsuccessful. Where can I find them?

Thanks,
yankeeclipper747
 
#10 ·
#13 ·
Hi Yankee:
Sorry to hear about your BlueTooth issues; we've seen this many times in the past. :ermm:

If the ROLLBACK button is greyed out, this most likely is a corruption within Windows most likely the Registry.:ermm: An easy way to fix this is a 3 fold approach:
(1) Backup all your Personal Data to external media and run Windows SYSTEM RESTORE back to the point in time just before you remember your System was working correctly with the Blue Tooth devices. Upon rebooting your computer, Windows should work correctly with your Blue Tooth drivers/devices. :dance: If not, proceed to Step #2. This Step works in many cases.:wink:
(2) Drivers are often corrupted or deleted altogether from virus/malware attacks. Visit our free VIRUS/MALWARE forum; link in my signature below and have the experts help you to do an advanced scan of your system. Many viruses are now designed to hide from ALL the major Anti-Virus programs currently on the market; and many are hidden and not detectable; these are a class of virus called STEALTH viruses. Once you get a clean bill of health on your laptop reboot and retest your BlueTooth devices. If it works, the virus was causing your problem and you are fixed! :dance:. If problem persists, proceed to step #3.
(3) Eliminate faulty hardware. If you are running Windows7, your computer is 4-5 yrs. old and is very likely to have 1 or more hardware failures to aging/usage. Download free MEMTEST from link in my signature and test each RAM stick individually a minimum of 8 passes. If MEMTEST returns any errors, that RAM stick has failed and must be replaced. :cry: Repeat MEMTEST on each stick until all sticks pass. Then reinsert all sticks into your computer and run MEMTEST again for the 8 passes. Any failures reported by MEMTEST must be corrected by replacing RAM with matched-pairs or all sticks with new until MEMTEST RETURNS NO ERRORS.:cry: Once done, your RAM has passed move onto Step #3.
(4) Test your HARD DRIVE. On a PC that's nearly 5 years old as is yours, it is VERY likely your hard drive is failing or has failed and that's why your can't uninstall/reinstall/rollback your BlueTooth drivers. :facepalm::facepalm: Hard Drives are the #1 failed component in both desktops and laptops across all makes/models.:nonono: You have not done this test yet. Download the free SEATOOLS drive diagnostic from the link in my Signature below and run BOTH short and long tests on your drive. If SEATOOLS returns any errors your drive has FAILED and must be REPLACED. :cry: If this is the case, you will need to start Data Recovery to get all your Personal Data copied off that drive onto external media.[Also, if you have a Toshiba, Hitachi, or HGST drive, SEATOOLS won't test those drives so you will have to go to WD's website wd.com and download the appropriate diagnostic, either DLG or HGST to test those 3 types of drives. Additionally if you have a SSD boot drive, you will need to download TRIM via google to test SSD drive].

Finally, if SYSTEM RESTORE fails to resolve your problem, and you test and replace any hardware (RAM and Hard Drive) that have failed, you are looking at a Windows reset to Factory Settings; also called a Windows RECOVERY. If you get to this point, you'll need to find or create Windows RECOVERY DISCS that came with your laptop from the Factory (Fujitsu?). If you are the original owner of this laptop, any discs that you had inside the box when you first opened the laptop box will be needed for this. They are usually Printed label discs with the Manufacturer's label on them and will say something like WINDOWS7 HOME PREMIUM RECOVERY DISC or WINDOWS7 HOME PREMIUM REINSTALLATION DISC. This is usually accompanied by 2-12 discs or so. If you lost this disc or discs or cannot locate, I suggest that you or a family member help you look for these discs while you are performing our recommended tests. :smile: This process usually takes 1-3 weeks, so don't get discouraged due to the labor time involved; remember you are attemtping to fix this yourself and save a huge repair bill. $$$

Given the above scenario, a complete Windows7 OS Reinstallation will solve this type of driver problem 99% of the time; notwithstanding any anomalies with your Motherboard which we are not having your test since you probably don't have the correct tools to do so.:ermm: Many Users jump to this step, as they download free program after program from the Internet that promises to resolve all driver problems or Registry cleaning programs that promise the same. DO NOT USE THESE!! :nono: Follow our prescribed methodology and chances are good you can get your laptop working again. If not, you'll know your last resort is to take it to a Computer Professional and pay them to fix it; or simply junk it and replace with a new laptop. :wink:

Please post back the results of your tests, especially your result from visit to our VIRUS/MALWARE forum, and with any further questions or concerns you might have.

Good luck! :thumb:
BIGBEARJEDI :yltype:
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
This is Not caused by Windows corruption. This means there was no earlier driver installed to roll back to. Here is a tutorial of how to find Drivers: http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f19/how-to-find-drivers-419050.html
>>>>@Spunk: if this was the case, how do you explain the fact that his Bluetooth driver/devices were working previously? And after viewing my main desktop PC (Dell Studio540 w/QuadCore 8200) device manager, looking through Properties on every single device in my computer both internal and external (USB); I found 84/85 device drivers in my working computer WITHOUT the ROLLBACK option available! Only 1/85 device drivers on my computer had the ROLLBACK option available. So, you are stating that none of my device drivers ever had an initial driver installed at Windows installation time? :confused: If that were the case, why then do all 85 of these devices listed work perfectly?? :confused: I haven't checked other versions of Windows for the statistics, but it seems to me if memory serves me correctly that the ROLLBACK option isn't available for very many devices listed in device manager. For most devices, as is the case for our OP, the device he's looking to ROLLBACK the driver on to a previous version, simply isn't available to do so. Perhaps the right term isn't "Windows Corruption"; that's a general term anyway. "Driver Instability" is another one I've seen, or "Registry Device De-registation" (that's an old one). So, even if our OP get's the EXACT right drivers, if one of these items applies, and the Driver doesn't install or reinstall properly, the device fails to operate. :nonono: As we both know, there are many programs out there that claim they can fix this by searching the Internet and locating/installing the correct drivers. In most cases, this not only fails, but since these programs change values en masse in the Registry at one time, sweeping changes cause "Instability" inside Windows making Windows work worse than before the changes made by the "program" and increase rather than decrease problems in the Windows environment. Perhaps "Corruption" is not the right term. The solution generally requires a SYSTEM RESTORE, and up to possible drive formatting and Windows OS reinstallation in order to resolve.
Cheers! <<<BBJ>>>:smile:
 
#17 ·
The Windows update might have removed his previous driver, requiring him to reinstall the driver that supports the update from his computer manufacturer.
>>>>This is a reasonable explanation; and that was my thought as well. Let's hope and recommend the OP tries this first and has some luck with it. Good observation! Thanks. <<<<BBJ>>>>:wink:
 
#18 ·
"Originally Posted by spunk.funk View Post
The Windows update might have removed his previous driver, requiring him to reinstall the driver that supports the update from his computer manufacturer. "

This is what I think happened. The problem is that doing a driver search on both Microsoft and Fujitsu web pages results in the message;" most up-to-date drivers installed"! I think my only options now are, 1. do a system restore or 2. try to uninstall each windows update one at a time until I get the drivers working again or 3. since I don't use bluetooth that much, just forget about it! Thanks
 
#20 ·
Old Rich: Pressing Prt Scr does nothing. The key on my keyboard has PrtScr over SysRq. I've tried shift+, Fn+ & Ctrl+ as well ,,,nothing! Again, searching Micosoft & Fujitsu for drivers results in a "most up to date drivers already installed" msg. The drivers seem to be there but not operating.
 
#22 ·
Hi Yankee:
You have to know how to COPY & PASTE the captured image from WINDOWS CLIPBOARD which is hidden and you won't see anything into another program such as MS Word, Windows Wordpad, or MS Paint.
Here's a helpful YouTube video that shows you how to do this:
How to take a screen capture and paste it into word - YouTube

Remember that SYSTEM RESTORE will not solve the problem if the last time you remember the BLUETOOTH DEVICE(S) working was over 5 mos. ago!! SYSTEM RESTORE only goes back 5 months. If you know it was over 5 mos. ago, I'd just skip SYSTEM RESTORE and go with WINDOWS REINSTALLATION also known as FACTORY RESET, or WINDOWS RECOVERY per my detail in Post #13.

And, regarding the PRTSCN button; if you cannot reproduce the COPY & PASTE of your DEVICE MANAGER screen or any other screen on your Windows desktop, you could have a faulty keyboard--try an external USB keyboard for the COPY & PASTE after you watch my YouTube video. If it STILL fails, you have more driver corruption than just your BLUETOOTH drivers, and a WINDOWS REINSTALLATION is definitely indicated to solve. :smile:

Hopefully, you haven't downloaded and used any AUTOMATIC DRIVER UPDATER or REGISTRY CLEANER programs. :nono: If you have, as noted by us, this can cause catastrophic results. :facepalm: Clearly you have identified 2 NEW problems with your laptop that you didn't have before. I've discovered through years of repairing computers, that Customers don't share with me all the things that they have tried before coming to us for help. I don't find out that they've used these highly destructive programs UNTIL I get the laptop onto my workshop bench and SEE that those programs are installed, active, and have been used. :nonono:

If you haven't used those programs, that's great;:smile: you still are left with the same choices to resolve your existing problems. If you have, but chose not to tell us about your use of them, you are just shooting yourself in the foot. :uhoh: SYSTEM RESTORE rarely repairs the damage done to Windows by these programs, and your ONLY choice is WINDOWS REINSTALLATION. Oh, or the last resort choice you mentioned: "Just forget about it". Problem is, if you DID run any of these programs, the 2 devices that are failing due to driver issues, may be the tip of the iceberg. I have 85 device drives loaded on my desktop, and they all work. You could have 5 more devices that aren't working that you don't know about (for example, the PRTSCN button indicates a faulty keyboard driver or USB driver).

Hey, it's your laptop and your daily computing environment, so do whatevery you want. The methods we suggest to you to try are free, so it's not like you are going to be out $100-$200 for a repair shop bill. Try what we said if it's really bugging you. :angry: If it doesn't fix it, come back here and we'll help you do a hardware diagnosis. It's also quite likely that some hardware component has failed in your laptop causing these problems. Until you test them, you won't know if it's software or hardware. WINDOWS REINSTALLATION will eliminate the software problem.:wink:

Remember to watch that video and post back your DEVICE MANAGER screenshot for Old Rich and the rest of us.:cool:

Best,
<<<BBJ>>>
 
#29 ·
Yankee:
Thanks for getting that screenshot Posted! Good Job! We'll all take a look, but very quickly, go to the OTHER DEVICES section, and for each of the Bluetooth Peripheral devices listed (there appear to be 8 of them); right click on each one with a Yellow Exclamation Mark in front of it, select Properties, and attempt to uninstall one at a time until you clear that whole list of 8. To do this, select Bluetooth Peripheral Device (the 1st one), right-click, and on the action menu select "UNINSTALL".
This will uninstall each of the 8 malfunctioning drivers one at a time. :smile:

After this is complete, go to DEVICE MANAGER, Select ACTION MENU, from the File Menu, and then select SCAN FOR HARDWARE CHANGES. This will reinitialize the bus, and rescan for all installed devices; you should get a Wizard screen that will pop-up and tell you that you have UNINSTALLED HARDWARE that needs to be installed. This is for your BLUETOOTH DEVICE; follow through the WIZARD, and select all the defaults. First, try using the built-in Bluetooth drivers that came with your Windows already on your Hard Drive. This should reinstall and put everything back, assuming there is no other Registry damage from other "fix-it" programs I mentioned in previous post, or from Virus/Malware damage. :dance:

If this doesn't work, repeat the process and remove all the BLUETOOTH PERIPHERAL DEVICE items listed in the OTHER DEVICES section, and uninstall one at a time again repeating the above process. This time, after you rescan for uninstalled devices using ACTION MENU->SCAN FOR HARDWARE CHANGES, when the Driver Wizard comes up; select "HAVE DISK" option and point Device Manager Wizard to the location of the downloaded drivers from the Manufacturer's website we asked you to do earlier. This should also fix it.:dance:

If neither of these methods resolve your problem, you are back to the previous things we asked you to try starting with Windows SYSTEM RESTORE, WINDOWS REINSTALLATION, etc.

Give this a try. We'll see if anyone else comes back with a different approach for you.

Best,:thumb:
<<<BBJ>>>
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top