Windows 7 and USB 3G Internet Stick
By brian. Filed in Uncategorized |
Recently my Windows 7 RC laptop stopped being able to use my USB 3G Internet Stick. It was failing with a magical “Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning”. It turns out that Windows 7, like Vista does its best to mash up the dial up networking components every now and again.
The solution is to reinstall the dial up networking components. I think they are actually called remote access components in Windows 7 now.
You need to uninstall all dial up connections (this includes 3G connections) and drivers, then disable all network cards, uninstall all antivirus software (crazy I know, but the instructions come from Microsoft, and apparently disabling AV wont work). You also need Rarepaire.exe from Microsoft.
So:
- Remove Modem driver from the Device Manager
- Delete the dial up connections Uninstall 3rd party Remote access software (like 3G connection managers)
- Uninstall all 3rd party Wifi Software (Intel Pro Set or other)
- Uninstall all VPN connection/softwareDisable all network connections including bluetooth and wifi
- Uninstall Anti Virus Software (Disabling does not work)
- Reboot
- Run RArepair.exe It will require 2 or so Reboots
- Reinstall Drivers/Software of your USB 3G Internet stick to test it out.
It was also suggested to create a “Restore point” before testing Rarepaire.exe.
Try this at your own risk. Its not a documented fix, however it worked for me with no ill effects.
Its a bit of a pain in the arse to go through this, so I hope it doest happen to often to anyone (including myself).
Cheers.
