Superb effort, splendid troubleshooting and commendable diagnosis of the issue before posting. Good day! I read the post about Wi-Fi connectivity issues on the computer. Especially with my previous attempts ending in failure.Hi for stopping by the HP forums. I'm not discounting your advice, but I do not think this's something I can remove without repercussion. "In other words, not only it is an option, it is actually something that you might want doing on periodic basis, just to keep your OS installation well-maintained." It did not do so, and I was short of one driver that was only re-installed when I had installed 10.
When I was still using Windows 8.1, my "Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator" driver grayed out and I had the idea even then to uninstall it, reboot, and let windows re-install it. Perhaps, but this had not been the case for me. Windows will automatically redetect and reinstall it for you. "If you accidentally uninstall a device entry that corresponds to a real, existing device. If anything, I believe it's an integral part of my system, meant to serve a purpose and not at all unnecessary. I do not have many peripherals, nor are they in anyway associated with the "Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2," as far as i'm concerned. The device/driver was there and functioning properly when I had first installed Windows 10, and I can assure you I had no hand in its creation outside of what windows had installed for me when I first installed it. The way you do it is you ask your Device Manager to show hidden devices and just uninstall everything that seems unnecessary, especially if it has these #2, #3 and such in their names."Īgain, this should not be the case. For which reason, it is a good idea to do periodic cleanup of your Device Manager from old "orphaned" hidden device entries. "We see such things quite often with all kinds of devices (like USB devices being pulled out of one USB port and plugged into another an such). However, if what you say is true, then my problem is even more anomalous then I originally thought.
How do you mean? I have numerous devices that are part of the "hidden" category that aren't faded out at all, just the one that had been working prior to the update I installed yesterday. Which is exactly what Windows is telling you in your second screen shot." It is a device that, as Windows believes, is no longer connected to your computer, no longer exists. The device is displayed in your Device Manager in faded color, which means that it is a hidden device. "Well, the device is NOT being utilized by your system anymore.
In other words, not only it is an option, it is actually something that you might want doing on periodic basis, just to keep your OS installation well-maintained. If you accidentally uninstall a device entry that corresponds to a real, existing device. The way you do it is you ask your Device Manager to show hidden devices and just uninstall everything that seems unnecessary, especially if it has these #2, #3 and such in their names. We see such things quite often with all kinds of devices (like USB devices being pulled out of one USB port and plugged into another an such). It appears to be an "orphaned" device entry that probably used to refer to the same device as the first one. The other one - with #2 in the name - is some sort of glitch, apparently.
That's the device your system "utilizes" now.
Your screenshots clearly show that Windows did successfully detect and install the Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter device (the one without #2). Since Windows believes that this device no longer exists, it cannot possibly "utilize" it. Which is exactly what Windows is telling you in your second screen shot. Well, the device is NOT being utilized by your system anymore.