USB Devices Do Not Work Correctly and You Receive "Could Not Load the Device Driver" Error Message (299264)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
This article was previously published under Q299264

SYMPTOMS

In any of the Microsoft Windows operating systems listed at the beginning of this article, your universal serial bus (USB) controller may not work as expected, and when you view its properties in Device Manager, a yellow exclamation mark may be displayed.

When you view the status of the USB controller, you may receive the following error message:
The NTKERN.VxD device loaders for this device could not load the device driver (Code 2).

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the incorrect version of the driver files for the USB controller is installed.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, rename and re-extract the following files from the Windows CD-ROM:
  • Uhcd.sys
  • Usbhub.sys
  • Usbd.sys
To extract the files, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows.

Windows 98

  1. Insert the Microsoft Windows 98 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive.
  2. Click Start, and then click Run.
  3. In the Open box, type sfc, and then click OK.
  4. In the System File Checker window, click Extract one file from the installation disk.
  5. In the Specify the system file you would like to restore box, type uhcd.sys, and then click Start.
  6. In the Restore From box, type the following line, where cd-rom is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive.

    cd-rom:\Win98

  7. In the Save file in box, type the following line, where drive is the letter of the hard disk on which Windows 98 is installed, and windows is the folder in which Windows 98 is installed:

    drive:\windows\system32\drivers

  8. Click OK, and then click OK again.
  9. When Windows finishes restoring the file, click OK.
  10. Repeat steps 4 through 9 to restore the Usbhub.sys file and the Usbd.sys file. When you finish restoring the files, click Close.
  11. Restart the computer.

Windows Millennium Edition

  1. Start your computer with a Windows Millennium Edition Startup disk. If you need to make a Startup disk, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
    2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
    3. On the Startup Disk tab, click Create Disk.
  2. When the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition Startup menu appears, click Start computer with CD-ROM support.
  3. Insert the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive.NOTE: If you do not have a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition CD-ROM, the cabinet files that are necessary for the following steps might be installed in the Windows\Options\CAB or Windows\Options\Install folders. If these files are on your computer, extract the files from the appropriate folder instead of the Win9x folder on your CD-ROM.

  4. At a command prompt, type ext, press ENTER, and then follow the on-screen instructions to restore the Uhcd.sys file, the Usbhub.sys file, and the Usbd.sys file from the Win9x folder on the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition CD-ROM to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers" (where C:\Windows is your Windows folder). For additional information about how to extract protected files in Windows Millennium Edition, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    265371 How to Extract and Replace a Protected File in Windows Me

MORE INFORMATION

To check the Device Status of the USB controller, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click System.
  3. Click the Device Manager tab.
  4. Click the plus sign (+) next to Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
  5. Click Universal Serial Bus Controller.
  6. Click Properties, and then read the message in the Device status box on the General tab.
To check the file date of the flies listed at the beginning of the "Resolution" section, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
  2. In the Search for Files or Folders in box, type the file name that you want.
  3. Click Find Now.
  4. Read the date under Modified.
This behavior can occur during the upgrade of Windows, after the installation of third-party programs, or after the addition of new hardware.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:12/20/2004
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB299264
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.