can not remove unknown devices in device manager

Anonymous
2012-08-09T21:05:26+00:00

I suddenly have a bunch of unknown devices showing up in Device Manager - seems to have started around March 28, 2012....the first one, now there are 16 of them. All are under Network Adapters with the same hardware Id of MS_ASWEBRMP. I can disable them in Device Manager but not uninstall them. And on occasion, after reboot, Windows will automatically discover the very same device and attempt to install it...that's why there are 16 of these devices now. Can not remove these from the registry either no matter what I do for setting permissions and or group policies.

I'm running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit on a Dell Studio XPS 1645. Interestingly enough on my other Dell Laptops with Windows 7 Home (with same Lan and Wireless adapters) these unknown devices do not show up.

Any help would be appreciated...I'm out of ideas, and Dell support has no idea either. They refer me to Microsoft for Windows 7 support, insisting it has to be an OS issue.

Jay

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-08-15T12:34:45+00:00

    ​Hi,

    1. Are you logged in as an Admin?
    2. Do you have all the drivers up to date?

    If you have any hardware issues as faulty hardware can cause this issue.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-08-16T22:15:14+00:00

    ​Hi,

    1. Are you logged in as an Admin?
    2. Do you have all the drivers up to date?

    If you have any hardware issues as faulty hardware can cause this issue.

    Yes loggin in as Admin and all drivers are up to date. Ran scans from Dell, Intel and Mircosoft.

    The unknown device is a "Aswebr Miniport" - a phantom device..has no physical presance on the PC.  And has no third party software involved with it. A Windows system file / service (aswebr.sys) appears to be in control of this device.

    Jay

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-08-18T14:25:36+00:00

    Hi Jay,

    I am having exactly the same problem, witj 90+ unknown devies installed and

    I haven´t found a solution neither.

    Looks like the only solution will be a reinstallation of w7.

    Daniel

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-08-18T16:28:54+00:00

    ​Hi,

    Since going through the general steps to disable/remove unknown devices did not resolve the issue, and if you wants to have the devices removed, you may perform an InPlace Upgrade.

    How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade on Windows 7 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2255099

    Warning: An in-place upgrade is the final alternative before you have to reinstall the operating system. Note that it takes the same amount of time to do the upgrade as to reinstall the operating system. Also, some of your customized Windows settings may be lost through this process.

    You may performing a repair installation will not damage files and applications that are currently installed on your computer. To be on the safer side, I would suggest you to backup your files before you go for repair installation.

    Refer the link to backup the files.

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

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  5. Anonymous
    2012-08-18T16:39:51+00:00

    Hi Jay,

    I am having exactly the same problem, witj 90+ unknown devies installed and

    I haven´t found a solution neither.

    Looks like the only solution will be a reinstallation of w7.

    Daniel

    Hi Daniel,

    Seems we're in the same boat. And so far there's no answers from MS on this. I can't even get them to tell me what this  "Aswebr Miniport"  or aswebr.sys file is all about. 

    You might want to wait on your re-install...I did that yesturday morning, and after the PC was updated by the Windows Update site the unknown devices reappeared! And this was before I installed any third programs/software.

    I re-formated the HD, put the PC back to fatcory defaults, got all the the available hardware updates from Dell then let Windows Upates do it's thing. After I got all the Windows updates the unknow device re-appearded.  Once I saw that, I used a system restore image and backups to return my PC to it's previuos state - before the re-instal rather than waisting more time re-installing all my software and files.

    There's got to be a Windows solution to this problem since the OS is apparently causing it.

    Jay

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