Another computer question...

Trev said:
WRONG. (Well, which is it?)
All lat degrees are (were at inception) 60nm apart (By definition). Lon degrees are 60*Cos(lat)nm apart. (The latter fails by a bit as you approach the poles.
Trouble becomes when you try to convert to metres or imperial measurement.
Now give me a reasonable physical definition of a statute mile or metre without resorting to wavelengths od=f something or other

Nope. chose to ignore my speelin missteak
Click to expand...
I didn't ........ mystique ?
 
I usually keep my Win7/64 notebook asleep rather than turn it off, although every now and again it benefits from a reboot. The downsides are that every now and again the built-in keyboard isn't working on wakening, and (more often) the built-in WiFi doesn't wake up properly (giving the strange symptom of apparently being connected to the router but no further, citing "limited access").

I have discovered that, rather than reboot to cure the WiFi problem, it is easier to go into Device Manager and disable then re-enable the WiFi device driver. Unfortunately I couldn't find a similar strategy for the keyboard (maybe the driver is hidden), but now I am habitually using a USB keyboard that problem has gone away.

I've been looking for a way to streamline the WiFi "cure", but the best I have come up with so far is to put an icon for the Device Manager easy to find on the desktop. Then the procedure is:
  1. Click Device Manager icon;
  2. Accept the warning pop-up that I can't change anything without logging in as admin;
  3. Drill down to the relevant network adapter;
  4. Double-click (or right-click and select "properties");
  5. Click "change settings";
  6. Enter admin password;
  7. Select "driver" tab;
  8. Click "disable";
  9. Click "OK" on warning pop-up;
  10. Wait for "disable" button to change to "enable", then click it;
  11. Close driver properties window;
  12. Close Device Manager window.
If I didn't have a Device Manager icon set up, there would be another couple of steps to launch it from a command line or start it from Control Panel.

I was thinking there must be a way to do all this from the command line, so then I could put it in a .BAT (or .COM) and run as admin. Searching, I have found mention of two M$ utilities: devcon.exe and pnputil.exe. Comments on the former indicate it is part of the SDK and I could pull it in from somwhere, but apparently it doesn't play nicely with 64-bit. The M$ page for devcon says "use pnputil", which I take to mean it is superseded.

As for the latter, "pnputil" on my command line brings up a syntax help:
Code: 
C:\Windows\system32>pnputil /enum-drivers
Microsoft PnP Utility
Usage:
------
pnputil.exe [-f | -i] [ -? | -a | -d | -e ] <INF name>
Examples:
pnputil.exe -a a:\usbcam\USBCAM.INF      -> Add package specified by USBCAM.INF
pnputil.exe -a c:\drivers\*.inf          -> Add all packages in c:\drivers\
pnputil.exe -i -a a:\usbcam\USBCAM.INF   -> Add and install driver package
pnputil.exe -e                           -> Enumerate all 3rd party packages
pnputil.exe -d oem0.inf                  -> Delete package oem0.inf
pnputil.exe -f -d oem0.inf               -> Force delete package oem0.inf
pnputil.exe -?                           -> This usage screen
...notice there is no mention of "disable", "enable", or "restart".

However, the M$ page for pnputil says otherwise:
Code: 
Note  PnPUtil (PnPUtil.exe) is included in every version of Windows, starting with Windows Vista (in the %windir%\system32 directory).

pnputil [/add-driver <...> | /delete-driver <...> |
         /export-driver <...> | /enum-drivers     |
     /disable-device <...> | /enable-device <...> |
     /restart-device <...> | /remove-device <...> |
     /scan-devices <...> | /enum-devices <...>    |
     /enum-interfaces <...> | /?]

"Legacy" commands are mentioned down the page, so although "PnPUtil is included in every version of Windows, starting with Windows Vista", it seems not all versions are equal.

So, presuming pnputil.exe is self-contained, if some kind soul with Win10 would kindly zip and upload their pnputil.exe for me to try, I would be much obliged.
 
It won't work and seems like the wrong tool anyway.
I would suggest:
Code: 
netsh interface show interface

netsh interface set interface "whatever" disable
netsh interface set interface "whatever" enable
My laptop has a button for Wi-fi on/off though. Does yours not?
Black Hole said:
(or .COM)
Click to expand...
.CMD
 
prpr said:
My laptop has a button for Wi-fi on/off though. Does yours not?
Click to expand...
Yes, but that does not achieve the desired effect.

prpr said:
Code: 
netsh interface show interface

netsh interface set interface "whatever" disable
netsh interface set interface "whatever" enable
Click to expand...
Is that the same as restarting the driver? I need to restart the driver (can't test until I get a test case).

Update: from what I can see, that only does an on/off, so
prpr said:
seems like the wrong tool anyway
Click to expand...
...I disagree. Like I said I need to disable and then re-enable (or restart) the driver, not just the function.
 
prpr said:
It won't work
Click to expand...
Explain. ¿You think a Win10 pnputil.exe (which M$ says is a tool which works in all versions of Windows from Vista, and presumably is backwards compatible because it can also access other networked Windows systems and non-running Windows installations) from Win10 wouldn't run in Win7? I'm happy to try it (and my system has third-party roll-back capability to protect from cock-ups)...
 
Black Hole said:
Shame devcon doesn't have a restart command though.
Click to expand...
It does:
Code: 
>devcon restart "@PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_265C&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&267A616A&0&58"
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_265C&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&267A616A&0&58: Restarted
1 device(s) restarted.
Incidentally, I used the latest 10.0.17763 version on W7.
 
If looking on the GUI for the appropriate ID, then Device Instance Path appears to be the one to select.
You can of course use devcon find * and filter the list.
 
Super. Thanks.

I saw this:
  • Change device settings DevCon can change the status or configuration of Plug and Play (PnP) devices on the local computer in the following ways:
    • Enable a device
    • Disable a device
    • Update drivers (interactive and noninteractive)
    • Install a device (create a devnode and install software)
    • Remove a device from the device tree and delete its device stack
    • Rescan for Plug and Play devices
    • Add, delete, and reorder the hardware IDs of root-enumerated devices
    • Change the upper and lower filter drivers for a device setup class
    • Add and delete third-party driver packages from the driver store
Click to expand...
...but must have missed this:
  • Restart the device or computer DevCon can restart a local device, reboot the local system on demand, or reboot the local system if required for another DevCon operation.
Click to expand...
 
I appreciate the trail-blazing... having been put off by the prospect of devcon not working in /64, and it being an addition rather than already built in, I was still barking up the pnputil tree (even though the built-in version isn't suitable).

:thumbsup:
 
EEPhil said:
Or database! (You've effectively admitted that multi-table is a relational database). ;)
Click to expand...
A RDB can be single table. (Rather trivially.)

There is, however, generally a requirement for each table to have a primary key. Some tables have no key, so cannot be part of a RDB, eg,

a a
a a
a a
a b
a b


(Sorry, just spotted it.)
 
Regret I need some more guidance on this.

prpr said:
If looking on the GUI for the appropriate ID, then Device Instance Path appears to be the one to select.
Click to expand...
That agrees with devcon find:
Code: 
C:\Windows\system32>devcon find * | find "Atheros"
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_3040103C&REV_01\4&67B1FC7&0&00E0: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter
ROOT\CNTX_VPCNETS2_MP\0001                                  : Atheros AR9285 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter - Virtual Machine Network Services Driver

However (running on an admin command line):
Code: 
C:\Windows\system32>devcon disable PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_3040103C&REV_01\4&67B1FC7&0&00E0
PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_002B&SUBSYS_3040103C&REV_01\4&67B1FC7&0&00E0: Disable failed
No matching devices found.
'DEV_002B' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'SUBSYS_3040103C' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
The system cannot find the path specified.
'67B1FC7' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'0' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'00E0' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

The other ID (ROOT\CNTX...) just resulted in "no matching devices found".
 
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