"Cannot install hardware because system cannot find file specified"

article #312, updated 4703 days ago

If you see this when trying to install hardware in Windows:

“Cannot install this hardware”
There was a problem installing this hardware

An error occurred during the installation of the Device
The system cannot find the file specified

all is probably not lost. Backup and then delete the REG_BINARY value ‘CONFIG’ (not the “network” key) from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network. Restart the system. The problem will often be solved.

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