Why does the “Found New Hardware Wizard” appear in Windows XP each time I plug a different camera in?

Last Revision Date: 4/11/2016

This article explains why the “Found New Hardware Wizard” appears in Windows XP each time a different camera is connected, and the relationship of this behaviour to Windows driver signing.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The camera driver and SDK must be installed before connecting the camera to the computer. If the camera is connected before installing the software, the system may not use the correct driver. Use SpinView (Spinnaker SDK only) or DriverControlGUI (other SDKs) installed with your software to install the correct driver if necessary.

If the camera driver and SDK have been installed, the Found New Hardware Wizard may appear the first time your camera is plugged into a Windows XP system. This Wizard prompts you to choose how to install the software and driver for your camera. The Wizard may appear once for every new camera that has not been seen by the system – the first time the camera is plugged in – and should not reappear every time a camera is plugged or unplugged. With Windows 2000 and above, the New Hardware Wizard will appear, but after the driver for the first camera is correctly installed, any other cameras that are subsequently plugged in that use the same driver will automatically be installed, and no Hardware Wizard will appear. 

The Found New Hardware Wizard appears each time a new camera is connected to a Windows XP system because of Microsoft’s driver signing program. This program verifies that the driver being installed to control the camera will not cause problems on the system. When a new device is connected, Windows checks its list of “signed” drivers (via the associated *.inf file in C:\WINDOWS\inf\) to determine which is the most appropriate driver to install. If it finds one, it will automatically install it without requiring the user to go through the Found New Hardware Wizard. If it does not find one, the Found New Hardware Wizard appears. Not all released versions of our drivers are signed. As a result, the Found New Hardware Wizard may appear when a camera is first plugged in.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although not all versions of drivers we release are signed by Microsoft, this does not reflect on the quality of our drivers or their ability to function properly in your system. A signed driver means that is has been officially tested and certified by Microsoft.