Temporarily disable “found new hardware wizard"

[sinkplaat]

Hi

Is there a way that I can temporarily disable the “found new hardware wizard” in Windows XP? The scenario:

I have a very pesky piece of USB hardware that I've written a custom installer for. In order for the drivers to be installed correctly, the unit should be connected to the PC. If the unit is connected before the drivers are loaded, Windows will load the incorrect drivers and the end user will be confused as to the dual installation. The end-users are mostly novice pc users.

I know this is possible, since my HP printer was plugged in during installation without envoking the "found new hardware" wizard.

Thus, the required process:
Start my app -> disable "found hardware wizard" -> Install drivers -> Re-enable "found hardware wizard" -> Exit

Any ideas on how I can achieve this in Delphi with the least amount of intervention from the end-user? In the registry perhaps?

Your comments are appreciated

 

[Griffyn]

hi sinkplaat,

From my recent use of new HP printers, the instructions require you to load the drivers before plugging in the printer, else the hardware wizard appears.

If you're able to somehow distribute your hardware-wizard-blocking program to the users, why can't you just send them the drivers instead?