Q: I upgraded to windows 10 from 7. My computer doesn’t recognize d drive or e drive. I insert disk, nothing happens.  Virtual disk manager cannot find file. Device SCSI\Disk&Ven_&Prod_\4&14b0e2e7&0&010000 was configured.

– Denise T.
Mossy Head, Florida

A:  This looks to me like an installation that either locked up, or was otherwise interrupted right in the middle of doing its thing, Denise.  Despite that it says that something “was configured,” the information after “Device SCSI” is pretty much nonsense.  You have gibberish where there should be identifiers for the vendor, device, and version that Windows can use to identify the necessary driver.  Also, the driver information that you provided along with your question makes it obvious that no driver was actually installed.  I couldn’t include that information here, but for anyone interested in seeing it, I will post it on my website along with this week’s issue at ItsGeekToMe.co/columns/issue-480 right where you’re looking. This information says that the loaded driver’s name is “null” and the associated GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) is all zeroes.  Naturally, neither of those are valid values.  Whatever that is that your system loaded, it is either unreadably corrupt, or wholly incompatible with Windows 10. 

This problem can very likely heal itself with a little assistance from you.  I suggest you go into the Windows Device Manager and find this device in the list.  It should be flagged with an indicator that it is not working properly.  Remove the device from the device list, then tell Device Manager to scan for hardware changes.  It will detect the device and attempt to load a compatible driver.  Such a driver may or may not be available on your system (I’m thinking not).  If it asks whether it can look on the Internet, by all means, allow it to do so, and properly complete installation of the driver.

• • •

 Q: In a previous column (I.G.T.M. #454, April 3-9 2016) you addressed PUPs. My Malwarebytes Premium reports numerous PUPs after a scan, but I don’t know whether it is advisable to let Malwarebytes remove them because I don’t know what they are (some might be a legitimate program I use occasionally, but they aren’t identified other than by gibberish) and some are involved in the registry (which I definitely don’t want to unnecessarily disturb). How can I determine what they are and whether I should delete them?

– Doug B.
Niceville, Florida

A:  I guess the key is in remembering just exactly what PUPs actually are, Doug.  For anyone who may have missed the aforementioned issue, PUPs is an acronym for Potentially Unwanted Programs, and they are software that you might not want, even though you probably gave permission for it to be downloaded and installed when you were installing something else that you did want.  PUPs can include anything, but are usually questionable software like Spyware, Adware, Botnet clients, and so on.  Having said that, one “legitimate” piece of software that I have often seen travel this way is Google Chrome.  Many Java update installers also contain an option to install Chrome, and if you simply click through the install dialogs without reading them, you’ll wind up with Chrome accidentally installed on your system whether you want it or not.  In my opinion, that puts it in the category of a PUP, even though it is not malware.

I doubt that anything that Malwarebytes flags would be a legitimate program that you use occasionally.  Malwarebytes identifies a piece of software as a PUPs not because of the method by which it was installed, but rather because it has a digital signature that matches the signature of software with a potentially bad reputation, and for which few people have a legitimate use.  Now, it’s possible for certain toolbars or Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) to have a bad reputation, and still be desirable for some users.  When trying to decide what to delete, there are two nuggets of wisdom I can offer you.  First, if in doubt, Google it, and read what other people have to say.  You may even find it discussed on the Malwarebytes message boards, since the odds that you are the first-ever person to have a question about it are almost zero.  Second, if you do accidentally delete something you want, feel free to download and re-install it.  No harm, no foul.

Bonus Web-only Content:

Here is the additional content that reader Denise T. sent me:

Driver Name: null
Class Guid: {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
Driver Date: 
Driver Version: 
Driver Provider: 
Driver Section: 
Driver Rank: 0x0
Matching Device Id: 
Outranked Drivers: 
Device Updated: false
Parent Device: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4391&SUBSYS_03881025&REV_00\3&2411e6fe&1&88i

You can see here what I was talking about in the column – the driver name and the GUID are obviously having some issues, and most of the other data is simply missing.  If you are feeling really geeky, perform a Google search on the text shown for the “Parent Device” — specifically, “PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4391”.  These are the VENDOR and DEVICE IDs of the “parent” device (the device that the device in question is connected to).  Denise’s device data should have been in a similar format, but instead has, as I said in the column, a string of gibberish, which is probably a corrupted version of what’s supposed to be there.

Until next week – good luck and happy computing!

– Geek