This problem involves windows 7 and a Dell Inspiron - all existing drivers and devices work fine however if I try and add any other devices whether PCI or via USB ports I get an error 31 (cannot load drivers) have downloaded latest drivers and have added them via the DVD/CD drive hoever even when the machine can see the drivers it declines to use them. have tried going back to a previous restore point to no avail. Cannot even add an external hard disk to do a backup first. Any thoughts or help would be much appreciated - Coilin 53

Hi, Device managed error 31, you can refer this article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123 This should also apply for win 7. Please delete all hidden devices, you can find it on Device Manager---View---Show hidden devices, then update the driver to see if the same issue occurs. Hope that helps. Regards, Leo Huang Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Many thanks for your reply, have already tried much of what you have suggested but will give it another try. Again many thanks Regards Colin