I'm working on adding MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) support to a data acquisition device. I'm running into some difficulties, because Windows aggressively caches details about such devices - many of my changes have no visible effect, since Windows just uses its cached values rather than querying the device. The only way I can test these changes is to plug the device into another computer - but I've long since run out of other computers.
So, how can I get Windows to completely forget about a MTP device, and treat it as brand new? Uninstalling the device in Device Manager, then unplugging and plugging it back in, doesn't do the job. I'm developing on a Windows 7 machine, but would need to know the answer for other versions as well as I'll eventually need to test under all of them.
This is not an easy task, but it can be done. You will have to use combination of a tool, registry edit, etc. Before playing I highly recommend making a backup.
I would first start with a nifty tool USBDeview which you can use for gathering information. Find out your device and right click on the device and pick Open INF file. Where you will find all the needed information for device removal.
Next go to Advanced System Settings and open Device Manager. There select from menu View -> and check show hidden devices If you find your device as hidden you can try to uninstall it. This is probably the cache you were searching for.
For example, I found my two MTP devices in different places. One was directly at the Universal Serial Bus controllers section and second one was at Universal Serial Bus devices. So you can take your pick.
If you want to have an automatized way of hidden devices removal via script - you can run the following PS script (found at blog);(credits go to Alexander Boersc and trententtye) - Please read the examples section of the script to find examples:
.SYNOPSIS
Removes ghost devices from your system
.DESCRIPTION
This script will remove ghost devices from your system. These are devices that are present but have a "InstallState" as false. These devices are typically shown as 'faded'
in Device Manager, when you select "Show hidden and devices" from the view menu. This script has been tested on Windows 2008 R2 SP2 with PowerShell 3.0, 5.1 and Server 2012R2
with Powershell 4.0. There is no warranty with this script. Please use cautiously as removing devices is a destructive process without an undo.
.PARAMETER filterByFriendlyName
This parameter will exclude devices that match the partial name provided. This paramater needs to be specified in an array format for all the friendly names you want to be excluded from removal.
"Intel" will match "Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2680 0 @ 2.70GHz". "Loop" will match "Microsoft Loopback Adapter".
.PARAMETER filterByClass
This parameter will exclude devices that match the class name provided. This paramater needs to be specified in an array format for all the class names you want to be excluded from removal.
This is an exact string match so "Disk" will not match "DiskDrive".
.PARAMETER listDevicesOnly
listDevicesOnly will output a table of all devices found in this system.
.PARAMETER listGhostDevicesOnly
listGhostDevicesOnly will output a table of all 'ghost' devices found in this system.
.EXAMPLE
Lists all devices
. "removeGhosts.ps1" -listDevicesOnly
.EXAMPLE
Save the list of devices as an object
$Devices = . "removeGhosts.ps1" -listDevicesOnly
.EXAMPLE
Lists all 'ghost' devices
. "removeGhosts.ps1" -listGhostDevicesOnly
.EXAMPLE
Save the list of 'ghost' devices as an object
$ghostDevices = . "removeGhosts.ps1" -listGhostDevicesOnly
.EXAMPLE
Remove all ghost devices EXCEPT any devices that have "Intel" or "Citrix" in their friendly name
. "removeGhosts.ps1" -filterByFriendlyName @("Intel","Citrix")
.EXAMPLE
Remove all ghost devices EXCEPT any devices that are apart of the classes "LegacyDriver" or "Processor"
. "removeGhosts.ps1" -filterByClass @("LegacyDriver","Processor")
.EXAMPLE
Remove all ghost devices EXCEPT for devices with a friendly name of "Intel" or "Citrix" or with a class of "LegacyDriver" or "Processor"
. "removeGhosts.ps1" -filterByClass @("LegacyDriver","Processor") -filterByFriendlyName @("Intel","Citrix")
.NOTES
Permission level has not been tested. It is assumed you will need to have sufficient rights to uninstall devices from device manager for this script to run properly.
#>
Param(
[array]$FilterByClass,
[array]$FilterByFriendlyName,
[switch]$listDevicesOnly,
[switch]$listGhostDevicesOnly
)
#parameter futzing
$removeDevices = $true
if ($FilterByClass -ne $null) {
write-host "FilterByClass: $FilterByClass"
}
if ($FilterByFriendlyName -ne $null) {
write-host "FilterByFriendlyName: $FilterByFriendlyName"
}
if ($listDevicesOnly -eq $true) {
write-host "List devices without removal: $listDevicesOnly"
$removeDevices = $false
}
if ($listGhostDevicesOnly -eq $true) {
write-host "List ghost devices without removal: $listGhostDevicesOnly"
$removeDevices = $false
}
$setupapi = @"
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace Win32
{
public static class SetupApi
{
// 1st form using a ClassGUID only, with Enumerator = IntPtr.Zero
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern IntPtr SetupDiGetClassDevs(
ref Guid ClassGuid,
IntPtr Enumerator,
IntPtr hwndParent,
int Flags
);
// 2nd form uses an Enumerator only, with ClassGUID = IntPtr.Zero
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern IntPtr SetupDiGetClassDevs(
IntPtr ClassGuid,
string Enumerator,
IntPtr hwndParent,
int Flags
);
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool SetupDiEnumDeviceInfo(
IntPtr DeviceInfoSet,
uint MemberIndex,
ref SP_DEVINFO_DATA DeviceInfoData
);
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool SetupDiDestroyDeviceInfoList(
IntPtr DeviceInfoSet
);
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty(
IntPtr deviceInfoSet,
ref SP_DEVINFO_DATA deviceInfoData,
uint property,
out UInt32 propertyRegDataType,
byte[] propertyBuffer,
uint propertyBufferSize,
out UInt32 requiredSize
);
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool SetupDiGetDeviceInstanceId(
IntPtr DeviceInfoSet,
ref SP_DEVINFO_DATA DeviceInfoData,
StringBuilder DeviceInstanceId,
int DeviceInstanceIdSize,
out int RequiredSize
);
[DllImport("setupapi.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool SetupDiRemoveDevice(IntPtr DeviceInfoSet,ref SP_DEVINFO_DATA DeviceInfoData);
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct SP_DEVINFO_DATA
{
public uint cbSize;
public Guid classGuid;
public uint devInst;
public IntPtr reserved;
}
[Flags]
public enum DiGetClassFlags : uint
{
DIGCF_DEFAULT = 0x00000001, // only valid with DIGCF_DEVICEINTERFACE
DIGCF_PRESENT = 0x00000002,
DIGCF_ALLCLASSES = 0x00000004,
DIGCF_PROFILE = 0x00000008,
DIGCF_DEVICEINTERFACE = 0x00000010,
}
public enum SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum : uint
{
SPDRP_DEVICEDESC = 0x00000000, // DeviceDesc (R/W)
SPDRP_HARDWAREID = 0x00000001, // HardwareID (R/W)
SPDRP_COMPATIBLEIDS = 0x00000002, // CompatibleIDs (R/W)
SPDRP_UNUSED0 = 0x00000003, // unused
SPDRP_SERVICE = 0x00000004, // Service (R/W)
SPDRP_UNUSED1 = 0x00000005, // unused
SPDRP_UNUSED2 = 0x00000006, // unused
SPDRP_CLASS = 0x00000007, // Class (R--tied to ClassGUID)
SPDRP_CLASSGUID = 0x00000008, // ClassGUID (R/W)
SPDRP_DRIVER = 0x00000009, // Driver (R/W)
SPDRP_CONFIGFLAGS = 0x0000000A, // ConfigFlags (R/W)
SPDRP_MFG = 0x0000000B, // Mfg (R/W)
SPDRP_FRIENDLYNAME = 0x0000000C, // FriendlyName (R/W)
SPDRP_LOCATION_INFORMATION = 0x0000000D, // LocationInformation (R/W)
SPDRP_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_OBJECT_NAME = 0x0000000E, // PhysicalDeviceObjectName (R)
SPDRP_CAPABILITIES = 0x0000000F, // Capabilities (R)
SPDRP_UI_NUMBER = 0x00000010, // UiNumber (R)
SPDRP_UPPERFILTERS = 0x00000011, // UpperFilters (R/W)
SPDRP_LOWERFILTERS = 0x00000012, // LowerFilters (R/W)
SPDRP_BUSTYPEGUID = 0x00000013, // BusTypeGUID (R)
SPDRP_LEGACYBUSTYPE = 0x00000014, // LegacyBusType (R)
SPDRP_BUSNUMBER = 0x00000015, // BusNumber (R)
SPDRP_ENUMERATOR_NAME = 0x00000016, // Enumerator Name (R)
SPDRP_SECURITY = 0x00000017, // Security (R/W, binary form)
SPDRP_SECURITY_SDS = 0x00000018, // Security (W, SDS form)
SPDRP_DEVTYPE = 0x00000019, // Device Type (R/W)
SPDRP_EXCLUSIVE = 0x0000001A, // Device is exclusive-access (R/W)
SPDRP_CHARACTERISTICS = 0x0000001B, // Device Characteristics (R/W)
SPDRP_ADDRESS = 0x0000001C, // Device Address (R)
SPDRP_UI_NUMBER_DESC_FORMAT = 0X0000001D, // UiNumberDescFormat (R/W)
SPDRP_DEVICE_POWER_DATA = 0x0000001E, // Device Power Data (R)
SPDRP_REMOVAL_POLICY = 0x0000001F, // Removal Policy (R)
SPDRP_REMOVAL_POLICY_HW_DEFAULT = 0x00000020, // Hardware Removal Policy (R)
SPDRP_REMOVAL_POLICY_OVERRIDE = 0x00000021, // Removal Policy Override (RW)
SPDRP_INSTALL_STATE = 0x00000022, // Device Install State (R)
SPDRP_LOCATION_PATHS = 0x00000023, // Device Location Paths (R)
SPDRP_BASE_CONTAINERID = 0x00000024 // Base ContainerID (R)
}
}
"@
Add-Type -TypeDefinition $setupapi
#Array for all removed devices report
$removeArray = @()
#Array for all devices report
$array = @()
$setupClass = [Guid]::Empty
#Get all devices
$devs = [Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetClassDevs([ref]$setupClass, [IntPtr]::Zero, [IntPtr]::Zero, [Win32.DiGetClassFlags]::DIGCF_ALLCLASSES)
#Initialise Struct to hold device info Data
$devInfo = new-object Win32.SP_DEVINFO_DATA
$devInfo.cbSize = [System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SizeOf($devInfo)
#Device Counter
$devCount = 0
#Enumerate Devices
while([Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiEnumDeviceInfo($devs, $devCount, [ref]$devInfo)){
#Will contain an enum depending on the type of the registry Property, not used but required for call
$propType = 0
#Buffer is initially null and buffer size 0 so that we can get the required Buffer size first
[byte[]]$propBuffer = $null
$propBufferSize = 0
#Get Buffer size
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo, [Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_FRIENDLYNAME, [ref]$propType, $propBuffer, 0, [ref]$propBufferSize) | Out-null
#Initialize Buffer with right size
[byte[]]$propBuffer = New-Object byte[] $propBufferSize
#Get HardwareID
$propTypeHWID = 0
[byte[]]$propBufferHWID = $null
$propBufferSizeHWID = 0
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo, [Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_HARDWAREID, [ref]$propTypeHWID, $propBufferHWID, 0, [ref]$propBufferSizeHWID) | Out-null
[byte[]]$propBufferHWID = New-Object byte[] $propBufferSizeHWID
#Get DeviceDesc (this name will be used if no friendly name is found)
$propTypeDD = 0
[byte[]]$propBufferDD = $null
$propBufferSizeDD = 0
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo, [Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_DEVICEDESC, [ref]$propTypeDD, $propBufferDD, 0, [ref]$propBufferSizeDD) | Out-null
[byte[]]$propBufferDD = New-Object byte[] $propBufferSizeDD
#Get Install State
$propTypeIS = 0
[byte[]]$propBufferIS = $null
$propBufferSizeIS = 0
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo, [Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_INSTALL_STATE, [ref]$propTypeIS, $propBufferIS, 0, [ref]$propBufferSizeIS) | Out-null
[byte[]]$propBufferIS = New-Object byte[] $propBufferSizeIS
#Get Class
$propTypeCLSS = 0
[byte[]]$propBufferCLSS = $null
$propBufferSizeCLSS = 0
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo, [Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_CLASS, [ref]$propTypeCLSS, $propBufferCLSS, 0, [ref]$propBufferSizeCLSS) | Out-null
[byte[]]$propBufferCLSS = New-Object byte[] $propBufferSizeCLSS
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo,[Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_CLASS, [ref]$propTypeCLSS, $propBufferCLSS, $propBufferSizeCLSS, [ref]$propBufferSizeCLSS) | out-null
$Class = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString($propBufferCLSS)
#Read FriendlyName property into Buffer
if(![Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo,[Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_FRIENDLYNAME, [ref]$propType, $propBuffer, $propBufferSize, [ref]$propBufferSize)){
[Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo,[Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_DEVICEDESC, [ref]$propTypeDD, $propBufferDD, $propBufferSizeDD, [ref]$propBufferSizeDD) | out-null
$FriendlyName = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString($propBufferDD)
#The friendly Name ends with a weird character
if ($FriendlyName.Length -ge 1) {
$FriendlyName = $FriendlyName.Substring(0,$FriendlyName.Length-1)
}
} else {
#Get Unicode String from Buffer
$FriendlyName = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString($propBuffer)
#The friendly Name ends with a weird character
if ($FriendlyName.Length -ge 1) {
$FriendlyName = $FriendlyName.Substring(0,$FriendlyName.Length-1)
}
}
#InstallState returns true or false as an output, not text
$InstallState = [Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo,[Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_INSTALL_STATE, [ref]$propTypeIS, $propBufferIS, $propBufferSizeIS, [ref]$propBufferSizeIS)
# Read HWID property into Buffer
if(![Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryProperty($devs, [ref]$devInfo,[Win32.SetupDiGetDeviceRegistryPropertyEnum]::SPDRP_HARDWAREID, [ref]$propTypeHWID, $propBufferHWID, $propBufferSizeHWID, [ref]$propBufferSizeHWID)){
#Ignore if Error
$HWID = ""
} else {
#Get Unicode String from Buffer
$HWID = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString($propBufferHWID)
#trim out excess names and take first object
$HWID = $HWID.split([char]0x0000)[0].ToUpper()
}
#all detected devices list
$obj = New-Object System.Object
$obj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name FriendlyName -value $FriendlyName
$obj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name HWID -value $HWID
$obj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name InstallState -value $InstallState
$obj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name Class -value $Class
if ($array.count -le 0) {
#for some reason the script will blow by the first few entries without displaying the output
#this brief pause seems to let the objects get created/displayed so that they are in order.
sleep 1
}
$array += @($obj)
<#
We need to execute the filtering at this point because we are in the current device context
where we can execute an action (eg, removal).
InstallState : False == ghosted device
#>
$matchFilter = $false
if ($removeDevices -eq $true) {
#we want to remove devices so lets check the filters...
if ($FilterByClass -ne $null) {
foreach ($ClassFilter in $FilterByClass) {
if ($ClassFilter -eq $Class) {
Write-verbose "Class filter match $ClassFilter, skipping"
$matchFilter = $true
}
}
}
if ($FilterByFriendlyName -ne $null) {
foreach ($FriendlyNameFilter in $FilterByFriendlyName) {
if ($FriendlyName -like '*'+$FriendlyNameFilter+'*') {
Write-verbose "FriendlyName filter match $FriendlyName, skipping"
$matchFilter = $true
}
}
}
if ($InstallState -eq $False) {
if ($matchFilter -eq $false) {
Write-Host "Attempting to removing device $FriendlyName" -ForegroundColor Yellow
$removeObj = New-Object System.Object
$removeObj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name FriendlyName -value $FriendlyName
$removeObj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name HWID -value $HWID
$removeObj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name InstallState -value $InstallState
$removeObj | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name Class -value $Class
$removeArray += @($removeObj)
if([Win32.SetupApi]::SetupDiRemoveDevice($devs, [ref]$devInfo)){
Write-Host "Removed device $FriendlyName" -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
Write-Host "Failed to remove device $FriendlyName" -ForegroundColor Red
}
} else {
write-host "Filter matched. Skipping $FriendlyName" -ForegroundColor Yellow
}
}
}
$devcount++
}
#output objects so you can take the output from the script
if ($listDevicesOnly) {
$allDevices = $array | sort -Property FriendlyName | ft
$allDevices
write-host "Total devices found : $($array.count)"
$ghostDevices = ($array | where {$_.InstallState -eq $false} | sort -Property FriendlyName)
write-host "Total ghost devices found : $($ghostDevices.count)"
return $allDevices | out-null
}
if ($listGhostDevicesOnly) {
$ghostDevices = ($array | where {$_.InstallState -eq $false} | sort -Property FriendlyName)
$ghostDevices | ft
write-host "Total ghost devices found : $($ghostDevices.count)"
return $ghostDevices | out-null
}
if ($removeDevices -eq $true) {
write-host "Removed devices:"
$removeArray | sort -Property FriendlyName | ft
write-host "Total removed devices : $($removeArray.count)"
return $removeArray | out-null
}
After removing all hidden devices. You can now search through the registry for a string presented by ClassGUID= (without the curly brackets) and delete all the strings in the registry and follow the rest of the information at the inf file for any leftovers.
Edit - fixed device manager + added details about the Device Manager
(Win10)
What I meant by "uninstalling it" above, is to uninstall it when in hidden state (I'm not sure that we understood each other properly -> so I'm adding information):
This is how it looks like when normally connected:
Disconnected from windows (but still connected via USB cable):
Disconnected from USB port (notice the gray icons) - this is the time when I thought it would be good to try to uninstall it:
How to view the hidden items: