Update (23/09/2013):
As Samson has kindly pointed out in the comments, Microsoft has now released a patch for this issue. To download it and for further information, click here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959765
If you prefer not to use Microsoft's hotfix, please read the comments if you are still experiencing issues because a lot of people have posted helpful tips. Thanks everyone.
Greetings fellow Android users! I just got a Samsung Galaxy S2, and had some trouble tethering via USB using the "tetherxp.inf" file. I kept getting the error message: "Cannot install this hardware". So after a bit of poking around, on the Intarwebz, I devised a workaround, and for those of you experiencing the same problem, here's my solution:
1. Plug in your phone, enable USB tethering on your phone, and cancel any hardware wizards that pop up on your computer.
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2. On your computer, open up your device manager (Start->run->devmgmt.msc)
Find your phone in "Other devices", for me it was called "SAMSUNG_Android".
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| 3. Once you've found it, double click it and switch to the details tab. |
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4a. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4 (and possibly S5), please note what Urlaubär mentioned in the comments.
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| 4b. Now this is where some of you will get lost, you need to open up the tetherxp.inf file with your favorite code editor (Start->Run->Wordpad) will work, but Notepad will not. I'll use PSPad. And create a new line below "[AndroidDevices.NT.5.1]" containing your Device Instance Id. |
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| 5. Alrighty! Now you are ready to test your handiwork! Save the modified tetherxp.inf somewhere, I'm using "C:\temp\tetherxp.inf" as you can see in step 4, then switch to the "General" tab of the device properties, and click "Reinstall Driver...". Select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)", and click next. |
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| 6. Click "Search for the best driver in these locations.", and select the folder in which you saved your modified " "tetherxp.inf" file. |
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| 7. Now, if all goes smoothly, you should be greeted with this happy screen! You have successfully hacked the inf configuration to enable tethering in your device. You should see a new Local Area Network connection appear in your network connections, and it'll give you Internet access! That is, assuming your phone has Internet access. |
