Fastboot drivers not working - what to do?

[Dryvlyne]

I recently sold my HTC One M7 and I'm trying to take it back to stock. I followed the instructions on HERE to go back to stock and got to the point of flashing the appropriate RUU.zip, but during the flashing process the phone lost USB connectivity to my Windows 10 (tried 7 as well) PC and failed. I can see that it at least reverted the HBOOT from 1.54 to 1.44. I can still boot the phone all the way up into ARHD 93.0, it's still showing it has the latest firmware installed (7.19.401.51) and latest TWRP recovery (2.8.7.0), but if it keeps disconnecting from USB when I go into Fastboot how am I supposed to do anything?? I mean, I can't even flash back to a newer HBOOT without Fastboot working.... right?

/EDIT
Well, it's some kind of Windows driver issue, but hell if I can fix it. Under Device Manager on my Windows PC it says Android USB Devices > My HTC but it has a YELLOW triangle on it indicating it's not recognized. I've tried uninstalling the driver and doing some other things but I cannot for the life of me get it to recognize it properly on either Windows 10 or 7. Please help! I seriously don't understand why this is all of the sudden messed up.

 

[firejuggler86]

Maybe not the simplest solution, but it is A solution if drivers are truly the problem-- use Linux-- no need for drivers. You can run it within Windows using Virtual Box (or install it on your hard drive alongside windows on a separate partition, but that might be a bit drastic just to use fastboot). The ISO files are available to download for free-- most recommend Ubuntu, I like Linux Mint, personally.. once you have the OS installed (whether it's in Virtual Box or your hard drive), all you have to do to install ADB and Fastboot is open a terminal window and type:

$ sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb (for adb; use android-tools-fastboot to install fastboot)

OR

$ su
# apt-get install android-tools-fastboot (or adb)

Then they are installed and ready to be used.. no drivers needed, no need to be in the directory containing the files-- just plug in your device and open a terminal window and you're good to go. Occasionally you will need to kill the server to get adb to recognise your device. Fastboot should always work. If fastboot returns with "no permissions," try running as root (or using "sudo fastboot).

 

[Dryvlyne]

Thanks, I forgot to post back here yesterday but that's effectively what I did except I used a Mac and everything went smoothly... stupid Windows