Slow Docking? Check the Device Installation Settings.
Activity Based Working (ABW) or "Hotelling" has highlighted a Windows setting that delays the connection of USB devices while drivers are downloaded from the Microsoft Windows Update Server. Changing the Device Installation Settings will prevent this unnecessary delay each time you connect to a "new", or different docking station (or any other USB device with a new device ID) or connect a docking station to a PC's USB port not previously used with that device ID. Sometimes this can take a couple of minutes or more depending on the host PC performance.
Many believe that their Group Policy prevents driver download and installation, but often it only prevents driver installation and the delay while a docking station driver is downloaded can be excessive. Also the driver may not always download as this depends on whether the Microsoft Windows Update Server is busy, in which case the driver currently installed on the computer is applied. This makes the issue appear to be a random one. If the driver is successfully downloaded from the Microsoft Windows Update Server, then group policy will prevent user seeing/interacting with the license agreement and the completion of the download process will be stalled and the docking station will not activate. To often this will mean that the user will have to call an IT help desk to resolve.
To prevent the unnecessary delays while Windows searches for and downloads driver updates, go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Devices and Printers, right click on the device that represents the PC itself, and then left click on "Device installation Settings". Often the setting is selected as shown in the following figure which will create the issues mentioned depending on the Group Policy setting.
W10:
W7:
Below is the recommended setting. This can be set manually or through group policy.
For those of you using group policy deployments i.e. Microsoft SCCM, consider the following setting.
