Dell Inspiron 518

[Jessica]

Hello,

I have installed Windows XP over vista and now I can't seem to get the
drivers for my computer. The system is Dell Inspiron 518 how would I go about
getting the drivers , chipset, ethernet, video card, sound card etc. Please
advise

Thanks in advance

 

[Brian A.]

Since it appears Dell doesn't provide XP drivers for your PC, unless
others can provide a way to aquire XP drivers you may need to check Dell's
support forums or contact Dell support via one of their provided ways:
http://support.dell.com/support/top..._technical_support?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~ck=anavml

--

Brian A. Sesko
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Paul]

Hello,

I have installed Windows XP over vista and now I can't seem to get the
drivers for my computer. The system is Dell Inspiron 518 how would I go about
getting the drivers , chipset, ethernet, video card, sound card etc. Please
advise

Thanks in advance

You should get some details about the computer, to solve the driver
problem.

Fortunately, this is a desktop system and not a laptop, so there
isn't an issue with custom graphics drivers to support a built-in
LCD panel.

In terms of utilities that can report hardware, there is
Belarc Advisot, Everest (Free Edition), CPUZ, and Sisoftware Sandra.

*******

(this will tell you the chipset)
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

(this one is not up to date, but is free. It lists VEN/DEV numbers,
which can be looked up. VEN/DEV can also be found in Device Manager.
You can buy an up-to-date copy of Everest from Lavalys.com .)

http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Sisoftware Sandra Lite (free)

http://majorgeeks.com/SiSoftware_Sandra_Lite_d4664.html

Belarc Advisor

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

*******

You may have an Intel G33 chipset. Hard to tell from the Dell download page.
If it was a G33, you'd start here and get a chipset driver first. G31, G33
would be "3 series", while P45 would be part of "4 series". So they tried
to make it as difficult as possible.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/

Chipsetsesktop Chipsets:Intel 3 Series chipsets <--- G31,G33,Q31...

Next issue, is what video are you using ? If there is a video connector
in the "I/O area" of the computer (motherboard connectors), then we'd
be looking for an Intel graphics driver.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/

Graphicsesktop Graphics:Intel G33 Express

If there is a separate ATI HD 3450 video card in a
PCI Express slot, with the video connector sticking out
of the "slot area" of the computer case, you'd look here
for a graphics driver.

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

WinXP Professional/Home:Radeon:HD 3400 series

File size 37.6MB Version 9.7 (year/month) Date issued: 7/23/2009

The component parts of an ATI video card install are

1) Chipset driver already installed.
2) DirectX9c installed (comes with SP3 or download from Microsoft)
The ATI installer may mention this in passing.
3) .NET framework 2.0 (used by Catalyst Control Center)
Installer may have its own. The installer may identify what to download,
if they no longer provide this.
4) ATI driver level stuff (video card interface)
Catalyst Control Center (part of Display control panel advanced features)

Item (4) is that 37.6MB download.

That should give you a fully working video of some sort. The installer should
help you resolve all the dependencies. If there is trouble, post back.

*******

Ethernet - the Dell download page says Realtek RTL81XX. This might work.
I like to positively identify the hardware, before I download stuff.
One of the identification utilities, may state what this is.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads...d=5&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

*******

Sound - well this part sucks. I'm not convinced I can solve this
in every case. Some motherboard sound chip companies seem to
feel it is fun to throw roadblocks in the way. So not every
brand makes this easy. What I mean by this, is some offer a
custom Vista driver for a certain sound chip, and then offer no
WinXP equivalent. The cheesy companies have no direct download
link. Sometimes, it is easier to punt, and just buy a Soundblaster
and get it over with.

OK, you're in luck on this one. Dell has a Vista/WinXP driver for sound.
Fingers crossed. The component parts should be Microsoft UAA driver
(may be in a MSHDQFE hotfix folder), and the Realtek driver. When finished,
you may see some evidence of UAA in Device Manager (I don't know, because
I turned mine off and used a sound card instead).

http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R180772&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=246494

http://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R180772.exe <---- your download

Install that, and that should enable sound on your ALC888 HD Audio.

Sometimes, the install fails, due to issues with UAA. There is a
sequence to cause UAA to be uninstalled, so that the copy in the
RealTek installer can be used instead. But it isn't time to
worry about that yet.

If there is still anything outstanding, post back.

HTH,
Paul

 

[DL]

I have to wonder why you are wanting to do this

 

[SC Tom]

I have to wonder why you are wanting to do this

Probably because Vista sucks. If XP drivers were readily available for my
Gateway laptop, I would have upgraded from Vista to XP a long time ago. As
it is, I've pre-ordered Windows 7 in the hopes that it'll be better than
Vista.

SC Tom

 

[DL]

I have a Dell somewhat low end, Vista Business PC, that, in the last
18mnths, has worked flawlessly 24/7