1420 With Windows XP (that is, I nerfed Vista)

What an interesting 48 hours its been. I think I slept for some of them. But in the end, I have my 1420 working with XP Professional. (99.9% working, read on).

The first joy was trying to get XP installed, period. I didn't want to dual boot with Vista. I wanted Vista gone, gone, gone. But the problem is that the XP install CD doesn't have the needed SATA drivers. In other words, XP install starts, and BLUE SCREENS FIFTEEN SECONDS IN. Yes, I believe that is the quickest I've ever BSOD: 1 hour BEFORE boot up. Hee hee.

XP can, of course, load external drivers off of a floppy drive by using the "F6" method. And I actually have a USB floppy drive from my nearly-departed 600m. So I put all the SATA drivers on the floppy. And Windows loaded them-- and the instantly "deloaded" the USB drivers. So it couldn't see the floppy drivers anymore. wtf? Back to the drawing board.

After some chocolate and research, I came across nLite, which allowed me to "insert" the drivers into the XP CD. And then burn the XP CD-- in a non-bootable form. Maybe burning it with Nero's boot image would work-- nope. Windows XP "startup" disks? Sure, it'd work, if the 6th disk would stop corrupting itself. wtf again!

After some more research (and, yes, chocolate), I came across ISO Buster and Slipstream, which allowed me to take my SATA'd XP CD, and burn it back down to a proper bootable format.

So, several hours and a proportional amount of chocolate later, I finally have a install CD that works. Install, install, install DONE! Yay.

Oh, wait. Drivers. Right. Crap.

Dell's 1420 XP driver site is about as complete as someone's Pokemon collection who only owns ONE of the Gameboy games. That means a driver-hunting I must go.

Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS What Windows neglects to mention is that this is actually the Nvidia GeForce GO 8400m gs. Yes, the GO makes a difference, as I can attest to after failing to install SEVERAL non-GO. I ended up finding drivers that worked from here:
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/NVIDIA/NVIDIA-ForceWare-GeFirce-Go-10134-WHQL.shtml"]http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/NVIDIA/NVIDIA-ForceWare-GeFirce-Go-10134-WHQL.shtml

Chipset Drivers: I installed the Intel drivers, and ended up with a whole bunch of unknown PCI devices or something. So, on a lark, I downloaded and installed the Ricoh (version A00) chipset drivers, which seem to control the SD card reader (even though the SD card reader was working). Suddenly, my chipset was working. Everything, that is, except for one unknown "PCI Device" listed under the System Devices. What could it be? Could it possibly be...

Conexant Modem: From the 1420 XP Driver section

Touchpad: Same

Webcam drivers and manager: Again, from the site.

Wired network card: You guessed it, from the website.

Wireless network card: If you have the Dell Wireless card, you can get the drivers from the website. However, if you're one of the cool people, then you upgraded to the Intel 3945ABG wireless card, then you can find the drivers directly from the Intel website: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2259 (Chose your own flavor of XP)

Sigmatel STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio Driver? YES IT IS! That's right, I have an XP 1420 that HAS REAL LIFE WORKING SOUND! I went through the Control Panel, and deleted that one weird PCI Device. I told Device Manager to refresh-- and voila! It worked.
Well, sorta. Because I did several things at once, so it might be a combination of things. But here's what I did:
1) Downloaded the drivers from Dell http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R153908&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=205136
2) Rebooted, because it wanted to
3) Got an error message after reboot
4) Swore
5) Delete the drivers as described above
6) Refreshed the drivers, as described above
7) As Windows found each new devices, I let it "Search online" for updated drivers
8) Watched with glee as Windows proceeded to find the drivers
9) Repeat steps 7 and 8 as needed

MediaDirect: Ah, the coveted puppy. I really wanted this to work. I mean, it still works from the computer-off state. But that's because I didn't nut-kick the MediaDirect partition when I installed Windows (and you didn't either. Did you???). But if I want to load anything INTO MediaDirect, I need the MediaDirect software running. If only I had the software on hand to reinstall it. Oh wait, that's right! WE ALL DO. Go ahead and grab you "Application: For Reinstalling MediaDirect 3.3". Throw it in your drive. Cancel the autoload. The go My Computer. Right-click on your DVD drive, and chose EXPLORE (NOT OPEN!). Go to WindowsMD3. Double click on Setup. There you go, MediaDirect. Not the partition re-creator or anything-- but the real, honest-to-Gabe software.

Oh yeah, and my Canada Only IR Remote works beautifully with MediaDirect. :laugh:

This leaves me 99.9% done. I have a few things left to do, which I'll share as I learn:

1) Figure out how to get the MediaDirect button to launch the MediaDirect software while in Windows
2) Get the Wi-Fi Catcher working.
3) Get Dell QuickSet working (which may solve #2)

I still have one unknown driver, the audio drivers for the modem. But since I'll never use the computer as a dial-up speakerphone, I don't care.

In the meantime: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

the wi-fi catcher doesn't work??? i though you didn't have to turn on the computer to use it?

 

It's more that I haven't found a version of quickset that works with XP and the 1420.

 

Concerning the SATA issue, it should be possible to go into the BIOS, change some setting from "AHCI" to "ATA" and load XP normally. Then, AFTER the installation you can install the appropriate SATA driver and subsequently change the setting back. That's what I did to get XP on my D830.

 

wow, i was planning to install XP on mine, but i didn't think it would be this complicated.

i should be getting it within 15 hours! whoooooo.

 

yeah, it took a little time. But mostly because every time we encountered a problem there weren't really any posts yet about installing xp on the 1420, so it was constant problem solving and trying to rework things.

The other problem we're working on is getting the s-video to work with the tv. It's possible I need a different video driver, I don't know. More research needed I guess.

 

I followed roughly the same process about a week ago and am now at the same point you are in regards to the little modem audio driver missing and wanting the dell quick set software for xp. My wifi is working fine though in XP.
Another tip from johoe77 to bypass the bug where closing the lid causes the screen to go black forever, is to set your "close lid" action in the power settings to "do nothing" and then just manually put the laptop into standby via Fn+esc and then close the lid. When opening the lid just press the power button to bring it back out of standby.

I've posted at the dell forums for a ETA on the XP drivers, but apart from one guy telling me to get the Vostro 1500 drivers instead (duh, its missing the exact same XP drivers that the 1520 and 1420 are) my question has been largely ignored. *sigh*

 

oh, the wifi works fine, just nothing happens when I press the wifi catcher thingie.

I don't really see any use for the modem audio driver, but I would like quickset so I can have my power settings and have the wifi catcher utility working.

 

if i chose the default dell 1390 wlan card, which driver do i use? i don't see an XP driver for that on the dell site.

 

I'd say to try this one:

http://www.yournewdriver.com/Dell_TrueMobile_WLAN_Card_1278.htm

Let me know if it works.

 

I had a simiilar experience getting my new 1420 de-Vista'ed.

needed to slipstream SATA drivers into my XP CD and hunt down the right versions of drivers - particularly the SigmaTel HD audio.

Unfortunately, I've had to leave my 1420 running on ATA mode for the SATA. I have tried numerous posted methods for moving to AHCI, but none have worked. Most blue screen as the XP startup animation becomes animated. One method allowed the animation to begin for a second or so before it BSOD'd.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to enable AHCI with XP on the 1420?
Much thanks!

 

I guess I'm kinda lucky that I don't like to install extra "crap" like touchpad software, dell media software, quickset, and webcam.... I only install the most basic drivers, audio,video,network.

Like Commander said, switch to ATA, install XP, install these drivers...

http://support.euro.dell.com/suppor...1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=41&fileid=205611

Switch back to ACHI.

 

I have a XP cd thats very recent, from just few months ago. Shouldn't it come with SATA drivers? Is it suppose to be that hard to install XP on 1420?

 

Had the same idea,

I hope I'm wrong but, I think it won't be compatible, that XP is probably preloaded with the SATA drivers for that particular chipset , I don't think it'll support the new one.

 

Oh boy, you're scaring me. My 1420 is coming but I don't think all my apps will work on Vista. Is your XP fully functional and stable now except some of the hardware features being disabled?

 

wtf? I was gonna install XP too, but there's noway in hell I'm gonna go through all that.

 

Hello everyone. I recently got my inspiron 1420 and i also downgraded to windows xp. I got most of my drivers working. The one important one that im stuck on is my bluetooth. I can't find anything online and i don't see other people that posted this problem. If anyone could help me i would greatly appreciate it.

 

got my audio working! Just had to uninstall, reinstall boot rinse, repeat and it worked. Thanks!

 

Everything's stable now. I'm running everything fine on it. Even the audio drivers work.

 

And to think Dell said they'd be offering all their PCs with a choice of Vista or XP.

 

Shouldn't Dell offer downloads of all the drivers for XP too? For all their systems? Man, this notebook world works very differently than desktop. It seems like a fight against the "machine" kind of thing. They want to control what OS we can install?

 

I was thinking about updating my Vista Premium to a Vista pro editing (I bought a key last month) But if it is this complicated .. maybe .. i'm discouraged..

 

Maybe i can upgrade ?

 

I am most of the way through my wipe of Vista/ installation of XP Pro. I have a few unresolved issues remaining in my device manager, and would appreciate any assistance in getting those cleared up.

The following items are listed with errors:

OTHER DEVICES
Modem Device on High Definition Audio Bus
Video Controller
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

I have tried two or three different sound-related drivers, but none of them would fix the "modem device" issue.

When I run the NVIDIA driver specified in the first post, I receive the error "The NVIDIA Setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit." It does this every time I try, even after a fresh boot.

Does anyone have any feedback on why I would be getting these errors, and how I can fix them? Direct links to the proper drivers to use would be greatly appreciated. The video card issue is the biggest issue to me, as I followed the intructions in the first post of the thread to a "T".

Please, help a laptop newbie! Thanks!

 

Two quick notes:

1) I'm not 100% sure if the link I have in the above post is to the correct drivers. So I've zipped up the drivers I have, and have uploaded them:

http://w13.easy-share.com/2456181.html

Forgive the ad-riddled page, but it's the only way I can share a 50MB file. I suggest Adblock and Noscript for your Firefox installation.

2) Make sure you've installed the Intel AND the Ricoh chipset drivers.

3) If you have problems installing the video drivers, make sure that you've UNINSTALLED the unknown video devices BEFORE running the Setup program:

Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel
Double click System
Click Device Manager
Right click on the unknown video device, and click Uninstall. (Do the same thing for all the unknown video devices)

THEN install the video drivers.

4) To make sure you have all the right motherboard drivers installed, make sure you have 6 devices listed under IDE ATA (in device manager), and make sure that you have all these devices installed under System Devices:



Still no luck yet with the Quickset drivers. I've found Quickset A45, but it isn't "made for" Inspiron 1420. I'm still looking to see if there's a way of "fooling" the setup into thinking it's installing on a supported system.

 

Does any people can install the bluetooth in WindowXP , I only got a Bluetooth Driver can not install , When i installed the WindowXP , The Window seem can not search the bluetooth device , it is need to install some driver first . then the window can serach the bluetooth device ?

Thank YOU

 

I uninstalled the two video devices, yet the NVIDIA drivers give me the same error as before (both the set that you just uploaded for me, and the set I already had. I even tried rebooting and then installing the drivers, but it still tells me "The NVIDIA Setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit."

Is it possible that my 1420 has a different video card? I can't think of anything else to try, short of (GULP) reinstalling XP again...

I did install the RICOH and the Intel chipsets, but I am missing one thing from your list: "Mobile Intel(R) PM965/GM965/GL960 Express PCI Express Root Port - 2A01". Could this have anything to do with my troubles?

Also, I have 7 (not 6) devices installed under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers:
- Intel(R) ICH8M 3 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 2828
- Intel(R) ICH8M Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2850
- Primary IDE Channel
- Primary IDE Channel
- Rocoh Memory Stick Controller
- Rocoh MMC Host Controller
- Rocoh xD-Picture Card Controller

Again, would that cause any issues? Which one do I have that you do not have?

Thanks again for your help!

 

I have only one primary IDE channel. I also have Intel(R)82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI controller instead of the first one you have listed.

What are the specs for your computer? The second primary IDE could be an option you got that I did not (bluray or bluetooth are examples).

Also did you create a new windows SATA CD or did you change your drive mode as suggested in someone else's post?

 

Here are my specs:

223-0963 Inspiron 1420, Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, 1.5GHz, 667Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
466-8371 2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
320-5497 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD for Inspiron 1420
320-5495 Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 Inspiron 1420
466-8376 160G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
420-6556 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
420-7076 Media Direct 3.3, Insp 1420
430-0493 Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron
313-5277 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive for Inspiron
313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
430-2337 Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
320-5522 Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam
312-0540 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1420
310-9348 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

I didn't make any upgrades to the package or anything like that.

I did not create a Windows SATA disc; I changed the drive mode.

 

I just ordered a vostro 1400, and will try this right when i get it.

If all fails and I cannot get drivers, and the BSOD comes up, I can always pop in my Dell Vista recovery disc and start all over again correct?

You guys said you could use system restore to revive your system, but how can you do this without even being able to boot into windows?

 

I just went ahead and wiped/loaded the laptop again, loading a fresh new copy of XP. The first driver I tried to load was the video driver... and it still gave me the same error ("The NVIDIA Setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit."). This stinks. I suppose I will call Dell tomorrow to confirm the model of video card I have in my particular 1420.

As always, any ideas and suggestions are more than welcome. Short of actually cracking open the laptop's case, is there any other way that I can find the make and model of my video card through windows?

 

the drivers you are downloading from the nvidia page are exclusively for desktops. you need to go to laptopvideo2go.com, download the driver, extract it into a folder, then download the modded .inf file, replace the original one in the folder with that, and install the driver manually from device manager. it's all on the site.

 

Assuming that the SATA drivers for the 1420 are similar or the same as the 1520... can anyone help me find them as I really wanna toast Vista.

 

Thanks for the input. I dopwnloaded and modified this driver: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14217 . However, I receive the same error when using its setup.exe file, and clicking "Have Disk" tells me that it does not contain any info on my hardware. Can you please link me directly to the driver on that site that will work with my 1420's card, which apparently is the Nvidia GeForce GO 8400m gs?

Thanks

 

The following driver seemed to work for the bluetooth. Please try it and let me know if it works for you:
http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R127314&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=169465

As for the Unknow vga you probly got the nvidia 8400m gs upgrade. The driver for that is:
http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R158222&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=211242

I have that one unknow hd modem thing but as others have said I am happy with what I have so far. It seems crappy that the drivers arnt orgonized but they all seem to be at dell.com with some digging.

 

I think Dell started pushing XP-compatible drivers because of customer demand...

 

It's a shame they don't have Windows XP 64-bit drivers...

 

I am officially an idiot. I was under the impression that the NVIDIA card came standard in the 1420, but apparently it is an upgrade. Mine simply has what I assume to be onboard Intel video output. Once I downloaded and installed Intel drivers specifically for the Intel video component, everything worked smoothly. Thanks to all that spent time helping me out, and I apologize for the... lapse.

 

LOL nice one... it happens to the best of us, don't worry

 

I just wanted to thank the original poster, this was helpful when I set up my 1400 for dual booting. As far as I can tell I have everything working well now. Getting the sound to work was the hardest, which is where this thread really came in handy. It doesn't really make sense how I had to get it to work.... but atleast it does, yay!

 

It's good to hear everyone's systems are working now. I know these things can be very frustrating!

 

Dell has updated the sound drivers. I installed the following driver and had no problems after a reboot. Does anybody know if there is a laptop control panel type thing were you can access all of your power saving features such as CPU ghz scaling? automatic screen dimming? I am just thinking it would nice to have all of these be automatic when I unplug my laptop.

http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R158235&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=211297

 

Hey guys thanks for all the posts...I got my 1420 up and running pretty much with everything. The only problem I am having now is with the memory card reader....as soon as I put in a sony memory stick pro I get a blue screen (XP of course). Any ideas as to how to fix this?

 

NHC - Notebook Hardware Control.

 

Uhmm...that didn't do it...

 

here is another great thread on this
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2259754#post2259754

 

If you do find a use for the modem audio driver (e.g. fax), you can download it here

Communications: Conexant D330,HDA,MDC,v.92,modem, Driver, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Multi Language, Multi System, v.drv_xp_2k_7.59.00.50, A00

http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R147115&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=195675

-LQ

 

Hi crystalsunrise, i past throw all this today but i got stock in the audio driver. I just did what you said but it does not work yet. My real problem now is that i also install MediaDirect the way you said, i turn off the laptop and push the mediadirect's button, it could not start the media direct and now i can not start the laptop with the power button it shows an error that says "stop:c0000221 {bad image check sum}
the image lz32.dll is possibly corrupt. The header checksum does not match the computed checksum."

do you think that it is possible to get the system back or i have to pass throw all the prosses again?

 

any news on quickset?

i'm stuck there

by the way, thanks, i've installed xp without trouble

 

So is it better to slipstream the sata drivers or switch into a different mode? Or just pray that your xp home cd has sata drivers built in?