Dell :: HOW-TO: Windows XP/Vista Reinstall Guide For Your 17" ..
Nov 9, 2007
Windows XP/Vista Reinstall Guide for Dell 17" Laptops
Specifically made for the XPS M1710
Also works for the Inspiron 9400/E1705, 1720, XPS M1730, Precision M90 and M6300, see *NOTE* below
Guide Version 1.20 (Last Updated: 5-20-2008)
I've gotten probably about 15-20 requests on a guide with the drivers I personally use for my XPS M1710 for reinstalling Windows, since I have both an XP-dedicated M1710 and a Vista-dedicated M1710. So... I finally got around to posting it for everyone to see, and it includes some things that some people don't know about... It was originally going to be just what drivers to use, but instead, I morphed it into a full reinstall guide, as there are some things in here alot of people don't know about.
I'm splitting this guide into two parts. The first being for Windows XP, and the second being for Windows Vista. Both are similar in ways, but its better to do it in 2 different sections, to avoid any confusion. I'm not posting a guide for Windows x64, as I unfortunately do not have a copy of it in either XP or Vista form, and most people on the forums don't use it, so this guide is sticking to the 32-Bit versions of the respective OSes.
*NOTE*Inspiron 9400/E1705 - Exchange the Gigabit Ethernet drivers outlined below for the Broadcom 10/100 drivers on the Dell Downloads site for the Inspiron 9400/E1705.
Inspiron 1720 - Exchange the Gigabit Ethernet drivers outlined below for the Broadcom 10/100 drivers on the Dell Downloads site for the Inspiron 1720. Also, exchange the Modem drivers for the one specifically for your laptop. If you have a Webcam, add that software in as the last "driver" installed before moving to the next step.
XPS M1730 - Exchange the Modem drivers for those specifically for the XPS M1730. If you have a Webcam, add that software, along with the "Logitech GamePanel" software, in as the last "driver" installed before moving to the next step.
Precision M90 - Procedure should be the same as that for the XPS M1710, including all drivers.
Precision M6300 - Exchange the Modem drivers for those specifically for the Precision M6300, and also add in the fingerprint reader software (if wanted/needed) as the last "driver" installed before moving to the next step
For the newer (Inspiron 1720, XPS M1730, Precision M6300) model laptops, you MUST DISABLE AHCI (change the setting from AHCI --> ATA) in the BIOS in order to proceed with installation of the Operating System without issues, otherwise the installation WILL FAIL......................
i want to uninstall everything that is i want to ununistall the OS VISTA thus replacing it with WINDOWS XP.
But unfornately i have failed to install OS (XP) on my laptop which came with pre-installed Windows Vista. I not been able , but when i boot my lapto using Windows XP CD it copies the required files but when i press ENTER to install Windows XP the message appears that " Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer and that any disk related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacture supplied diagnostic or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To quit setup, press F3." Please note I have C: drive installed windows vista on it, i have drive D: files are available for recovery disk pre-installed by the windows vista or manufacturer. My lapto is ACER MODEL 4320. Please advise how to install how to install the operating system on this computer.
You know how with Win98 there was a floppy to startup the computer to reinstall the win98 disc.... My new laptop did not come with a start up disc... how is this done? I have no original disc... can this be ordered thru Acer or do I have to purchase a disc from Microsoft?
I have acer aspire 6930g lapotop came with preinstalled windows vista ..my problem is this preinstalled windows vista now has to much troubles and I want to reinstall to get red of all these troubles and I heard that I can reinstall it using ((factory default)) DVDs which I made by acer eRecovery program when I bought this laptop but I must tell you that when I bought this laptop ,its hard disk came with only 3 partitions so I used its windows vista tools to create 2 new partitions and now I has 5 partitions so If I used ((factory default )) DVDs to reinstall windows vista ,AM I going to loose new 2 partitons I created and all data in them?
A few days ago i bought an Acer 7730 laptop with Windows Vista pre-installed and no disks. After initial hesitation i have decided to keep vista and not downgrade to XP. After all there will be more service packs and tweaking should speed it up lots anyway.
However, i really want to get rid of the three partitions on the hard drive. There is only one physical hard drive but there are three partitions; a hidden 10GB one (EISA configuration) which from what i have gathered is now obsolete, a C: partition 111.44GB and a D: partition 111.44GB. There is no need to split a drive into several partitions now that we have the NTFS file system (unless you are using multiple operating systems of course - but i am not) so this is really annoying me.
I have made the 2 recovery DVD and the 1 applications/drivers DVD. I have an old WinXP disk that i can use to format the laptop if required.
Question:
Using the recovery disks (which i'm assuming contain a copy of my bought OEM Vista that was pre-installed on the laptop), can i delete the partitions, format the hard drive and install Vista onto a single c: partition?
I've done this exact process before with WinXP hundreds of times but i'm not sure whether i can do the same for Vista with just the 3 DVD mentioned...
Today I will get my XPS M1730 (warranty replacement for my Gen2). I'll get it with Vista Home Premium 32bit and I have a few questions.
1. Is the installation by dell "bloated" with unnecessary stuff? 2. If it is, I plan to reinstall Vista with a retail Ultimate DVD my friend has bought. Can I use the serial on the backside of my computer for this installation to get a clean Home Premium installation? 3. Will I need to activate afterwards, like call MS or something...........
I just got a 1730 and if i use the operating system disk that came with it it locks up on the part of the install that says "completing installation" and If I try using a copy of vista ultimate that I have it will install and the first time i reboot the computer I get a quick flash of a BSOD then it restarts and keeps doing it.
Can I use the reinstall CD that came with Precision M6400 to install on other systems ? Non- M6400, and perhaps non-dell ? Can I use the same CD to install on multiple systems ?
My wife has an HP DV6000 with Vista on it from the factory. We have talked about reinstalling Vista to get rid of all the other "junk" to put it nicely. I mentioned this to my brother-in-law and he said we don't want to reinstall Vista because HP puts so much on there to help users. If we reinstall Vista are we going to loose out on something HP gave us?
I am trying to fix my dads notebook, its been running very slow lately and I want to format and reinstall Vista for him, however has most of you may know, it's really hard to find notebook drivers (well in my case it is), so does anyone know where I can find drivers for me dads 5634WLMi?
I have tryed Acer's website but they are either for 5630 or 5680/90, or can I use the 5630 drivers on this?
I managed to create a Recovery Disc last night using the hard drive from the 6820s in an external caddy and accessed the Recovery CD creator that way.
But now I'm having a problem trying to reinstall Windows Vista as when I accessed the section concerning the complete format and reinstallation of Windows Vista; I got the following message:
Error 0x400 100130000 1002 If this issue continues, please contact HP Support.
how I can fix the problem that this message is referring to?
My XPS 1530 became very slow and everytime I would click on a window I got the round symbal and the screen would go white. After many reboots I saved everything of importance to an external drive and pulled out the Vista original start up disc. So I did that but for some reason only the blue tooth light comes on and the light to the left of it does not.
I click on internet and it says nothing is found. I get confused with add a network - I don't want a network I want to get back on my wireless.
I am typing from my 4 year old HP with XP and I never have these problems and it was dead easy to get onto the internet - just type in the password and I'm on.
I have had 98SE for 8 years and XP for 4 and in 4 months with Vista I can safely say that it does nothing any better than 98SE or XP did and it crashes freezes and bugs the hell out of me far more than the others combined.
Is there anyway I can load my XP start up discs for my HP onto the Dell - honestly I really want to be able to do this. Otherwise I'm going to sell the XPS 1530 - and buy a bloody Apple.
My laptop (studio 1537) in running very slowly - so i need to either reinstall vista or do a factory image restore - I don't have any disks. if i do a factoryy restore will dell utilities be reinstalled automatically? if not where do i get them from?
How do I reinstall vista, and does this wipe personal files?
I have replaced the hard drives with new blank ones, but I cannot now reinstall Vista from the Reinstallation DVD because no drives are seen.
I have updated the BIOS to the latest available version, but still no joy.
I have taken out the drives and, using an external HDD port, can access them from another PC, so I'm certain there's no issues with the drives themselves.
I've tried Paragon 2010 Suite, but even that cannot "see" the drives, so I'm deducing that it's an issue peculiar to this Dell model.
My laptop is a hp dv6000 with 32 bit vista home premium preinstalled from the store. I never upgraded a laptop before so I don't know what to expect. Are all vista preinstalled systems already activated and do they use the OEM key or the product key on the bottom of the laptop? Recently my original hard drive failed and had no other choice expect to upgrade to a new one. My laptop came with the windows anytime upgrade disc so I used that to clean install vista home premium. Would the user recovery discs work instead on a new empty hard drive? When it asks for the product key the first time, I entered it in using the key on the bottom of the laptop. After everything was complete it said "3 days until automatic activation" and had the OEM key listed, not the one on the bottom of the laptop. I reactivate again using the sticker on the bottom on the laptop and it said "windows is activated", but it still had the OEM key listed. Did I enter the right key both times? Would there be any difference using the OEM key instead? Now about the recovery discs, if the "swsetup" folder was deleted before creating the discs will it still be on the disc even though it's suppose to be a factory image? Will I get the recovery partition and quick play if I reinstall again?
I currently installed Ubuntu and it was good but It drained my battery so I decided to take it off. After that my computer started to act weird. The Media Direct partition appeared in next to my OS and Recovery partitions. When i would press the MD button, I would get a blue screen and eventually every time I press the button It just turns on my computer. When I try to turn it back on after putting it on hibernate, it states that windows did not turn off right and it restarts windows. I have decided to a clean reinstall of Vista and MD but I have a few questions. I found this tutorial on how to do it on the internet but i found that i have to completely delete all the partitions including the recovery partition. I was wondering if there is a way to do this without having to delete that partition?
The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box-Guide Windows 7 Edition
So, you just bought a new HP laptop? Congratulations and here starts your journey of optimization.
1.CREATE HP RECOVERY DISCS, Do not do anything else in this guide without doing this. Creating these discs will allow you to restore your computer to a factory state at any time if you mess up. To create these discs, click the start orb, and type in recovery. Click the program called recovery disc creation, and follow the prompts. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU COULD RENDER YOUR SYSTEM INOPERABLE IF YOU MESS UP AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIX IT WITH A SIMPLE RESTORE. Also, back up your SwSetup folder (C:SwSetup) to a DVD for original software and drivers...............
Guide: Clean installation of Windows 7 on Acer, heavily edited by moderators
This guide explains how to do a clean installation of Windows 7 on an Acer computer that's been licensed to used it. If your system originally came with Windows Vista, you need an Acer Upgrade Kit. If your system originally came with Windows 7, use the key on the bottom of your machine.
The described method will work for ANY edition (Starter/Home/Pro/Ultimate) and for ANY architecture (32/64-bit) and ANY language, but only the version you are licensed for; no free upgrades here.
Step 1: Verify eligibility for Windows 7. CONTENT REMOVED DUE TO PIRACY CONCERNS Either you are licensed for Windows 7 by having a key on the bottom of your machine, or you have an Acer Upgrade kit. If you have neither, then you are not licensed for it, regardless of what's in your BIOS.
Step 2: Back-up factory images and personal files. Since we will be reinstalling Windows you will lose all your files and ability to restore to factory condition, so it would be a wise thing to make back-ups. A. Back-up factory images. If you want to have restore DVDs then it should be a good time to create them now. You can do it via Acer eRecovery program. If you have a built-in or external DVD drive then simply burn them and if you do not then you can save DVD image to your hard drive. Follow these instructions. B. Back-up personal files. If you have files you would like to keep now it is time to save them to either a flash drive or an external hard drive.
Step 3: Preparing Windows 7 installation image. Simply use the content in this topic to download and prepare your Windows 7 DVD or USB key. This will also remove the version restriction so the burned DVD or prepped USB key can be used to install any version of Windows 7 - you'll still need the right license key, of course.
Step 4: Setting up Windows 7 installation media. See above..................................................
clean Windows 7 (64) installation. My guide is more of a 'bare bones' installation as I only installed what is needed for functionality of the big features. The guide is incomplete. I will continue to update the document as I make more progress. Please feel free to report anything you find that is incorrect etc.
keep in mind this is for a FZ280 E/B, I have no idea if it will work on other FZ models.
I am still having problems with the Bluetooth driver/software and the Wireless Switch Utility (what exactly is this needed for?). I believe the functionality for Bluetooth is dependent on the something to do with the Wireless Switch Utility. However I haven't had any luck installing either option.
There appears to be a problem with the power management. I unplugged the notebook for the first time and the battery went from 95% to 60% within 5 - 10 minutes. Any thoughts will be appreciated. I will be researching for a solution as well.
Below is the attached guide and a link to download the drivers I have used for the installation.
(Last update: May 27 2010) Change log: Mar 06 2010 - Changed SUS, VES, and VCC versions. Updated Intel 4965 adapter driver. Added Web-cam software. Added instruction for wireless band switching and disabling Bluetooth from device manager.
Mar 26 2010 - Updated Intel SATA/AHCI driver from 8.​9.​0.​1023 --> 9.6.0.1014 Mar 30 2010 - Updated Nvidia driver (laptopvideo2go) from 195.62 --> 197.16 Apr 03 2010 - Updated Nvidia driver (self modded inf) from 195.62 --> 197.16 Apr 22 2010 - Added Nvidia driver 197.45 through Windows Update May 09 2010 - Update to SUS, S-button and additional settings in VCC. May 27 2010 - Added Nvidia 257.15 driver, modded inf, and instructions.
The following steps below include various driver sources and install instructions.
1. Install your edition of Windows 7. I chose to change the UAC setting to never notify. If you leave it in the default setting, various prompts may open when installing the drivers and utilities. Open "Computer", click the "Organize" tab, navigate to "folder and search options", click "View" tab, and uncheck "Hide empty drives in the computer folder".
There will be two exclamation marks for the "Mass storage controller" and "Unknown device" in the device manager. Intel 4965 Wifi, Marvell network controller, and Conexant modem drivers are included in Windows 7. You can update them if necessary
how to guide for dual tri or quad boot linux with xp vista or 7 or all 3
Ubuntu is available as a "live" CD, which means that you can use it directly from the CD without installing it. But running an operating system from a CD is slow, to see what Ubuntu can do running at full speed, you need to install it to your hard disk.
The ideal situation would be to install Ubuntu on it's own separate hard disk, but most people don't have two hard drives in their computer, and most people are not prepared to give up Windows. Therefore they have to install Ubuntu along-side Windows on the same hard disk in a dual-boot configuration.
Configuring a dual-boot system involves partitioning your hard disk to make space for Ubuntu. When your computer first starts, it reads information on the first sector of the hard drive which tells it where to find the "boot loader". The boot loader is a file with information about the installed operating systems and how to start them.
The boot loader for Windows is a file named "boot.ini". The boot loader for a Linux system (like Ubuntu) is GRUB (Grand Unified Boot Loader). When you install Ubuntu in a dual-boot system, it redirects the system to use GRUB. When you first start your system, GRUB presents a list of options, including starting Ubuntu or starting Windows. So you'll still be able to use your Windows operating system.
To install Ubuntu, start it with the live CD. To use the live CD, your computer's BIOS must be configured to boot from the CD drive. It's probably already configured that way, but if not, when your computer first starts watch for a message telling you which key to press to access the BIOS setup. Most computers use the F2, F1, Esc, or Del key.........
UPDATED OCTOBER 27 2009 FOR OFFICIAL WINDOWS 7 RELEASE
will benefit many of you upgrading to Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit RTM. This install was done and tested on a Vaio VGN-FW139E/H.
Hardware
While the VGN-FW line shares many components, many models also differ. So, I will first list the hardware that is on the VGN-FW139E and the install was done on.
Just a quick guide on how to make a bootable DVD using your Sony Upgrade Discs so you can do a clean install.
1) Insert your upgrade DVD into your DVD Drive and load up "Windows Explorer"
2) Browse to your DVD rom drive and expand it, there should be a bunch of directories, and you should have 2 that are called "Win7OS32" and "Win7OS64".....
My Dell Vostro 3450 (windows 7) had been running slowly for a while and after a virus scan didn't work, I decided to reinstall my operating system. I used the OS reinstall disk that came with the computer and that seemed to work pretty well. However, when it came time to install the drivers, I hit a roadblock. I put in the drivers disk and tried to go through the list of what drivers to install first (DSS, then chipset, etc...) but each time I installed something, it didn't seem to do anything-- I would go through the whole process for each one, but the little check mark wouldn't appear next to it in the "My System" list.... See below:
My computer can't connect to the internet either by ethernet or wifi, and can only input info through the cd drive.
When i bought my laptop it have windows 8 but i disliked it and have many bugs on my games so i installed windows 7 and complete delete everything in my harddisk. I couldn't find product keys anyway packet , laptop etc.
