Bought Studio Desktop 540 - need XP drivers

HOW DO YOU INSTALL WINDOW XP? what do i need to do in order to install window xp?

XP IS NO DOWNGRADE. VISTA IS THE BIGGEST DOWNGRADE EVER DEVELOPED. VISTA IS THE MOST BLOODCURDLING OS. VISTA HAS ALSO TODAY SO MANY ERRORS, CRASHES AND PROBLEMS THAT NOBODY CAN USE VISTA SERIOUSLY.

I think the only way to install window XP is DISABLE SATA HD, However i cant anywhere is to disable it...

A 540 is a regular PC, and so the OS is installed in a regular fashion. No BIOS tweaks are required.

To install XP, run the install disc and then add any missing drivers. Intel offers a chipset driver package, and Realtek offers the LAN and audio.  

My 540S has a hard drive from another PC. I installed the hard drive, booted up each OS (the drive had a triple-boot of Vista / XP-32 / XP-64), and plug 'n' play automatically installed the new drivers. No reinstall of the OS was necessary, and the machine is rock stable.

I have question mark on "SM Bus Controller" in my device manager, I have windows XP Pro. Can some please help me where can i find this drivers.

I had the same problem (missing SM Bus Controller driver) when I installed Vista 64-bit on my Vostro 220S.

The driver is in Intel's driver package, available from their download site.

I follow the thread and download some of the driver user recommend however i only got ethernet working..ALL other driver is not working can somone please give me a straight link to download

Thanks

KingHomer

You don't say exactly what drivers you're seeking.  However, I have a couple of suggestions that might help.  Be sure to install the Intel chipset driver before any other driver.  Since Dell sells Windows XP with their Inspiron 530 desktop, I downloaded some drivers for that computer when any driver found was for the same component which I had in my Studio 540.  (I suspect that some device drivers must be customized for the XP operating system.  This is strictly my opinion, but using some Inspiron 530 drivers worked for me.)  I hope this works for you too.

Good luck.

I need the following driver

Audio HD

Network Controller

PCI simple communication

Video

Video controller

I try some of the following driver use posted and didnt work

Hi rdunnill....so you're saying you were able to boot to your old XP just fine?...XP didn't recognize all sorts of new hardware and require a reactivation or anything?

I have a Dell Inspiron 530 with XP Home...I'd love to pop that drive into a new 540 with minimal to 0 effort.  I don't mind re-installing XP but I would have to find a key (unless my old key would work).

-Eric

Hi all.  I consider myself very technical and am a long-time Dell customer.

I am about to buy a Studio 540 directly from dell.com, remove Vista, and install XP Pro or Home.

I know this thread started in December 2008 and it's now mid July 2009...do I have to worry about anything?  Likely my system will have:

• ATI Radeon 4350 512MB video card
• Integrated Sound (whatever make/model that is)
• 16x dvd drive (the cheapest one on their configuration)

I intend on using my own external Linksys wireless USB card.

If you could please list the current driver names and URLs I would be extremely grateful!

The link to my configuration is:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=ddcwma3&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=desktop-studio-mini

-Eric

ericinboston

I hate to rain on your parade, but you will likely have to deal with Microsoft's obsession of preventing piracy.  My impression is that each copy of XP is tied to the computer on which it was originally installed.  When I moved an XP harddrive from an old computer to a new one and reinstalled XP (with the original key), I believe I had to call Microsoft support to "activate" XP before it would work.  This involved reading a 64-digit code to the support person and typing an insanely long code given in response.  Ultimately XP does work on the new box, but it wasn't quick and easy.  (Since this process was done a few months ago, I'm afraid I don't remember more than this with crystal clarity.)

As far as needing new drivers, that will depend on the differences between the components on the 2 computers.  I was able to use Inspiron 530 drivers on my Studio 540, since the Inspiron drivers are designed for XP, while the Studio drivers are not.  Fortunately both come with many of the same components.

You might want to consider using 2 harddrives in the 540.  Keep the new one with Vista on it and add your second drive for XP.  At boot time you can press F2 or F12 to select the desired default or temporarily active drive via the Bios Setup Utility.  (I use a single McAfee license to protect both drives, with McAfee's approval.)

I hope these comments are helpful.  Good luck.

noyb

whoa thx for sharing. Haven't tried it yet, perhaps here's a tool you can use for your advantage.

http://drop.io/

Hi rdunnill....so you're saying you were able to boot to your old XP just fine?...XP didn't recognize all sorts of new hardware and require a reactivation or anything? I have a Dell Inspiron 530 with XP Home...I'd love to pop that drive into a new 540 with minimal to 0 effort.  I don't mind re-installing XP but I would have to find a key (unless my old key would work).   -Eric

Yes, XP required reactivation. So I reactivated it. I've done that on numerous occasions; sometimes a phone call to Microsoft is necessary, sometimes not.