New XPS-8700: Driver Installation Confusion (Video, WiFi, Bluetooth)

Hi,

Thank you for reaching us.

The wireless driver not listed in the downloads page is due to support website maintenance.

Hence I have found the links for Wireless driver and BT 4.0.

Intel 7260 WIFI Driver Driver Details : http://dell.to/1FKJLLS
Intel 7260 Bluetooth Driver  :http://dell.to/1GM5OUt

And for the Intel graphics card driver, Install the version available in the support site and try updating it from Device manager , Also you may try updating the existing driver if you PC had picked up the native drivers after reinstalling Windows 7.

Let us know incase you need any further assistance.

Thank you

Hi Gokul and Prajwal.  Thank you for the quick replies.  I appreciate your suggestions.

Gokul's links to the Dell download sites for the Intel 7260 drivers are interesting.  The descriptions on these webpages indicate these drivers are for Windows 8.1 systems.

Are Windows 8.1 drivers compatible with Windows 7 (x64)?  Without installing them in "compatibility mode?"

I had, initially, thought about getting all of these drivers (Video, WiFi, Bluetooth) directly from Intel's website, but I've read many postings that advise against that idea. The consensus advice (including from Intel) was  to use only the drivers provided by Dell, because Dell customizes Intel drivers before they're installed on Dell systems.

Does Dell customize Intel drivers before they're installed on Dell systems?  If so, how?

Thanks again.

Hi,

Yes Windows 8.1 drivers are compatible with Windows 7(x64) without a need to run in compatibility mode.

Regarding the driver customization , Yes, Dell does have our variants of same drivers for most of the devices released by Nvidia and Intel.

Customization mainly involves making that device compatible with most of the models we ship, Not so much to do with the card's functionality or any additional features.

When Intel and other partners release drivers, They are tested on generic devices. But the Dell drivers are tested on the machines we ship to ensure the devices are working at optimal performance.

That's the major difference. As far I know both the drivers should work fine without any issues

Thank you

Hi Gokul,

I installed your suggested Video, Bluetooth and Wireless drivers, but I'm having trouble.  I've had a Blue Screen error message, a Black Screen "Improper Windows Shutdown" message, a few "No Video Signal" error messages, and my Device Manager>Bluetooth Radio is listing "Generic Wireless Bluetooth" instead of "Intel WIreless Bluetooth 7260" as it should.

The following is my order of installation:
Intel Integrated Video driver:  Dell driver version 15.31.64.3165 (A02)
Intel 7260 Bluetooth driver (which is software and driver, by the way):  Dell version 3.1.1307 (A00)
Intel 7260 Wireless driver (also a software and driver package):  Dell version 16.1.0.7 (A00)
*I installed the Bluetooth and WiFi drivers in Windows 7 compatibility mode because I didn't see your reply in time.

I then used the Intel Driver Update Utility to see if there were updates for those drivers.  It found three (3):
Intel Iris and HD Graphics Driver (Win 7/8/8.1 x64):  package version 15.36.19.64.4170
  (Graphics driver is 10.18.14.4170, Audio driver is 6.16.0.3172)
Intel PROset/Wireless Software for Bluetooth Technology for Windows 7 64-bit:  ver 17.1.1501.01
Intel PROset/Wireless Software and Drivers (Windows 7/8/8.1, 64-bit):  ver 17.16.0.4

I installed the Intel Iris and HD Graphics driver and it caused a Blue Screen shutdown.  I restarted my system and the blue screen did not repeat.  I installed the Intel Bluetooth package and the Intel Wireless package, and my system shutdown unexpectedly causing a Black Screen unexpected/improper shutdown message.

What did I do wrong?  Luckily, I have System Restore points so I can undo these driver installations, but I still need drivers that work.

I'd like to have the same drivers that Dell installed when they built my system.  Why aren't they available?
Intel Graphics (package version 15.33.14; w/ graphics 10.18.10.3412, audio 6.16.0.3131), assuming it was installed when my system was built.
Intel Wireless (version 17.1.0.19)
Intel Bluetooth (version 17.1.1406.468) (Intel Wireless Bluetooth patch version 17.0.1427.2)

Do I need to install Intel Integrated Graphics (Intel HD Graphics) if I plan to always use my AMD Radeon R9 270 video card?

Before I reinstalled Windows, I saved a copy of the original, as shipped by Dell, C:\Windows\system32\drivers and file repository folders.  Is there any way to reinstall the OEM Video, Wireless and Bluetooth drivers from there?

Do I really need the Intel Bluetooth and Wireless "software?"  I could probably just use Window's built-in controller to use Wireless and Bluetooth, but I'll still probably need a driver(s) for the built-in Intel Wireless AC-7260 device, won't I?

Any additional help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi,

Thank you for the swift response. I hope you've restored the PC to the time it was working fine without the wireless drivers.

Its a bit tricky situation here. The machine was shipped with Windows 8.1 Pro with all the drivers loaded from the factory which were 8.1 compatible.

Now we are running Windows 7 Pro, I am not sure if its possible to get the same version of those drivers to work here even though most of them are compatible.

I can send a Windows 8.1 Pro USB key or a DVD which can be used to reinstall Windows 8.1 which will have the OS and Drivers preloaded. Exactly how it was out of box.

If you do not have a lot of data in the PC, you may format and reinstall Windows 7 Pro again and install the drivers which should get installed without any of the issues you mentioned.

Regarding the order of installing the drivers, Though it is recommended to install in the following order

• Chipset driver
• Audio driver
• Video driver
• Ethernet Network driver
• Wireless Network driver
• Input device driver

Even if you mix-up the order except the first one, There shouldn't be any issues as such.

Let us know what would you want to try .

If you are want us to ship out the OS media, Please send a private message with the computer's service tag.

To send a private message, click on my name and click start conversation.

Thank you