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What Happened to Drivers for Older Computers?
I need to do a clean re-install of Windows XP on an 8-year old Dimension 8300 (still working quite well, than you :emotion-21:). Much to my surprise, Dell's driver download support page no longer provides any drivers for this model--thanks a lot, Dell. :emotion-45:
Unless someone can steer me to a source for these driver files, I guess I'll have to try one of those "driver back-up" programs. Any recommendations?
Just being curious, I check on another old Dell I have that's just 5 years old--no Dell support for it either.
speedstep
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December 9th, 2011 06:00
Manuals
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Reinstalling Drivers and the Operating System
Dell™ OptiPlex™ 745 User's Guide
Drivers
Using Microsoft® Windows® XP System Restore
Reinstalling Microsoft Windows XP
Drivers
What Is a Driver?
A driver is a program that controls a device such as a printer, mouse, or keyboard. All devices require a driver program.
A driver acts like a translator between the device and any other programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver recognizes.
Dell ships your computer to you with required drivers already installed—no further installation or configuration is needed.
Many drivers, such as the keyboard driver, come with your Microsoft Windows operating system. You may need to install drivers if you:
Identifying Drivers
If you experience a problem with any device, identify whether the driver is the source of your problem and, if necessary, update the driver.
If an exclamation point is next to the device name, you may need to reinstall the driver (see Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities) or install a new driver.
Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities
Using Windows XP Device Driver Rollback
If a problem occurs on your computer after you install or update a driver, use Windows XP Device Driver Rollback to replace the driver with the previously installed version.
If Device Driver Rollback does not resolve the problem, then use System Restore (see Enabling System Restore) to return your computer to the operating state that existed before you installed the new driver.
Using the Optional Drivers and Utilities CD
If using Device Driver Rollback or System Restore (see Using Microsoft® Windows® XP System Restore) does not resolve the problem, then reinstall the driver from the Drivers and Utilities CD (also known as the ResourceCD).
If this is your first time to use the Drivers and Utilities CD, the Installation window opens to inform you that the CD will begin the installation. Click OK and respond to the installation program prompts to complete the installation.
The Drivers and Utilities CD scans your computer's hardware and operating system and then displays a list of device drivers for your system configuration.
To view a list of all available drivers for your computer, click Drivers in the Topic drop-down menu.
To access the help files on the Drivers and Utilities CD, click the question mark button or the Help link at the top of the screen.
Using Microsoft® Windows® XP System Restore
The Microsoft Windows XP operating system provides System Restore to allow you to return your computer to an earlier operating state (without affecting data files) if changes to the hardware, software, or other system settings have left the computer in an undesirable operating state. See the Windows Help and Support Center for information on using System Restore. For information on accessing the Windows Help and Support Center, see Finding Information.
Creating a Restore Point
Restoring the Computer to an Earlier Operating State
The Select a Restore Point screen provides a calendar that allows you to see and select restore points. All calendar dates with available restore points appear in boldface type.
If a calendar date has only one restore point, then that restore point is automatically selected. If two or more restore points are available, click the restore point that you prefer.
The Restoration Complete screen appears after System Restore finishes collecting data and then the computer restarts.
To change the restore point, you can either repeat the steps using a different restore point, or you can undo the restoration.
Undoing the Last System Restore
The System Restore screen appears and the computer restarts.
Enabling System Restore
If you reinstall Windows XP with less than 200 MB of free hard-disk space available, System Restore is automatically disabled. To see if System Restore is enabled:
Reinstalling Microsoft Windows XP
Before You Begin
If you are considering reinstalling the Windows XP operating system to correct a problem with a newly installed driver, first try using Windows XP Device Driver Rollback (see Using Windows XP Device Driver Rollback). If Device Driver Rollback does not resolve the problem, then use System Restore to return your operating system to the operating state it was in before you installed the new device driver (see Using Microsoft® Windows® XP System Restore).
To reinstall Windows XP, you need the following items:
Reinstalling Windows XP
To reinstall Windows XP, perform all the steps in the following sections in the order in which they are listed.
The reinstallation process can take 1 to 2 hours to complete. After you reinstall the operating system, you must also reinstall the device drivers, virus protection program, and other software.
Booting From the Operating System CD
If the operating system logo appears, wait until you see the Windows desktop, and then shut down the computer and try again.
Windows XP Setup
The Windows XP Setup screen appears, and the operating system begins to copy files and install the devices. The computer automatically restarts multiple times.
Windows XP installs the operating system components and configures the computer. The computer automatically restarts.
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speedstep
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December 9th, 2011 07:00
optiplex 745 drivers for windows xp - Dell - Search - Home & Home ...
Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility
Release Date: 6/25/2008
Version: A188.0.0.1009
Importance: Urgent
Download Type: Driver
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 23MB
http://ftp.us.dell.com/chipset/R132539.exe
6/25/2008 11:57 AM 24762824 R132539.exe
Intel Q963\Q965\G965 Graphics Controller
Release Date: 3/31/2008
Version: A026.14.10.4864
Importance: Optional
Download Type: Driver
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 15MB
http://ftp.us.dell.com/video/R166755.EXE
3/31/2008 1:32 PM 16403488 R166755.EXE
Broadcom 57XX Gigabit Integrated Controller
Release Date: 9/14/2006
Version: A01v9.4.7 INS v9.03.02
Importance: Recommended
Download Type: Diagnostics Utility
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 11MB
http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R133475.EXE
9/14/2006 11:17 AM 11851904 R133475.EXE
Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated HD Audio
Release Date: 10/13/2009
Version: A025.10.x.7265
Importance: Recommended
Download Type: Driver
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 11MB
http://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R243724.exe
10/13/2009 7:31 PM 12123816 R243724.exe
Atmel Trusted Platform Module v 1.2
Release Date: 9/17/2008
Version: A003.0.0.15
Importance: Optional
Download Type: Driver
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 267KB
http://ftp.us.dell.com/chipset/R133527.exe
9/17/2008 1:00 PM 274064 R133527.exe
rdunnill
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December 9th, 2011 10:00