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April 14th, 2014 15:00
Dell 17R N7110 Windows XP 32 Bit Professional. Nvidia Geforce GT 525M driver required
Hi,
I've managed to get Windows XP pro running on my 17R, dual boot with Windows 7. Except I don't have a driver for the Nvidia graphics card, the Geforce GT 525M.
There is a generic Nvidia driver for XP which covers the GT 525M, but the driver hardware Subsys ID doesn't match the hardware installed in the laptop, so the driver doesn't install.
Has anyone managed to install a driver for Windows XP, or even modifed the generic driver to match the hardware IDs on the laptop (is that even possible ?).
For those curious how I managed to install Windows XP ...
I used a Windows XP install disk (SP2) I bought new on eBay.
I side loaded SP3 (which I just downloaded) and the ACHI disk drivers onto a fresh disk (I extracted those from the Windows 7 driver file), based on the install disk (if you don't do this you will experience a blue screen just before installation really gets started).
Most of the Windows 7 drivers also support XP, so that makes life easy. Except the Ethernet control which I found on the web by searching for an XP driver (it has installed correctly, but I use wireless anyway so I've not tested it)
Quickset and similar software I've not found a version for XP yet. Although I could just load a version, I'm nervous to do this blindly when I don't know if the hardware will match.
So if I could just get the Nvidia driver installed, that would be good. Actually the Intel graphics driver loads fine, so I don't notice that the Nvidia driver isn't present. The laptop is totally usable the way it is. But I still want the Nvidia driver of course.
jjmoore27
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April 15th, 2014 10:00
Sorted ! I modified the Nvidia Windows XP driver for the 525M which I downloaded from the Nvidia website (version 307.83).
I modified the driver file nvctn.inf, adding in the [NVIDIA_Devices.NTx86.5.1] section:
%NVIDIA_DEV.0DF5.04C4.1028% = Section003, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DF5&SUBSYS_04C41028
and in the [Strings] section:
NVIDIA_DEV.0DF5.04C4.1028 = "NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M "
in the file ListDevices.txt, in the nvct.inf section I added:
DEV_0DF5&SUBSYS_04C41028 "NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M "
Now when I check device manager, I can see NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M listed :) I've not yet checked if everything really works, as I've not conntected an external monitor. But at least in device manager, I have no open questions for any devices. All have a driver.
Windows XP 32 bit on my Dell 17R N7110 is working well. Now the real work starts, installing the drivers for my old hardware ;)
ejn63
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April 14th, 2014 15:00
nVidia never released drivers for XP and this chipset - and with XP having expired last week (no further update support), it's now a moot point anyway.
Philip_Yip
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April 14th, 2014 19:00
Its better to install XP in a virtual machine using a program such as VMWare Player:
http://www.vmware.com/uk/products/player
jjmoore27
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April 15th, 2014 09:00
Hi,
Using a virtual machine has a performance impact, and I'd like to extract as much performance as possible. I have some old hardware which I use to rip my old VHS home movies. Unfortunately I accidently deleted them, and I'll have to do it again (the hardware only runs on XP). Also not all USB devices get recognised when plugging in. I've experienced problems with XP Mode and VMWare in the past. When XP is run directly on the hardware, I know it will work !
I've read some posts where people have editted a .inf file to add their device. I might give this a go. I can't believe that Dell would specify major changes away from Nvidia's spec, as this would cost extra money. The sensible option for Dell would be to go with an off the shelf design for minimum cost. So I'm assuming a subsys ID wouldn't be a major indication of change. Most likely Nvidia just didn't get round to updating the device list, as XP isn't supported anymore. So perhaps the functionality is there for my card, I just need to extract it ! I'll try searching for the other subsys IDs, and if I find a match for a Dell laptop, I'll edit the file to include mine, and see what happens :)