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Missing drivers
Hi, I own an Inspiron 14z and my original HD was rendered unusable. I purchased another, reinstalled windows and after going into the device manager, I noticed I am missing the following drivers:
Ethernet Controller
Network Controller
PCI Simple Communications Controller
SM Bus Controller
I am unsure as to where I can find these critical drivers, as I am dead in the water without them. Also, how do I setup my hard drive like it was when it came from the factory. I no longer have the D: partition that Dell created which allows me to restore to factory settings. What do I do??
PudgyOne
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March 3rd, 2014 11:00
exbostonian,
When you reinstalled the operating system, did you install the Dell System Software(if applicable) and the chipset drivers first? If not, the rest of the drivers will fail to install. How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order
Start with the Dell System Software and the chipset drivers and follow the list.
Rick
exbostonian
9 Posts
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March 3rd, 2014 11:00
I went into Dell support and plugged in my service tag. I didn't see any of the above drivers except for the ethernet driver. Is the ethernet driver and the controller the same thing?
missleman
94 Posts
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March 3rd, 2014 11:00
You should be able to find the drivers easily at dell.com by going to "Product selection." Find your Inspiron 14z (3 different models) with the proper OS and download them. Do this on another computer if you have to and burn them to a CD or DVD. I always download all the drivers for the computer I'm working on and put them on CD. If I had your exact model# and OS....I could have supplied a link.
exbostonian
9 Posts
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March 3rd, 2014 12:00
I didn't get a dell software disk when i purchased the pc, only an OS disk. I went ahead and put them all on a thumb drive and will attempt to add in order. I'll let you know how it works out. Thank you.
exbostonian
9 Posts
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March 6th, 2014 06:00
Ok, it seems I am almost there. The problem I am having now is that my two USB 3.0 ports are not working. They don't recognize anything that I plug into it. I have installed the drivers, but still nothing. Any suggestions?
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
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March 6th, 2014 16:00
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1?
Do you have any errors in the device manager:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/downloading-drivers-checking-hardware-ids-and-downloading-and-installing-dell-system-drivers-in-the-correct-order/checking-hardware-ids-in-the-device-manager/
Also check that the drivers extract and install and not only extract:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/downloading-drivers-checking-hardware-ids-and-downloading-and-installing-dell-system-drivers-in-the-correct-order/driver-installation/
exbostonian
9 Posts
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March 7th, 2014 05:00
I'm running Windows 7.
No errors in the device manager.
I've gone through the installation on the 3.0 drivers twice with no luck. There were two to choose from on the Dell site. Not sure which I was supposed to install, really.
It seems like the usb controller isn't working right. I have a single powered usb 2 port on the left hand side of the pc that works fine, however the two usb 3.0 ports on the right side don't recognize anything that I plug into it. When in the device manager, I'm not sure which usb hub is which. I don't want to uninstall anything for fear of losing the port that works.
Philip_Yip
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March 8th, 2014 23:00
You should install this one:
http://ftp.dell.com/FOLDER00231641M/7/USB3_Renesas_W7_A03_Setup-61X2W_ZPE.exe
Also check the BIOS settings for the USB ports and ensure that they are not disabled.
To access the BIOS settings power down your Dell and press F2 when powering up.
exbostonian
9 Posts
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March 9th, 2014 07:00
Thank you for the suggestion. The BIOS setting for the USB drivers are enabled, I've been using my USB 2 port all along. I went ahead and installed the driver you listed. I regret to report, still no change. I'm getting frustrated. I don't understand what is going on. The device manager shows the following under the USB Controllers section:
Generic USB Hub
Generic USB Hub
Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C26
Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 1C2D
USB Composite Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Mass Storage Device
USB Root Hub
Maybe someone will see something I'm missing.
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
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16K Posts
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March 10th, 2014 13:00
Okay lets try some testing.
First can you download Windows 8.1 Enterprize trial and the Microsoft .iso to USB/DVD tool:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh699156.aspx
http://images2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe
Use these to create a bootable USB using your working USB 2.0 port within Windows.
Windows 8.1 .iso has native USB support and the idea is to use this bootable USB to test whether the USB ports work within BIOS.
Next plug in the USB port to one of your USB 3.0 ports and power down your computer. When you power up your computer press F12, do you get the option to boot from USB? If the Windows 8.1 setup starts you can just click cancel and then power off your computer. Repeat for the other USB 3.0 port and also for the USB port.
Let us know the results. If the computer cannot boot from the USB 3.0 ports it suggests an issue within BIOS or hardware failure. If the system can boot from the USB device it suggests an issue within Windows.