Driver installation problems after re-installing Windows XP on Latitude D630

The most recent drivers for this system are here. You'd be better off downloading them on another system and burning them on a CD for installation on the laptop.

Did you reformat the hard drive before installing XP? Or did you end up with a "parallel install" of Windows (2 copies of the OS) on the hard drive?

Did you disconnect all peripherals, except mouse, while doing the XP installation? What drivers does it say are already installed?

What do you mean when you said "it doesn't show as being installed"? The notebook system software doesn't show up any where. Did you install the network driver and/or modem dirver? If you search the hard drive do you find a folder for  R181862?

If you open Device Manager, which items are marked with yellow ! or red X?

Ron

Hi, thanks for your response.

I don't think I reformatted the hard drive, I just used the Windows installation cd that came up with my computer, but I thought that automatically erased everything? Is there a way to tell if I'm running parallel versions/how bad is that?

Yes, all peripherals were disconnected.

When the driver CD runs, the following show as already being installed:

• Intel Mobile Chipset
• Broadcom 57XX Gigabit Integrated Controller
• Intel Wireless WiFi link
• 02Micro USB SmartCard Controller
• Intel Express Chipset Family

All of these have a black checkmark beside them, but I see no ! or X. I do not show a R181862 folder on my hard drive.

And the last topic includes a "Dell Notebook System Software," which is what I was trying to download first.

I am going to download the drivers on another system and burn to a cd and see if that works. 

Let's back up a nano-second...

If this laptop was shipped after July 14, 2004, and you have never reformatted or replaced the hard drive, you might still have PC Restore in a hidden partition. It resets the drive to exactly the way Dell shipped it, including XP, drivers and software they provided.

Be sure all peripherals are disconnected. Then reboot and press Ctrl-F11 before Windows starts to load (eg, press Ctrl and then F11 right after the narrow blue band flashes across the top of the screen when you reboot), and release both keys at the same time. If PC Restore is accessible, follow the instructions to restore your drive to factory condition in about 10 min.  Then all you have to do is install XP SP3 which you can download free from Microsoft, plus all other updates for IE, Office etc.

And if PC Restore isn't available or fails, lets clarify, did you do attempt a clean installation or a repair reinstallation?

If you attempted a clean installation, but didn't reformat the partition, Windows either installed on top of the old files or created a parallell install without removing any of the existing drivers.  Aside from possible problems such as you're experiencing, a parallel install eats up hard drive space because you have 2 copies of every Windows file. Search the hard drive for a folder that might be named something like Windows1 or maybe Windows2 which would imply a parallel installation.

There is a correct order to install drivers, so if you didn't install in that order because some already existed on the hard drive that could lead to problems too. And just because the files are there, that doesn't necessarily mean they're listed in the Windows Registry, meaning Windows won't know they exist.

Definitely download the latest drivers on a different PC and burn them on a CD so you have them available. And if PC Restore didn't work, you might save yourself a lot of time and grief if you start over by reformatting the partition and redoing the clean install.

Ron 

I was able to re-install all the drivers and I could tell as I did that they were taking affect, unlike when I was trying to install from the CD. I didn't know about the PC restore option but I'm not sure it would have worked anyway since I reinstalled or reformatted about a year and a half ago.

I searched my hard drive for "Windows1" and "Windows2"  and didn't find anything so hopefully I just have the one.

However, now I can't get my USB ports to work. They were functioning fine as I moved a file over with a flash drive, but now they are not working. I noticed the problem shortly after I did a system scan on the Dell site and updated two drivers - the bios and the network system software. Is there some other driver I should have?

Thanks,

Is it just flash drives that aren't working? What about a mouse?

USB drivers are built into Windows and depend a properly installed chipset driver. If you have XP SP3 installed, read this and then click the Fit It button on that page. BUTonly if you have SP3.

Ron

I have tried a mouse and an external hard drive, neither of which worked. (Though the external hard drive's USB light is lit.) I do have SP3 and tried the fix it on that page, but it only scanned for my cd/dvd drive, which is working fine.

I installed a chipset driver from Dell's site, is there another one I should have? I've been to the Windows Update site and installed everything that came up.

The error that shows in my device manager is:

Universal Serial Bus controllers section:

Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2830

Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2831

Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2832

Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2834

Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2835

Intel ICH8 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 2836

Intel ICH8 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 283A

Each has a yellow ! beside it but when I try to update the driver it "can't find a better match."

Thanks,

Bonnie

Uninstalling and then restarting worked, it's recognizing my peripherals now. Thanks for all your help, really appreciate it!

:emotion-21: