Problems installing W7 32-bit on Inspiron 1721

Question

Hello all

I'm running an Inspiron 1721 with the following spec:

2x AMD 64 (2GHz) and 320GB 5400RPM SERIAL ATA RAID 0 STRIPE

I'm currently running 32-bit Windows Vista and I'm trying to custom install to Windows 7 32-bit. All system requirements have been met however, the following issue occurs every time I try to install. I have tried installing from CD and from a USB boot but I get the same issue each time:

Upgrade install: when checking compatability the system asks me to upgrade the drivers for my SATA RAID controller. When I try to upgrade the drivers,Vista informs me that they are up to date, so I can't go anywhere with it.

Custom install: as a direct result of not being able to use the drivers for my RAID controller, Windows 7 cannot see any of my drives and so I am unable to install the new OS.

I have tried customer support who have been 100% useless, and I'm left wondering why the hell I paid out loads of money for a 4 year extended support warranty on my laptop.

Can anyone help me?

Lue

DELL-Jesse L · Accepted Answer

ub_lue,.

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Dell has no Win 7 drivers for this system. What is happening is it needs a SATA driver. To get around this try booting into the system bios and change SATA Operation to ATA or AHCI. Whatever it is not set to. Save the changes and then try installing Windows 7. Once it is installed go back and change this setting back. Let me know if this resolves your issue.

TimCuculic · Accepted Answer

FYI: I just did a clean install of Windows 7 32-bit on a Dell Inspiron 1721 using the ATI Raid drivers from the Dell site.

Here are the specific drivers I used:

ATI Serial ATA Storage/RAID
Release Date: 10/16/2007
Version: A01 2.5.1540.48
Importance: Optional
Download Type: Driver
File Format: Hard-Drive
File Size: 207KB

File Name: R167809.EXE

More info in my post here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/drivers/30589-ati-ahci-compatible-raid-driver-7.html

DiscoDre · Answer

Hello, Having the same problems, and what really irks me is that there doesn't seem to be a logical explanation why win 7 won't install on 1721.

ronnieron82 · Answer

Is Dell working on getting windows 7 drivers for the inspiron 1721???

DiscoDre · Answer

Message

Sorry bout that, let me finish my question.

Thanks for the info, if I may ask another question, Dell makes a claim that installing Win 7 your system will have liitle functionality ie

If your computer is not on this list, installing Windows 7 is not recommended (the computer may not have the minimum hardware requirements needed or have very little functionality).

I'm in the process of installing, at least trying as you suggested, now i know "nothing ventured, nothing gained" but i was kinda worried bout the above statement from Dell.

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DiscoDre · Answer

Message

Thanks for the info, if I may ask another question, Dell makes a claim that installing Win 7 your system will have liitle functionality ie

If your computer is not on this list, installing Windows 7 is not recommended (the computer may not have the minimum hardware requirements needed or have very little functionality).

[collapse]-----Original Message-----

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TTUK1 · Answer

Hi

Has anybody tried this patch and does it work. To date I have spent three days trying to upgrade to 7 always get the AMD AHCI compatible RAID controller and AMD RAID console drivers out of date. Is the 1721 un-upgradable? if so it is a poor show by DEL as my machine is not yet two years old.

Any information appreciated

DiscoDre · Answer

The 1721 is not upgradable to WIN 7. Dell DOES NOT have any drivers (RAID) for this laptop. There are quite a few of us hoping that DELL address this problem, but it been awhile. There are some reported work a rounds to install WIN 7. however they are not successful. Just got my 1721 about 6 months ago.

jmr11323 · Answer

I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR INSTALLING WINDOWS 7 ON THE INSPIRON 1721...I HAD THE SAME ISSUES WHEN TRYING TO INSTALL WIN 7 THE LAPTOP...NO SATA DRIVERS AVAILABLE BY DELL...NO WAY TO UPGRADE...OR NEW INSTALLATION...WHAT I DID IS I INSTALLED WINXP WITH THE AVAILABLE DRIVERS FOR THE INSPIRON...(IM SURE WIN VISTA WILL WORK JUST FINE)...AND INSERTED THE WIN 7 DISC...A 32 BIT...WHEN THE DISC BOOTS UP...BEFORE IT GIVES YOU THE OPTION TO INSTALL THE OS...IT ASKS YOU IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST DRIVERS FOR THE INSTALLATION...CHOOSE YES...BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE CONNECTED TO AN INTERNET CONNECTION THE WHOLE TIME...AND THEN JUST KICK BACK AND WAIT...AND YOUR READY TO GO...

jmr11323 · Answer

I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR INSTALLING WINDOWS 7 ON THE INSPIRON 1721...I HAD THE SAME ISSUES WHEN TRYING TO INSTALL WIN 7 THE LAPTOP...NO SATA DRIVERS AVAILABLE BY DELL...NO WAY TO UPGRADE...OR NEW INSTALLATION...WHAT I DID IS I INSTALLED WINXP WITH THE AVAILABLE DRIVERS FOR THE INSPIRON...(IM SURE WIN VISTA WILL WORK JUST FINE)...AND INSERTED THE WIN 7 DISC...A 32 BIT...WHEN THE DISC BOOTS UP...BEFORE IT GIVES YOU THE OPTION TO INSTALL THE OS...IT ASKS YOU IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD THE LATEST DRIVERS FOR THE INSTALLATION...CHOOSE YES...BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE CONNECTED TO AN INTERNET CONNECTION THE WHOLE TIME...AND THEN JUST KICK BACK AND WAIT...AND YOUR READY TO GO...

mack625 · Answer

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I have installed windows 7 professional 32 bit on to my dell 1721 without any problems and seems to be functioning ok. I first formatted the hard drive and removed vista, download the sata raid driver from the dell site for vista to my usb stick, booted from the window 7 cd and when it prompted to install extra drivers you browse to the drivers on the usb stick and then this will load the drivers for your sata raid hard drive and then continue to load windows, I done this a few months ago so my instructions may not be 100% but not far wrong, I also used some update drivers from Microsoft website and used vista drivers to get all working.

jbottcher · Answer

I found the install drivers that will work with the 1721 set up in Raid 0 or 1 for 32 or 64 bit. I used the raid drivers from the Kontron KT690 motherboard. the page for that board is here emea.kontron.com/.../kt690mitx+bga.html. go to the download section and click on the raid drivers.

bengris32 · Answer

Try Disabling RAID In The Bios. To Get Into The Bios T u r n On Your Computer Then Keep Tapping F2

Donnie_Millsaps · Answer

My drive wasn't being recognized during a Windows Vista Setup on a Dell Inspiron 1721.  This worked as far as getting the drive to be seen.  I haven't switched back to RAID yet. If I remember, i'll let you all know if switching back works after the install completes. Thanks Jesse.

jwhite301 · Answer

Can you tell me how you did this? My BIOS SATA setting has two options: RAID (default) and Automatic (if signed drives detected). I can't see any explicit option for ATA or AHCI.

There's a Fast ? utility (Ctrl-F) that gives access to RAID settings, but no instructions on how to use it.

Am I right in supposing there's no way to upgrade an existing Vista system to Win 7 without a clean install?

Windows General

Problems installing W7 32-bit on Inspiron 1721

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