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599970
November 9th, 2009 09:00
Windows 7 on Dell Inspiron 6400 / E1505
We installed Windows 7 on my wives laptop this weekend. It seems to run OK, but I can't seem to find a Windows 7 compatible driver for the video card. The video card is a ATI Radeon Mobility X1400. I looked on Dells webpage and they don't even list the 6400 or the E1505 as Windows 7 compatible. Before I purchased Windows 7 I did the 'update adviser' and it didn't list any problems updating. I've checked Dell's website and ATI's but they don't list the X1400 video driver as Windows 7 compatible. Does anyone know if another driver ATI driver will work or do I just wait for ATI to hopefully update the driver?
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dphower
3 Posts
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March 8th, 2010 08:00
I had no issues with the Windows 7 install regarding the video driver. Windows 7 found it automatically.
dphower
3 Posts
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February 7th, 2012 08:00
The short answer is yes. Windows 7 install took care of all the drivers. I had no issues with the install and had the same concerns as you did.
JohnLon
2 Posts
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February 7th, 2012 08:00
Hi Folks,
It might look odd that I'm reviving this thread. But, I have a Win 7 64-bit Home Premium that I got in Jan 2010. Since my Inspiron 6400 was 32-bit and I couldn't find any information about compatibility of 64-bit Win 7 with the hardware I didn't install it then.
Now that the Vista OS is terribly slow I wanted to install the 64-bit Win 7 on my E1505.
Any suggestions on whether Win 7 64-bit will install properly on my hardware or can I get the 64-bit drivers from somewhere? I have looked on the Dell support website and the Internet and didn't find drivers for E1505 that will suit 64-bit Win 7.
Regards,
John
Philip_Yip
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February 7th, 2012 13:00
Windows 7 32 bit will be better and the 64 bit has no advantage on this unit as it can't address more than 3.25 GB of RAM.
pusaqall
20 Posts
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February 7th, 2012 18:00
Try to check and install possible updates. Your driver for your video card should be there. Windows 7 will always check for your drivers and be the one to have it really for download and installation.
JohnLon
2 Posts
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February 8th, 2012 20:00
Folks, thank you all for the encouragement. I am going ahead with a clean install of the Win 7 (64-bit) on my Inspiron 6400 this weekend. :)
@natakuc4- I somehow ended up with a 64-bit version of Win 7. So no other option now, unless I shelve out more dough.
Philip_Yip
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February 9th, 2012 01:00
Actually your wrong; you may easily download a Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium with Service Pack 1 .iso from my Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office Official Downloads wiki and create a bootable USB/DVD for the cost of a blank DVD or a 4 GB or superior USB stick (which you may reclaim after the install).
The product keys for the 32 bit and 64 bit version of Windows 7 are interchangeable. Thus using one of these .isos you may install Windows 7 with your product key. If your product key is "upgrade" or "retail" you will be fine to activate over the internet. If it is "oem" you must activate via phone.
Once you have the bootable media (USB or DVD) follow my A Clean Install of Windows wiki, this will tell you precisely how to install Windows 7 on your system. since your system has Media Direct follow the side notes that mention it. Use the Vista 32 bit drivers as implied apart from the bluetooth, if you have bluetooth use the other driver R226750 I mention. Note the part on the SATA drivers shouldn't be required (Step 6.) and their small mention (Step 8.) 2 screens after upgrade are not required. In fact in the partitions you must not add/create partitions and just opt to install on C: (the large partition) otherwise you will have issues with Media Direct. My Dell Downloads (Step 13.) doesn't apply to this system but you may download and install Dell Support Centre and Dell Dock for this model. I recommend the Support Centre but aren't a big fan of the Dock. You won't have a windows.old (Step 14.) as Media Direct reconfigured the partitions.
Note the Roxio/Sonic Solutions disc supplied with your system will probably not work with Windows 7, I think its junk anyway. There are some better free alternatives such as ImgBurn and Windows 7 has some native disc burning facilities.
Finally to note, not all Inspiron 6400 units can handle the 64 bit version of Windows 7; it depends on the CPU for example I have the T2130. The instruction set was 32 bit thus it was incompatible with the 64 bit OS. The T7200, T7400 and T7600 for example will run the 64 bit OS however. There are an assortment of other CPUs available for this model some which are compatible and some which aren't. However the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will give you a 32 bit and 64 bit compatibility report.
sergioufl
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February 10th, 2012 20:00
Kadams60
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April 3rd, 2014 21:00