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grammy2five
4 Posts
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May 19th, 2010 17:00
Help with driver installation
Hi ya'll. I had to do a complete re-install of Windows XP on my Dell Dimension E510 because I had a major mbr infection. I've spent 3 months working to get my pc back up and running. Now I need to re-install some of the drivers. Here's the problem I'm having. The very first one is the Desktop System Software. The instructions state to save it on my desktop. However, it doesn't download the needed zip file, it downloads it as an application. When I double-click on it I get an error message that Windows cannot open the file (DellDriverDownloadManager.application) because it needs to know what program created it. I really need to download the other drivers, but I'm afraid to because the instructions say if they are not downloaded in the exact order stated they can cause problems with the pc.
What can I do to get the DSS downloaded so I can continue with the much needed driver downloads?
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated! (In the easiest to follow directions, please. I'm easily confused! :emotion-5:
Alexandra_P
4 Apprentice
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2554 Posts
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Posted May 19th, 2010 19:00
It sounds to me like the "Dell Download Manager" is causing trouble. It's a separate application Dell installs to manage downloads, but it has nothing to do with the drivers themselves, and it's not necessary to get the drivers installed. Just clear it out and start over with "regular" downloads from the browser:
1) Go to Add/Remove Programs and remove Dell Download Manager (if it's listed - it may not have gotten that far).
2) When you chose the Download Manager, it set a cookie to make it the default for all future downloads, so you have to clear the cookies. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools - Options, then under Browsing History, Delete files. Check off Temporary Files and Cookies, then Delete.
3) Then go back to the Dell Downloads page, select the driver you want, but this time the download button should give you a choice again how you want to download. DO NOT choose the Download Manager - use the second "browser" option to download the files to your desktop.
Downloading and installing are 2 different things - it's the order of install that counts. The driver doesn't install until you double-click it and let it do its thing.
fireberd
11 Legend
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33399 Posts
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112848 Points
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Posted May 19th, 2010 17:00
I have an E510.
There is, or was, a Dell recovery partition on the hard drive accessed by CTRL/F11 at bootup. If yours still has this, it's the best way to reinstall as it installs everything back to the way it was when new and no discs or driver downloads are needed.
On a manual install, although Dell notes the Desktop system software, it's not a must have application. You should be able to manually install by (1) Install Windows (2) Install Intel Chipset Drivers (3) Install Device Drivers such as Video, Sound, Ethernet, etc. The chipset drivers are key to a successful install and MUST be installed BEFORE installing the SigmaTel audio drivers.
On the Desktop System Software, there are specific instructions on the Dell downloads for this application, if you are not installing it from the Drivers and Utilities disk. Make sure you are doing the install exactly as noted. Downloads Link