Setup cannot run on this machine.

I am not really sure what method you are using to install these drivers. 

The steps to follow:
Download the driver to a folder on your hard drive.
Run the EXE file and it will extract the files to a folder and it should launch the setup program and install the drivers.

You really do not need to use the device manager to install Dell's drivers.

Thanks for your reply.

I extract to the default location.

More relevant info while I think of it...this problem has occurred since the notebook was new. Moreover, it was returned to Dell to replace a failed HDD a few months after I bought it, so I had a brand new OS to work with after its return, and it did the same thing then. Can't swear to you I did the Dell updates before installing anything else; probably didn't, to be honest. But it was pretty close to a virgin Windows install both times, Dell updates most likely run right after ZoneAlarm, NAV, and Windows Update were finished, since that's the order in which I tend to set up a machine.

Heheheh.

It's 5 years later. And I've just today had an Optiplex 745 and a 755 do the EXACT same thing while trying to install Dell System Software & chipset drivers, both downloaded from support.dell.com from the page specifically for each machine's Service Tag.

So, thinking I'd never seen this problem before, I Google the error message, and find 6 hits. I click number 1 (what an honor to be the top link on Google!) and find a very familiar name has asked the same question. And while, of the 6, this is the longest thread on the subject, it's every bit as unsolved as the others.

I d/l'd Intel's generic chipset installer for the 2 Optis. We'll have to do without the Dell System Software on those, I guess.

The notebook in my OP, in case anyone cares, has been replaced twice as my production computer, but is alive and quite spry for its age. Now running Windows 7 amazingly quickly, and reliably. And without a single, official, Dell driver to be found anywhere on the machine any more!

Hi Jeff,

Glad to see I'm not the only person with this issue, but not glad to see that years later it still hasn't been resolved.  I have an Inspiron 6400 that had slowed to a crawl so yesterday I re-partitioned my drive and reformatted my C drive (got rid of E:; not sure I should have done that).  Reloaded XP Professional from Dell disk. Tried to load drivers from the Dell Drivers disk, but it didn't list my exact model so I went with the 6000 one (figured it was the right series).  Most of the drivers wouldn't load and got the "setup cannot run on this machine" message for more than one of them.  Wireless isn't working.  Doesn't recognize that I have a sound card (both of which worked fine before).  I've got it connected to the internet and now searching online for the drivers to load to a disk since I cannot load them from the disk and can't load them in the order Dell says to without it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jill

If running antivirus and firewall while trying to install, they will block the effort.

Proper install order:

1.  OS.

2.  All drivers.

3.  Firewall and antivirus, in whichever order you prefer.