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DavidND wrote:

Sorry to bring up an old chesnut YET again but I've trawled till my eyes bleed and have ended up nothing but confused!

 

If there is such a thing, can someone point me to the WHOLE process of upgrading an Inspiron 4000 from Win 98SE to XP please?

 

From what I've read the following are crucial:

 

1 - Ensure min of 256M memory (does the 800MHZ PIII Insp 4000 take any more memory?)

2 - Upgrade the BIOS (using FLOPPY Method only)

3 - Reformat hard drive and do clean install (I've bought the upgrade version of XP so how do I do that??)

 

What have I missed like drivers etc?

 

Some posts say XP takes care of everything but others say there are probs especiall with the video drivers!!

 

Thanks for your help as I can't afford to screw this up...

 

David

 

Instead of just reading posts, using the Search function helps narrow things down. 

 

1) Fine, but 512 total would be better.

 

2) Old school.  If a hard drive method exists, use it.

 

3) No.  Boot to XP CD, first step is to delete all partitions, then make a new one(s), then format, then install XP.

 

4) There are no PROBLEMS with drivers.  Problems are with USERS.  You need ALL the drivers from the Dell site including CHIPSET first, then NOTEBOOK SYSTEM SOFTWARE, then the rest. 

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DavidND wrote:
1) Fine, but 512 total would be better.

2) Old school. If a hard drive method exists, use it.

3) No. Boot to XP CD, first step is to delete all partitions, then make a new one(s), then format, then install XP.

4) There are no PROBLEMS with drivers. Problems are with USERS. You need ALL the drivers from the Dell site including CHIPSET first, then NOTEBOOK SYSTEM SOFTWARE, then the rest.

1 - Will search out someadditional RAM then.  Crucial.com.
2 - Have already done. Tried from hard drive but kept gettting messages that it couldn't be done. Did from floppy fine.
3 - Ok.
4 - The list presented to me is below. I've asterisked the ones I think I need but what order? I've also no idea what display driver I need so how do i find out?:

 

CHIPSET driver, NOTEBOOK SYSTEM SOFTWARE, then the rest.  Notebooks don't use display drivers...

Applications

Dell Access Direct  YES
Dell Help and Support Customizations
Audio Drivers

ESS Maestro 3i (Audio Only)*
Harman Kardon 695 High End Speaker
Harman Kardon HK395
Harman Kardon Low End Speaker
Communication

3Com 10/100 & V.90 LAN Mini-PCI
Actiontec MiniPCI V.90 Data/Fax Modem
Actiontec V.90/NIC MPCI Combo

NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHICH CARD YOU HAVE ABOVE

Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series RG1000 (Wireless Base Station/Residential Gateway)
Diagnostic Utilities

Dell 32 Bit Diagnostics NO
Display NO


IDE and EIDE Controllers  NO


Input Device Drivers

Dell Enhanced Quietkey (PS2) / Performance (USB) Keyboards  NO
Synaptics Touchpad *
Network

3Com 10/100 MB Ethernet Cardbus PC Card
3Com 3CCFE575CT 10/100 MB Ethernet Cardbus PC Card
Dell True Mobile 1150 Series Mini-PCI Card
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series PC Card
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series RG1000 (Wireless Base Station/Residential Gateway)
Dell TrueMobile 1170 Wireless Base Station
Motorola Bluetooth PC Card

 

LIKELY NONE OF THE ABOVE, IT'S IN THE MODEM SETUP

Printer Drivers  NO

HLDS 8X CD-RW Slimline GCE 8080N
HLDS 8X DVD Slim-line DRN-8080B *
Samsung SN 308B 8X Slim Combo
Sony Slim-line 8X CDRW CRX700E
Toshiba SD-R2102 8X Slim Combo

NONE OF THE ABOVE, THEY ARE FIRMWARE, NOT DRIVERS.

 

System and Configuration Utilities

Dell OS Updates *

Dell Suspend Utilities *

Video Adapter
ATI Mobility 3 / Mobility 4 *

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DavidND wrote:
Rick (and everyone)

Thanks.

Firstly, it wasn't my mission to p*ss you off with 'useless' repetitive questions. I have read possibly a thousand posts trying to find a definitive answer and I can tell you I didn't find one. I admit I found most of what you have said but I also found opposite/conflicting views which left me unsure.

Secondly, I'm no computer virgin. I built my first computer from a box of bits in 1979 and since then have built many. However, I can't currently afford to be without my notebook I can't screw it up by 'playing' (the way we all learn) and as I need to upgrade it to XP I asked for a definitive and concise answer.

Thirdly, please explain exactly what you mean by chipset driver as I don't recognise that description from donload list available for the 4000.

Lastly, I was actually hoping you'd answer; you have helped me before and I trust your judgement. Sorry if it bugged you.

Be cool.

David

In reviewing the I4000's list, no chipset driver or notebook system software is listed for that model.