Missing 4 unknown drivers in Dell studio 1537, Windows Vista 32-bit.

"downloaded what I hoped was the latest driver from somewhere for the network adapter"

This is scary.  Where did you get it?  Some "driver" site?  Dell?  Which file did you run/install?  You can try reinstalling drivers for those devices, but before I give you links, it would be helpful to know exactly what you installed, as installing a network driver should not do what you describe.

Agreed that shouldn't happen it looks like you have tried to install some sort of optimisation program which usually tend to break things or Malware pretending to be drivers. I would be very cautious.
 

I DO remember Dell's site being ZERO help at identifying anything at all about the Dell Studio 1537.  Not it's parts that it has OR their brand names or model names, not which driver to download for them, nothing.  Instead, you get some long list of possible parts, as if they're trying to tell people that they assemble their own computers while blindfolded.  & that was AFTER I installed their stupid diagnostic tool too.

According to my history, the file that I downloaded came from www.driveridentifier.com.  I found the download & ran it after I googled on the only PNP device ID number that isn't in the first post.  As for any lectures, as I ALREADY explained in the FIRST post, I tried googling for the PNP device ID numbers for the 4 remaining problem devices, but no results seem to identify what these devices are or where I can find & download their drivers from.  That was BEFORE I found this support forum where we're all at right now.

NOW can I get any help?

The Support site will list everything the system could have shipped with.  If you want to narrow that down to what devices/options your system shipped with, you have to tell it your configuration by entering your Service Tag.  I'm not saying navigating their site is as easy as it should be, but it's all there if you know what you are looking for, or take the time to figure it out - or ask.

We only lecture you on what you did to help prevent you from making that same mistake next time.

Worst case, at this point, you may be looking at reinstalling Windows, but we can try to fix it by reinstalling the proper drivers:

1. Uninstall any software installed by driveridentifier.
2. Reinstall the System Software:

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/studio-1537?driverId=XVX9H&osCode=WLH&fileId=2731093919

3. Reinstall the chipset drivers:

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/studio-1537?driverId=F63F0&osCode=WLH&fileId=2731105518

4. Reinstall the Ricoh card reader drivers:

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/studio-1537?driverId=VKYW7&osCode=WLH&fileId=2731104779

4. Reinstall the ethernet/network drivers:

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/studio-1537?driverId=65M1G&osCode=WLH&fileId=2731105013

My computer = Dell studio 1537 My OS = Windows Vista 32-bit Over time, my Dell studio 1537 has gotten slower & slower

You can install the drivers listed by theflash1932 however its highly unlikely your performance issues will be resolved.

Over time the performance of WIndows deteriorates and so you are best to perform a clean installation of Windows in order to recover/retrieve maximal system performance. Moreover when the Service Packs are instaleld before the Dell system drivers I have seen a significant increase in performance. To do this have a look through my wiki Windows Reinstallation Guide/A Clean Install of Windows Vista:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/t/19480753.aspx

Alternatively see A Clean Install of Windows 7 which requires you to purchase an upgrade license but will have better performance than Windows Vista. You could also upgrade to Windows 8 but I don't recommend it.

You should have got a Windows Vista Reinstallation DVD with your system however if you didn't or you need to request one see the information here: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/4677/t/19476992.aspx

The recommended driver install order is listed in great detail but if you need additional help in that area send me a private message with your systems service tag so I can see if I can located the correct driver set for you.

"You can install the drivers listed by theflash1932 however its highly unlikely your performance issues will be resolved."

If you don't want to reinstall, then you have to get the driver software off and get the devices taken care of before we can even address performance issues ... but I agree, fixing the performance issues (and possibly the driver mishap) may require a reinstall, but take it one step at a time.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier (It's been a busy day, so I forgot).  Everything worked out fine, although that one "System software" had me worried, because it took nearly 20 minutes to install, & I was beginning to think that it was permanently frozen.  Anyway, all of the devices have there drivers now.  Thanks for your help.

I forgot to mention.  I uninstalled the download from driveridentifier immediately (through Windows "Add or remove a program" system) after it caused my troubles.

Glad it's working ok for you now.

It isn't normal for SS to take that long to run, but not unheard of either ... you were wise to wait it out - if doing an operation like that and it appears frozen, you want to give it as long as is reasonable to finish what it is doing, even if it just never exits the operation, it usually finishes.

Always look first to the PC manufacturer for drivers, and second to the individual device manufacturer (Intel, Realtek, Broadcom, etc.).  Third-party driver utilities are never necessary.

Take care.