See my wiki A Clean Install of Windows Vista.

When obtaining the drivers ignore Step 5a (the Dell Drivers and Downloads Page is in chaos at the moment), instead proceed to Step 5b i.e. get the drivers from here.

Note the ftp website has legacy drivers (ignore these). In addition you only need the latest version of the drivers. i.e. the revision A00, A01, A02 (only take A02). There are variants in some models so you will need to pick the correct wireless card for example.

Generally you need to follow the install order:

• 1. Dell System (Notebook/Desktop) Software - Under System Utilities.*

• 2. Chipset Drivers (Intel then Ricoh/Realtek/Any other ones) - Under Chipset.

 • 3. Intel Matrix Storage Manager (If applicable) - Under SATA Drives**

• 4. Video Driver (Look only for Intel/ATI/nVidea ones applicable) - Under Video. Some of the newer laptops have switchable graphics and require the Intel driver to be installed first then the corresponding nVidea/ATI video driver for full performance. In desktops the user can instead download the latest driver from the ATI/nVidea websites.

• 5. Conexant Drivers - Under Communications*

• 6. Network Ethernet Driver (Usually mentions Ethernet/Broadcom) - Under Network

• 7. Wireless Card - Under Network (Several variants)

• 8. Touchpad - Under Input

• 9. Audio (SigmaTel/IDT/Realtek/Creative; any drivers installed before applications) - Under Audio. If you have a Creative Soundblaster you may be able to get a later driver from the Creative Website.

• 10. TV Tuners/Other Video (If applicable) - Under Video

• 11. Bluetooth (If applicable) - Under Network.

• 12. Dell Quickset or Dell ControlPoint (laptops only) - Under Applications

• 13. Webcam Driver found Under Input*

Just create a folder called "drivers" on the USB drive (they do not need to go in a special folder - just one you can find after Vista is installed), then download and save the files there.  When you save them, it may be helpful to number and/or name them in such a way as will help you know which to install first.  For example, you might save the file DSS_UTIL_WIN_R260000.EXE as 1_DSS_UTIL_WIN_R260000.EXE, so you know it is the first to be installed ... likewise, you could save the file R197840.EXE as 2_Chipset_R197840.EXE, so you know which driver it is and that it should be installed second.

I'm going to use a bootable USB drive, do I need to put the drivers in separate folders, and if yes, how do I set up the folders so the drivers install in the right order? If I don't need separate folders, how can I sort the drivers so they install in the right order?

i had a similar problem, now i am a long ways from knowing what i am doing, but, if you are doing a reinstall of your OS. you will have to download the drivers for all of your stuff off of dells website. you have to got to the section where you put in your comp. service tag no. and it should take you to the page for downloading drivers and other programs for your harddrive. it took me 3 days to do mine on a windows XP.

I've installed all the drivers your wiki said to but I'm still getting the message to install wireless networking hardware when I try to connect to a network.

Have you done the check in the device manager (Step 12 of the wiki)?

I hadn't, but I just did and under other devices, network controller and SM Bus controller both have yellow marks.

You should have the following:

Utility

R260000 Dell System Software

Chipset

R197840 Intel Chipset

R215450 Realtek Card Reader

Video

Sata

R197861 Intel Storage Manager Driver

R197868 Intel Storage Manager Application

Network

R197859 Marvell 88E80XX 10/100 Ethernet Controller

Audio

R312650 IDT Audio

Bluetooth

R204794 Dell Bluetooth 365

Input

R270497 Alps Touchpad

Application

R272666 Dell Quickset

Dell Support Centre

BIOs

1545_A14 Be careful with the BIOS update (see Step 17 of A Clean Install of Windows Vista)

Okay, I went through and made sure I have all of the above drivers, and they all were good except the dell wireless 1515. When I try to install it, I get a message saying dell wireless 1515 adapter not found, it may not be present or could have been ejected/unplugged from the system, please insert the card and try again.

The wireless cards, it is either or (variant A, B or C). Did the Intel Wireless driver work, if so you don't need the Dell wireless? How is the device manager now?