from cpx-h to cpx-j problem

Question

i just swapped my hard drive from my cpx-h into my 'new' cpx-j. the cpx-j came with 128mb memory and i increased it to 512mb. i  changed nothing else. everything seems fine except for 2 things: it will not recognize my usb card reader or anything on my 1.1 usb hub. when i look in device manager there is a '!' on 'usb device'. when i try to reinstall the drivers i get the message, 'an error occurred during the installation of the device. the installation failed because a function driver was not specified for this device instance.' all of the desktop icons on the cpx-j are HUGE!  on my cpx-h the icons are lined up on the left side of the screen, covering half the screen. the icons in the task bar and system tray all fit, and i can have several applications open and see them all on the task bar. on my cpx-j the icons are so large they spread across the desktop/screen and the ones farthest to the right are cut-off. in addition, the icons on the task bar and in the system tray are so large that if i open more than one application, the icons in the task bar wind up with the little >> showing me that some are hidden, and the open application icons are crowded into a one inch section. i tried changing the registry shell icon size, but it was already set at '32'. i changed it to '24' and after several 'refreshes' the desktop icon size changed but the taskbar and tray icons are still large. i tried changing the size of the icons in the 'start' menu. that worked for those icons, but did nothing to the task bar or system tray icons – hey! it was worth a shot. why would just swapping the hard drives cause this? does anyone know what i am doing wrong? btw: i only have 2 days to figure out if this a deal breaker and return this laptop.

Flooby · Answer

It would probably help to know which operating system you're attempting to work with, as well as whether you've installed any necessary chipset drivers to accommodate said OS and base system, but for starters:

1. Have you flashed the current CPxJ BIOS to the new platform?

2. Have you adjusted your display resolution to the same settings that were on the CPxH? (i.e., 1024 x 768, etc.) For that matter, since you now have a predominantly J platform, are there any J drivers on there?

heyjude85023 · Answer

oops! the os is win 2k, the original os for the cpx-j was win xp but while my wlan connector would work with 2k it is not recognized by xp (that is why i swapped the hard drives. it will work when i install it and ignore the warning, but when i reboot, it is "x'd" out in the system tray.)

i did nothing but swap the hard drives and increase the memory. the bios on the j is a15, if i try to do anything with the j on the dell site, it tells me it doesn't work with w2k (anymore. it used to, but i think 6/05 was the end of w2k support)

i did adjust the resolution on the j to what it was on the h, but as far as your other questions, no. i only swapped the hard drives and increased the memory. when i researched this before starting, i didn't see any mention of needing to do anything else. my bad.

what steps/forum topics would you suggest?

Robot Randy · Answer

Go here for Win2k drivers for the CPxJ

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/devices.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=LAT_PNT_P03_CPX_J&os=WNT5&osl=EN

Load the chipset drivers first, then all of the others. The CPxJ looks like a CPxH, but has a lot of differences (which is why the have different specs and probably why you bought the J in the first place...)

Randy

heyjude85023 · Answer

ran into a little problem. windows wouldn't shut down after i made the changes. i restored prior to the chipset install, and that seems to be it.

note: i haven't done anything since then, because i am going to upgrade to office 2003 and do a fresh install on my machine of windows and other programs. (too many drivers and unused applications at this point and i might as well go with the xp and newer office. plus then i can use the online dell diagnostics again)

thanks for your help.

speedstep · Answer

The CPXH and CPXJ are basically the same EXCEPT that the Sound Drivers are different due to the Chip being Maestro2 for CPXH and Maestro3 for CPXJ.

You can Force flash the CPXJ bios on a CPXH and it thinks its then a cpxj
HOWEVER the sound chip is not changed and the speedstep function doesnt work.

You cannot swap between such different systems cuz win2000 doesnt like that.

With Win98SE it would work fine after installing the chipset 6 drivers.

Robot Randy · Answer

That and the CPxJ supports Speedstep (and it's not just a BIOS change) and has a socket for an internal modem where the CPxH has empty pads and various other differences.

They are similar looking and fit the same plastic case pieces, but they are NOT the same board. The sound chip is a convenient way to identify which board you have.

Randy

speedstep · Answer

@Robot Randy wrote:

That and the CPxJ supports Speedstep (and it's not just a BIOS change) and has a socket for an internal modem where the CPxH has empty pads and various other differences.

They are similar looking and fit the same plastic case pieces, but they are NOT the same board. The sound chip is a convenient way to identify which board you have.

Randy

I said that already. That said you can force flash CPXJ bios onto a CPXH.
The speedstep function doesnt work but the microcode updates do so you can use faster cpus with the cpxH but they always run in the slower mode aka the non speedstepped mode. Changing the bios makes it boot up as CPXJ and the speedstep cpu speed listed
but when you go into the bios it shows the slower speed.

The Sound chip is the easiest way to identify. The boards ARE interchangeable aka
you can put a CPXH board in a CPXJ and vice versa. THe other connectors like video and touchpad and keyboard etc all fit. I know this cuz I have upgraded CPXH to CPXJ
motherboards then later updated the MMC2 cpu.

The CPXJ also has a better retaining scheme for the mmc cpu to keep it from becoming loose.

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