Intel HD Driver freezes my XPS L501X and disk thrashes forever

Hi all:

I have a Dell Inspiron XPS L501X and I had to wipe it and reinstall Windows 7 after a failed upgrade to Windows 10. Unfortunately, after loading the Intel HD Driver I have problems. I have installed this driver several times sometimes the first driver, and other times after other driver.

Finally, I have used this outline http://www.dell.com/support/article...62A8739E0401E0A55174744?c=us&s=dhs&cs=19&l=en to install the drivers in the correct order.

Anyway, no matter what order, once the Intel HD Graphics Rev A01 is installed, and the computer asks to reboot, the problems begin. After booting into windows, sometimes getting as far as showing the login screen, the screen and cursor are completely frozen and the disk light is pretty much solid meaning that the disk just churns forever. I let it thrash for twenty hours and finally manually booted my system. Using a manually inserted restore point just before the install, I rolled it back in safe mode. Then rebooted and it is now working fine.

BTW, it also has an NVidia card, but the system does not recognize it and I read elsewhere that that will happen if the Intel HD Driver is not installed *before* the NVidia driver.

What do you think is the problem and how can I fix it?

Thanx in advance for your help.

 

The symptoms you describe actually sound like you arent using the right drivers for that particular laptop configuration.

The other possibility is that you might not have pre-requisite drivers installed first... such as chipset drivers. Considering that your laptop came out after Windows 7 did, it's highly likely that Windows 7 will it have out-of-the-box drivers for all of the hardware in your laptop.

Since you're already down the path of re-inatalling Windows, I'd try this:

1). Do a clean install of Windows 10. You can download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft, using a program called MediaCreationTool.exe that will create a bootablr USB flash drive which can install Windows 10. Your Windows 7 product key will work to activate Windows 10. Try that first.

2) Or, try installing Windows 8.1. Again, you can download a Windows installer directly from Microsoft. Even if you dont have a product key for Windows 8.1, it might be worth doing this just to test / confirm if it's a driver issue like I suspect.

3). Alternatively, look for any Dell DVDs that came with your laptop, which can restore your laptop to factory condition.

 

MY bad, I should have clarified that I am using the Dell Resource CD that came with the machine! So, the drivers have to be right. And if you see the link in my original message, I am using an install order that is Dell specified.

It certainly is a driver issue, I am able to boot all day long before I install that driver.

I may just go for the Windows 10 option.

 

At this point, go with Windows 10.

If it is a driver issue (and not a hardware issue), it will almost surely solve your problem. I'm almost certain that the problem is a driver conflict, because Windows 7 is so old that it doesn't have native drivers for your hardware.

And to be honest, there really isn't a reason NOT to use Windows 10.

1) The whole "Metro / Modern" interface controversy from Windows 8.0 has been long resolved in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Plus, you can get plenty of Start Menu replacements that emulate Windows 7, like Start10 from Stardock. I use that since Windows 8, and recommend it to anyone.

2) The location tracking issue was overblown. Windows 7/8 tracks almost all of the same things as Windows 10. Plus, you have the option to turn off that tracking (and many people have written tools / scripts to automatically change those settings for you).

Windows 10 is faster than Windows 7, and has much better support for modern hardware. It's definitely a worthwhile upgrade.