XPS M1530 Windows XP Driver Pack (Final) by Udi

Hi

Thx to udi for his excellent guide. I could install Win Xp on Dell XPS 1530 but I really need some more help. I have Intel Wifi 4965 agn card. After installing UDI's wireless drivers driver ( I had slipstreamed the drivers in the Windows XP CD using NLite) it is not being able to connect to unsecured wireless routers. Even the secured wireless router connections seemed to be working fine .Also Ad hoc connection (secured/unsecured) seemed to be working fine. Its on the unsecured connection (atleast so it seems ) which seem not to be working . Can you tell me where is the problem ?

Previously with the default Windows Vista the Wifi was connecting fine to the Unsecured wireless router. But not anymore. Please . It is really really urgent. Thx.


@UDi - I have PM'd you the same message . I am sorry for sounding so desperate but I only have wireless where I live and it is difficult to survive these days without Internet !

 

nikunj_cal,

Try installing the actual utilities which are included in the driver pack using the setup.exe and the Intel Connection Manager software. That should solve the problem. BTW: I have always had issues with adhoc networks under WinXP, when I want to use one.... I needed to get into advanced preferences and indicate that I only wanted to connect to adhoc networks. That solved the problem of adhoc for me and I am guessing that the full Intel install will solve your issues with unsecured networks!

-Mike

 

Udi - Thanks for putting together this awesome driver pack. It really helped out! Have you or anyone else come across drivers for the internal Wireless USB drivers? It's the last device in my Device Manager that still has a question mark next to it.

 

Mike Keefer -
Do you mind PM'ing me your email address? I'm in a fairly busy week ATM but once I have some spare time I'm keen to do a clean install, and will follow the steps needed to implement write caching on the drive. I will also attempt to update the pack, but only once I've done it myself successfully (and I'll probably have to convince myself there's some performance difference also... ).

FYI, my best 3dmark06 result is 4398 @ the genuine 1280x1024 res. Unfortunately system config might sway the results, so for the record, mine is:
T9500 @ 2.6ghz
8600M-GT (stock clocks for test)
4gb RAM
200gb 7200rpm - Hitachi
WUXGA panel - LG (WSXGA+ minimum to run 3dmark default res)

Let me know how you compare with write caching enabled. Also how long does XP take to boot for you? Care to talk us through the bootvis optimisation, does it have to install extra software, or does it just optimise the windows config and that's it?

Pring4 -
Wireless USB? I'm lost...

Hey nikunj sorry about the late reply. You might want to install a different wireless manager as suggested above, and disable the windows one if you want to handle networks better. The windows utility is pretty lousy. But if you must use it (I do, because I don't really need/want to install more software), the way to connect to unsecured networks is to go advanced properties (I think that's what it's called) in wireless settings, where you can "add" a connection. Click the add button, and type in the network name of your unsecured network, untick the boxes that say "require authentication" or something similar, and press okay... restart your machine. If you did it right, it'll now connect to the unsecured network. You'll have to repeat this process, except re-tick the security boxes (and provide a key if required) to connect to a secured network again.

Sorry about being so vague, I'm not on the computer at the moment so forget what the exact buttons/settings are called but PM me if you don't figure it out.

 

Also @ Mike again -
Your instructions mainly seem to cover the process after a complete XP install, but it seems pretty messy that way. Is there a cleaner way to go when doing it from scratch?

Also is there a way for write caching to be enabled (in windows) without installing the intel matrix storage controller manager? I hate extra stuff running if it doesn't need to!

Ideally what I'd have is:
- Updated install-time driver (for F6 method etc)
- Updated after-install drivers, in raw format (for Have-Disk method)

Let me know if that's a possibility, and the steps involved.

 

My config came with an internal wireless USB receiver. I ordered an external hub for it. This is the text from the configuration page. It's located on the Bluetooth options:

"Built-in Wireless USB capability [$40 or $2/month1]
Note : Requires WUSB Hub or other WUSB device for full functionality"

 

plz any one can replay to my qustion .. am waiting to solve my problem plz

 

Has anyone had any issues with their machine hibernating? Everytime I walk away I have to pull the battery and restart and the screen goes black and wont respond.

Thanks in advance...

 

Udi.. I've downloaded your driver pack and followed your methods in read me step by step.. but when i try to install AHCI driver in the Lazy Mode folder, it gives me an error reading "This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing this software. Setup will exit." what should i do? help me please?

 

Udi, Great pack. Thanks!

However, I am having one issue. Under device manager, I have one question mark for Other devices -> Network Controller. Any clue what that might be for?

I didn't follow your driver installation directions to the nose (and therein may lay the problem). Using nlite, I slipstreamed SP3 and your drivers (including SATA/AHCI) excluding Chipset and QuickSet (non-selectable in nlite) and booted off the newly created XP CD. As soon as the XP install completed and logged on, I proceeded to install the Chipset driver and Quickset.

 

UDI -

To complete a slipstreamed install of the newer, write cache enabled drivers simply replace the AHCI/SATA driver included in your pack with the newer one from floppyF632.zip provided by intel site.

Additionally, replace the existing Intel Mobile Chipset Drivers folder with the newer one from Intel's site...

Finally I would create a folder under your XP_PRO_SP3\ base iso creation folder for EXTRAS which is where I keep \EXTRAS\DRIVERS and \EXTRAS\APPS. In apps I would save a copy of the Intel Storage Matrix Manager (v82 I think) which you would install upon first boot.

When performing the slipstream using nLite, make a clean run against the SP2 disk and just integrate the Service Pack 3.

Make a second run and integrate drivers, be sure to select ICH8M SATA AHCI for the text mode when the option comes up.

The rest of the directions are no different than any existing howto for slipstreaming a custom installation of XP for the 1530 using nLite.

I am just now installing benchmark package (free/cheap) and will run the test as I have just re-installed from a fresh (my version 1.0.7b) SP3 with all the latest and greatest! I will post back with the benchmark results when I have them.

Finally... I sent you PM with my contact info.

Regards,
Mike

 

UDI -

I just ran the 3DMark06 Basic Edition Test... I have not registered it so I could not configure it to use my panels native resolution of 1680x1050 therefore all tests were run at 1280x1024. (I may register but don't know which version to get since I am new to this type of benchmark). I also have not performed many of the optimizations I normally would, so this is just a base line test.

[Hardware Specifications]
Video: GeForce 8600M GT
Display: WSXGA+ @ 1680x1050
CPU: T7700 @ 2.40 GHZ
Memory: 3.00 GB Ram
Disk: ST9200420ASG - 200 GB SATA, 7200 RPM 8MB Cache

3DMark Score: 4311 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score: 1729
SM 3.0 Score: 1614
CPU Score: 2099

Perhaps you could help me to determine which 3DMark software I should purchase/register os that I may be able to better test my system.

Finally.... I should advise that bootvis gives you access to dozens of performance counters, disk io times, driver lag, memory r/w, cpu stuff, etc.

Regards,
Mike

 

UDI -

Just did some further testing with more nVidia Drivers. The best results I have acheived so far were with nVidia 177.35 with the modified .inf.

[Scores]
3DMark06 Score: 4443
SM 2.0 Score: 1804
SM 3.0 Score: 1663
CPU Score: 2070

I have tried about 7 versions and 3 different settings for each version and will continue to conduct this research. Each time I produce a PDF of the system configuration (using MSInfo), notes of the nVidia tweaks I made and finally a PDF of the benchmark results.

When I have completed this process I will put the entire research on my website for anyone who is interested.

One note: If you are going to upgrade/downgrade nVidia drivers, use the following steps:

1.) Add/Remove Programs - Uninstall nVidia Drivers - Do not reboot yet.
2.) If you used nLite to slipstream the nVidia 174.31 drivers, go into \Windows\NLDRV\ folder and find your nVidia slipstreamed drivers... move them to some other folder (prevents them from auto-reinstalling).
3.) Finally ensure your custom nLite install CD is not in the drive.
4.) Reboot
5.) When booted back into Windows (Resolution will SUCK), locate your downloaded nVidia drivers (which you have copied updated inf over existing already) and run Setup.exe
6.) Reboot when prompted

That should do it for clean changing the video drivers.

I can only assume these latest drivers are better performing than the one's you are using currently since my benchmark (with lesser hardware) is 4443 @ 1280x1024 while yours is: 4398

I will be in touch = )

Regards,
Mike

 

Technoguy -
I'm not 100% sure but I think the general rule is always install chipset drivers first. Try to install the drivers in the order I listed in the readme. The network controller should be the ethernet, made by Marvel I believe (is your ethernet port working?).. you can try installing the driver for that as-is (again, whether you have/haven't already).

aegacy -
I have no idea. Are you able to try the floppy method? I think the exe/lazy worked fine for other people on here, so I'm not sure what could be wrong with yours.

Mike -
Great find on the 177.35 driver there, that's really impressive. I got 4484 (only did one run, my system is a bit bloated right now too.. was only getting ~4380 with the 174.31 driver when I ran it today) @ 1280x1024 res. So your new driver pretty much added 100 marks. PS. you don't really need to register 3dmark, for comparisons sake the default settings are all you need.

Unfortunately it's hard to tell what difference your other software changes have made given our different specs.

I will do a fresh install of XP (I'm only using SP2, think I'm happy to do that) and try again. Is it okay if I don't slipstream anything? I will get the new AHCI Floppy driver, and the new Chipset driver, and install them instead of the old versions.

Is the matrix storage manager necessary to enable write caching? Or will it be fine without installing that? Trying to keep things minimal if possible.

 

I found the Vista version of the Wireless USB 400 Minicard driver that I need for XP. Here's the page (Dell Wireless 400 WUSB). Unfortunately it looks like it's a Dell driver, not a 3rd party like Intel who would have a better chance of making a XP driver. Am I stuck without this functionality for XP?

 

It took a little digging and I found an answer. It turns out they dont make an installation package for the Wireless USB 400 hub specifically for Windows XP. However, you can get the drivers installed from the Vista package. This is the solution I found from the Dell Forums

 

Udi, I reinstalled XP (slipstreamed SP3 and SATA/AHCI driver only) following your recommended installation procedure in your readme (excluding the AHCI instructions). I've determined the cause of the issue. The "Other devices -> Network Controller" is for the wireless lan driver. Your pack does not include the XP driver for the Dell Wireless 1490 WLAN Minicard in my XPS M1530.

To fix this, I initially downloaded and installed this driver from Dell, not realizing it was outdated (2005 driver). Once extracted, the setup.exe could not detect the hardware. So, I used device manager to install the driver. Upon checking Windows Update, there was an available hardware driver update option for it. However, selecting and installing it did nothing as each time I rebooted and checked WU, the same hardware update would show up (along with DM showing the driver as still 2005). Also, using DM's "automatically search the internet for drivers" option did not detect a new driver. Other than that though, for the few days I tested it, it didn't seem to have any problems connecting to networks.

After a few days, I uninstalled the driver in DM (don't reboot as that will only reinstall the driver), and downloaded and installed this driver/utility package (it was the most recent driver I could find in Dell's database). Upon extraction, the installer did detect my hardware, unlike before. After rebooting, Dell's network connection utility popped up and asked to setup the network. Upon checking DM, the driver date shows as 9/20/2007. WU no longer shows a hardware driver update option and everything seems to work just fine.

 

Thanks UDI - works great!!

However, I was unable to do the AHCI bit at the beginning

It asked me where I want to install the driver from and the only option was an A: drive, which is not the DVD drive. I was unable to install from my usb stick.

I am probably doing something ridiculously stupid o ) but any help would be much appreciated.

 

XP will only accept drivers from a floppy disc (usb floppy drive). So yeah, usb stick won't work. Hope that helps.

 

udi,

Nice job. I am waiting to get my xps1530 (should be shipped tomorrow).
Is it possible for you to post the date of exe file in the first post? That way people can know if there has been an update in the exe file.

Thanks,
N. Kaufman

 

Hello All,
I would like to apologize for bending your ears on a subject that has already probably been beaten to death, but...

Is it possible to install the sata controllers after the xp installation on an xps m1530? I tried to slipstream the sata drivers per instructions but no luck, so I installed by switching the bios from sata to ide. Now everything works well but is atrociously slow. Hence my question.

Cheers!!

 

I used nlite to slipstream the sata driver. Worked fine for me.

 

OK. I went back to the previous thread that included the slipstreaming instuctions using nlite. It turned out to not be that big of a deal. All of the drivers worked and my webcam and fingerprint hardware appeared after the slipstreamed reinstall. I have to reinstall all of my program and huge pst file but the SATA cache is enabled so I think I will be happy a wasted an entire day. Thanks again to this forum.

Thanks to everyone (Udi, etal) for the help. The first laptop I did this to made my boss ask me to do it to M1530 as well. On both I did not get the sata drivers up so I will have to research this thread further on getting switched back over to sata. I did not complete the "Lazy" process. It appears to be complicated to switch back. If there is a simple way to do this without loss of program loss (Outlook, etc.) it would be a great help. I guess it is allready listed above and I will have to work with it.

On another note. On my first computer all items appear to be functional but the second computer does not show that the fingerprint reader and webcam in the device manager. When I started the computer in Vista I had both in the device manager and now I can not install the drivers because the device manger does not recognize that they are hooked up. Any ideas what might keep these items from showing on the device manager?? Possible solution??

Again thanks for the great pak. I could not have gotten this far without it.

Suber

 

Thanks to all who've posted here, I'm getting ready to install XP on my XPS M1530 on a new Seagate Momentus 7200 rpm drive (saving my old Vista drive in case I screw up so I can still use my laptop!)

Question: What do I need to do (or not do) to make Media Direct work? Do I have to install something from my Dell installation CD's?

 

sefdadhgsrtfyikygukoyukuikl

 

Udi... Thanks a lot m8, that driver pack was\is a life saver

All others... iv read this thread and others like it and Thanks to all who posted with hints and tips on how to get this unsuported OS on this laptop!!

Now to a few questions I have:
My m1530 is loaded with XP Pro SP3 and I used all the drivers from the Udi final pack to do it (it was easier then any clean install iv done before)
I have moded it using Vista Inspirate, as I really like the look of it (better then vista I think) and updated the video driver to 177.35 with a moded NIF file.
So far only a few probs have come up..
1. I cant use the button next to the wireless switch which is used to scan for avalible networks (not a big problem)
2. I have tried to play Race Driver GRID on it but it is REALLY jurky, seems like less then 1 frame-per-minute and the snound is really f**ked up. Now granted it may be the game but has any1 else played it on a m1530 with XP pro loaded??

Basicaly they are 2 small things that dont matter to much and the main reason I signed up was to post a big THANKS to ALL for all the info on here.
Udi... if we ever meet the drinks are on me!!

 

ITBoy -
Glad to hear it all worked for you,
I would advise switching back to the 174.31 driver included in the pack. I tried the 177.35 for some time, and while it gave better benchmark performance (3dmark06) by about 100 marks, it seemed to have some odd quirks in games. Quake3 seemed choppy even though the framerate was high, and NFS-U2 seemed to drop 5-10fps from the 174.31 driver. That's nothing definitive (I'll do more testing later perhaps) but I'm back on the old driver as I'm happier with its performance really. I dunno about your game in particular though, I'd try some different games.

Suber -
Not sure if this'll help, but you can install new hardware drivers by going:
Control Panel > Add Hardware > Next > Yes > Add a new hardware device > Install Manually > Show all devices > Have Disk. See if that works.

fiveo -
Media direct is stupid, it's a stripped down XP install (works about as well too...) rather than a proper media application. Personally I'd delete the partition before installing XP. I presume keeping the partition will leave media direct intact.

NKaufman -
I haven't updated the file. So it's still the original, if it changes I will suffix the file with a version number.

 

Okay I'm in the middle of updating the pack, so now is the time to voice what changes need to be made, and help me update it.

I've updated
- AHCI Driver (June 2008 version, now supports write caching!)
- Chipset Driver (June 2008 version)
- Matrix storage manager (June 2008, for "lazy method")

Possible updates
- Driver for Dell/Broadcom wireless adaptor
- Video driver, however I'm convinced that the included 174.31 is still the best, as the newer 177 drivers while giving 100 extra 3dmarks, have some odd quirks in games that I dislike. Ultimately gaming performance is what matters so I think this may be left alone unless someone wants to convince me otherwise.

With the Dell/Broadcom wireless driver, I don't have the card to test. I've followed the instructions here and have extracted + included the following raw driver files in my pack for the dell wireless card:

bcm43xx64.cat
bcm43xx.cat
bcmwl5.inf
bcmwl5.sys
bcmwl564.sys

Could someone please confirm that these are all the driver files that are needed for the Dell/Broadcom wireless card to work? Like I said I don't own the card, so can't test... here's your chance to give something back!

Cheers

 

Mike: Thanks for the info. Question that floppyF632.zip provided by intel site I couldn't find, is it F6FLP32.zip (196Kb)? A big thanks to you, Udi and all the PPL here for the advice offered going back to XP

 

Udi you may wish to include the XP Dvr for Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN as all Aust M1530 are shipping with it as of jun08. I found it at
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/fil...XP+Professional&lang=eng&strOSs=44&submit=Go!
Ver 11.5.1.15/9.0.4.39 4/11/2008

Regards Dhufish

 

Thanks Udi. I couldn't agree with you more regarding Media Dirct. The only reason I thought I needed to install it was to prevent the laptop from crashing in the event the Media Direct button was pushed by mistake. Is this not the case? If it's not a problem then I really hate to waste 2 gb of HD space on such a lame program.

 

UDI,

thanks foe the tip but i tried that. ended up renistaiing with slipstream drivers and it worked. i had a sony floppy drive and the work around was beyond my skills.

Please add to your read me file what the best process and sequence will be to up load the new drivers. Since I slipstream the sata driver in from your pack, I wonder if i can just update that driver or will i need to make a new install disk with nlite and repair xp or reinstall to get the write cache working.

Again your the man and many thanks.

 

UDI/All-

Thanks for all of your hard work, and the work/help of others that assisted you. I was able to use nlite to slipstream SP3 into my installation, along with your drivers. I ran into a problem trying to enable the AHCI using the lazy method. When I run the exe file in the folder (iata78_enu.exe), I get the following error:

This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing this software. Setup will now exit.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

Thanks Udi. I bought a usb external floppy drive a few days ago so will do a fresh install of XP using the floppy method. Can't bear the thought that I am losing hard drive performance!

Do you have an idea of when your new pack will be available?

Many thanks again.

 

Can any dell wireless card owners help with this please?
New pack release depends on this. The files are located in the archive (see the post I linked), it'd be great if you could uninstall your old driver, and try reinstalling this one with only the files mentioned (Have Disk method) and tell me if it works. I'm not including the huge 70mb file in my pack, that's why I want to make sure I've got the right raw drivers out of that file.

fiveo -
Media direct button does nothing bad when pressed (if not installed). I think it actually works just like the power button, at least when the computer is off. Just boots windows normally. I wouldn't bother installing it, waste of time and space.

suber -
To enable write caching I think you only need to install the new AHCI SATA driver from the zip file linked to by Mike Keefer. Refer below. You can update it through device manager.

dhufish -
The original pack supports the Intel 4965AGN card just fine, I know because I have it. Also, F6FLP32.zip is the correct file for the new AHCI SATA driver (196Kb).

propman07 -
Sorry I have no idea, perhaps try the floppy or slipstream method if you can.

 

Udi-

I was able to get it installed using the information from this thread. Now, everything is working fine.

When I installed, I had issues with the following items. All were easily resolved.

1) Other device (wireless network)
2) Bluetooth mouse scroll wheel did not work (installed Dell bluetooth drivers)

Thanks again.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=2922975&postcount=163

 

Just finished configuring dual boot of XP and Vista on new XPS1530. After following many detailed instructions posted above, just have one problem:

Neither Udi or Mike Keegans chipset drivers have resolved the 3 Base System Device exclamations I have under the 82801 PCI Bridge -2448. All other drivers installed great. After doing an internet search and checking Intels site, I cannot find these.

XPS config has the T8300 2.4 Ghz processor
4GB DDR2 Ram
NVidia 8600MT video card
250G 7200RPM drive

Would anyone happen to have these drivers or suggestions? Thanks in advance to all.

Newbee

 

Hey everyone,

I'm definitely not up to par with you guys but would like to have XP and Vista on my new XPS (dual boot). It's coming tomorrow and I'm not sure how to use this package.

I assume it will come preloaded with Vista, I want to reformat the drive and clean everything off. Then I'm lost for as what I'm supposed to do. I have a disc with XP and SP2.

So I need to:

1: reformat C
2. A. <F2> to boot into BIOS Setup
B. Under Onboard Devices, turn OFF the Flash Cache Module
C. Under Onboard Devices, change SATA Operation to ATA
D. Save and exit setup
3. Then I install Windows XP with my CD
4. Now, how do I use this download?

If anyone could help me I would really appreciate it.

 

I also have a question as to why RSaunders (guy who posted very detailed instructions) in his guide did not go back and enable SATA AHCI and the Flash Cache. Don't you have to do this to get the highest speed off of your HD?

 

Now you've got me wondering if I'm missing something....I thought I could install the SATA drivers via F6 floppy method....But do I need to go in to BIOS first and disable flash cache module (what ever that is) and change SATA to ATA? I thought using the F6 floppy I'd be good to go with the settings that BIOS currently has (defaults as shipped by Dell)???

 

fiveo -
No, if you read the instructions, disabling the sata/flash cache is only if you CAN'T do the F6 method for some reason. The F6 method eliminates the need to disable and re-enable it.

jtb1987 -
You do have to go back and enable SATA / flash cache if you disabled them. Not sure why RSaunders missed that step but my readme file mentions it I think. The rest of the instructions are in my readme too, should be pretty straightforward.

iamback54 -
Not sure what they might be, but have you installed all the drivers in the pack (marked mandatory in readme)? They may be the 3 media card reader drivers, but I'm not sure... all I know is that with all drivers installed I had no unknown devices.

 

Thanks again Udi! Had forgotten those and the install cleared them up. No more unknown devices and an awesome machine running two OS's thanks to this site. You're geniuses!!!

 

Udi, once again, THANKS for taking the time to reply. Your assitacne has been very helpful. I look forward to installing XP this week while I'm on vacation and have some spare time.

 

I've run in to a problem loading the storage drivers using the F6 floppy method. Each time I tell it to load 82801HEM SATA Raid Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E) or 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M) I get an error message after about 1 minute of it searching on the floppy drive (I've tried 2 different floppys) that says there is a problem with iaStor.sys file.
Message is File iaStor.sys caused an unexpected error (512) at line 2113 in d:\xpsp\base\boot\setup\oemdisk.c.

Anybody know what I need to do?

 

Well I got it all sorted out and I'm up and running XP!! Thanks again for the awesome driver pack Udi!
As far as AHCI/RAID drivers I went to device manager, IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers then found the correct storage controller and updated the driver using the 'have disk' method (be sure to select F6 floppy folder and use the file "iaahci.ifn" and reboot, go in to BIOS (or you'll blue screen) and set the controller to AHCI. Boot again and it will say found new hardware, it will configure it, then require a reboot again. Then I was able to install Matrix Storage Manager and I'm up and running!
Not sure but I think I lost the scroll function on the touchpad. Anybody esle?

 

Hi just saw your post and replying ad hoc . Was your wireless button off by any chance . I too once got the same message but never again .


Have you installed drivers/ softwares for all utilities. Ideally there should be no question mark after you have installed all drivers. Also the above question mark may be on account of Audio Drivers

 

Hi UDI, Really sorry could not update earlier. I had initially reported a problem of the Intel 4965 WIFI drivers provided not working with unsecured wireless networks. Well it turned out to be a router problem and the driver works fine . So thats another thumbs up for me for UDI's Awesome Driver Pack. Some glitches after XP:-

1) Every time I boot the laptop the blue tooth on Indicator Light remains on. This is irrespective of the fact whether the Blue tooth radios is Enabled or Disabled. However after I manually Enable and then Disable Blue tooth Radio the light goes out.
2)The volume manager does not pop up as and when i use the volume up and down buttons.
3) Unable to install creative hd audio software edition/ dell media direct. It says audio drivers not found.

Positives :-
Connected the Laptop via hdmi to LCD for playing COD 4 , amazing game play with sound !!

UDI is it possible to use the new write caching drivers without doing a fresh clean reinstall of Win XP ?

 

Update...touchpad scroll feature is now working. My bad. I had disabled Dell Touchpad from system tray during start up (I like a clean tray with nothing unnecessary running in the background). Works fine now.
Again, hats off to Udi.

 

Thx for the great driverpack!!
Im having problems with the sigmatel audio though.. When im playing music or some other sound, it sounds good, but when i play nothing there is always a noise in the background.. When the computer is connected to my home stereo equipment the noise gets really loud.. I've tried reinstalling the drivers many times and even with other drivers that i've found, but the problem persists.. Any ideas?

 

thank udi, i managed to slipstream most of the drivers onto a bootable cd with a windows xp pro sp3 dell oem ISO

i tried using the wifi drivers that you just suggested on my dell wireless 1395 wlan mini-card and it does indeed work. the only problem i ran into with this was that i already had installed the intel proset wireless, which made itself the default program to configure wireless networks, and it said it couldnt find a driver for the wireless card (even though it was already installed and unknowingly working fine). after i uninstalled intel proset wireless and rebooted, windows integrated wireless software detected the adaptor, and my encrypted wireless network as well.

i also got my bluetooth to work (i think, i havent actually tested it, but it says its working fine).

thank you a ton for all of your work

i also solved the sleep problem by using those modified nvidia drivers