Inspiron 1520 - ExpressCard Slot Driver?

I recently had to reinstall my OS on my Dell Inspiron 1520 after a hardware failure. I believe I am nearly back up to speed after finding most of the drivers (thanks in part to this very helpful thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...talling-windows-xp-dell-inspiron-1520-a.html). But, I cannot seem to get an external HDD to work via the ExpressCard slot. I plug it in and Windows XP detects the new hardware and asks me to find and install a driver. I can't seem to find it anywhere. It is an ExpressCard 54 slot that I use with a 34 card. It used to work for the external HDD prior to the hardware failure and OS reinstall (though I was on Vista before the failure). One thing to note...I did have to reinstall the OS after changing from AHCI mode to ATA mode, since XP doesn't recognize the internal HDD when installing it in AHCI mode. I am not sure, but wonder if that has anything to do with my issue. When reinstalling drivers, I was unable to install several Intel controllers from Dell's website...

Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

Any help anyone can offer on this? Do you think any xp compatible driver would work or is there a special one I need for the Inspiron 1520? When I plug into the expresscard slot, device manager shows a question mark for mass storage controller (location on the Inspiron 1520 is PCI bus 13). Any thoughts on what driver to use here?

 

Uhh I don't think you need a driver for ExpressCard...when I had XP Pro on it (Vostro 1500, Inspiron 1520 clone), it picked up USB adapter and FireWire 400 adapter with no issue. Perhaps you should install your device software?

 

There is no software, at least not on the device. It's an hdd I put in an enclosure. No onboard software. Okay so maybe it's not a driver I need (though that seems to be what windows is prompting me for). Any idea what software to install? I did not have to install anything when plugging this hdd into my sony or my Lenovo. I didn't for this Dell either before my hardware failure. Only after reinstalling the OS have I run into this issue.

 

Sounds like your system is having problem recognizing the expresscard. I believe that all popular made PCMCIA-to-USB3.0 drivers can be found in the following link(choose the right one under the "Chipsets USB 3.0" section):
page special drivers, firmwares, bios, utilitaires, ect...

FYI, most of the cards(I mean those 10-bucks on ebay, or even some USA made like the StarTech) are based on NEC chipset like uPD720200.

In the device manger in the system, clicking on the "Update" button in the question marked device and let the system to scan your driver folder can do the trick most of the time, be sure the including sub-folders box is checked BTW.

Hope this can help~

 

Ah, just FYI, at the starting of installing XP, it will ask if you want to install any disk driver(push F6 if so), this is the time you can install a SATA driver so the XP installer can recognize the SATA drive. The SATA driver can be on a usb or usb-floppy drive, etc...

Alternatively, after installing XP with ATA, open the device manger and locate the Serial ATA controller, update the driver with a SATA driver, then the AHCI mode will work fine.

BTW, after your XP recognizes the 34mm expresscard, the next problem might be your XP doesn't have the right SATA driver to recognize the external HDD ..so SATA is the way to go Should I also mention that one of the biggest disadvantages of ATA is NCQ incompatible.

 

Thanks Goophy. Unfortunately XP is already installed. I knew what I was losing by switching to ATA, though I didn't think about how it might affect the expresscard slot. Are you sure installing a SATA driver will do the trick? Things I've read make it sound not so simple (like this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-winxp-no-slipstream-cd-no-floppy-drive.html). I did try installing what I THINK are SATA drivers from Dell's website when I was reinstalling drivers a few weeks ago--but I got an error saying that the necessary hardware wasn't found and I figured it could be an AHCI vs ATA issue.

I figured going back to AHCI may be best accomplished through a clean install of XP with the F6 method, though I'm not thrilled about the prospect of starting over again.

 

So this post ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ws-xp-dell-inspiron-1520-a-6.html#post3144403) from the thread I mentioned above is in forums all over the internet, detailing how one can switch from ATA to AHCI post-XP install without having to reinstall the operating system. The only trouble is, the link to the .rar file listed in the post ( http://sinrsw03.sg.dell.com/fileup/at.asp?fn=200792810585320059.rar) appears to be defunct. I have not been able to find this file or even the .inf file mentioned anywhere. I know it's a long shot, but does anyone have this .rar file, or know where it might be found?

 

Is the expresscard recognized by the XP now? I ment, try installing the expresscard's driver first, so the system can at least recognize the expresscard. After that, plug in the SATA-USB drive and see what happens

 

Sorry, I don't know what driver to use yet. If I can find a driver to install I will definitely give it a try. When I plug in the expresscard it prompts me to install a driver, but XP doesn't go to the web for it--asks for an installation disk or for me to tell it where to find the driver. When I go to Device Manager, I can see the question mark for the Mass Storage Controller--but right clicking and selecting "update driver" takes me to the same wizard that wants me to locate the driver myself.

I took a look at the link you posted above, but I wasn't sure what to download after going to the Chipset USB 3.0 Intel link. Hadn't had a chance to experiment with it just yet.

 

Ah I see. Does the label on the expresscard shows any model number, brand name, or any other information?

If the appearance doesn't give any information, and no information could be found in the system using softwares, then the NEC/Renesas is definitely the first to try~

www.station-drivers.com/telechargem...3_firmware_3x_4x(www.station-drivers.com).exe

Most of usb 3.0 cards are made of uPD720200 or uPD720200a that need the driver above.

Some newer cards made of uPD720201 or uPD720202 need the below one:

www.station-drivers.com/telechargem...-202-DR_3.0.16.0(www.station-drivers.com).exe

 

I'll take a look. But does it matter that this is not a USB 3.0 card? It's an eSata adapter.

 

Ooop, then I really don't have any idea of what chipset it has...though the most popular one is Silicon Image..

If I were you, I would really check all paper work that comes with the card, or any label on that card that can reveal some of the information such as model number..... If none, then right click on "My Computer", choose Manage, then from the list on the left side, double click on the Device Manager, under there, enlarge the questioned expresscard, under the Detail tag of its Properties, check all the values and there must be some sort of device ID....with that information and Google...you can't go wrong

 

I'll see if I can find some more info by looking at the documentation for the expresscard (if I can find it ). Thanks for your suggestions on this. Rep added.