TOTAL GUIDE: 1420 With XP!!!

@ lightflux

thanks for answering the first question

for restating:

say i have mcafee security center and microsoft office on vista right now. then i follow this guide to get xp. will i still have mcaffee and office on my xp partition?

 

No you will not have McAffee or office on your xp partition. But...you just have to install them using your installation discs and they should work (provided you have a cd-key for office and you have registered a login account for mcaffee of course)

 

laptopquestions2007, you're right! that modem driver DOES work! let me modify the guide...nice contribution

 

Ouch...after doing a windows update I don't know what happened but my memory card reader doesn't work ONCE AGAIN!!! Ugh this is frustrating...horrible drivers regarding RICOH.

 

wait, so would this guide also work with the m1330? would i be able to use this guide to install xp onto the m1330?

thanks for the other answer, by the way.

 

I tried to install XP on my m1330 and didn't have any luck loading the SATA drivers. I burned 3 different cd's trying different driver options (PnP and textmode), and tried both ATA and AHCI drive settings in the Bios. I was hoping to start a new thread detailing my successes, but there's not much to tell . Hopefully some other people will start trying soon. Maybe I just did something dumb. With the success installing XP on the 1420 it looks promising, though.

 

oh. but im confused a bit. so you were able to install xp, but the only problem was with the SATA drivers and the BIOS?

 

Pardon me if this is not the right place to post the question below.

The DVD Drive on my Inspiron 1420 is TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L632D.

Is there a way to make it region free so that it can play dvd's from all over the world?

 

This is the right forum, but not the right thread to ask this...this thread is about installing Windows XP on an Inspiron 1420.

Maybe you can start a new thread with this question (unless somebody answers here...)

 

Sorry, that was kind of confusing. In short, I wasn't able to even begin the XP install. Without the SATA drivers the hard drive can't be accessed.

 

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!! Ding Dong the Wicked Vista Witch is Dead!!



Thank you for this guide LF !

also a big thanks to DeadSimple who helped me today with some Vostro 1400 specifics as well.

have not tested SD or ExpressCard slots yet. Will soon.

For Vostro 1400 I needed 2 SATA drivers to successfully install.

SATA RAID Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E)
SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M)

Slipstreamed with SP2 and smooth sailing from there.

 

The Vostro 1500 quickset drivers didn't work on my Vostro 1400 either ..

 

just wondering people, if you are gonna go through the trouble of slipstreaming the sata drivers is it possible to just use the same process to slipstream all of the drivers listed for our laptops, (i have a vostro 1500 on the way) and have windows just automagically install everything from the getgo???

-inkwell

 

I loaded the QUICKSET application from the Vostro 1500 Resource CD (as I did all the XP drivers I needed for the Vostro 1400 XP install), and it loaded up and works fine.

Odd that you are having problems.

 

I might like to add that if anyone can get, or has, a later Dell XP PRO (or Home) CD, that the SATA drivers needed are already slipstreamed in that CD.

I grabbed a random DELL OEM XP CD from an Outlet Optiplex I just got, stuck it in my Vostro 1400, and the XP installation went without any problems.

Also, for those of you with Vostro 1400's, the VOSTRO 1500 Resource CD has all the drivers you need, except the Broadcom 10/100 driver, which I got from broadcom.com.

It really wasn't that hard. Now, the 1420 might be a bit of a different animal, but at the least, a DELL OEM XP PRO CD should install the same. You just need to hunt down the drivers from dell.com or elsewhere.

 

Nice one,

I have a few dell optiplex xp pro cd's here, shame their not 64bit though.

 

Where does one acquire such a resource cd?

I've merely gone to the dell website and downloaded the listed Vostro 1500 quickset driver for XP: R157261.exe. It says it supports only Vostro 1000 and 1500 (as well as other non-Vostros). Installer bails out.

Don't suppose you feel generous enough to upload your working drivers/EXE somewhere for us to download?

 

Well, interestingly enough, the same Quickset files that I used to install it on my Vostro 1400 (157261.EXE), now error out with "unsupported system".

Since those were the ones I used (successfully), and are still extracted on my 1400 in the "C:\dell\drivers\157261" folder, I have to assume that something that got installed AFTER I installed Quickset, now does not allow it. Could it be that Dell Notebook System Software??

I don't have an explanation why, but the 157261.EXE definitely installed, and I definitely have QUICKSET on my 1400 with XP PRO. Why it doesn't work now is a mystery.

 

I scoured Dell's website, Googled and then discovered this site and all the drivers you listed worked perfectly with Dell's Vostro 1700 Laptop. Of course, this laptop came with Windows Vista and I wanted Windows XP Pro installed but Dell said this laptop only came with Vista. I took a chance and glad I did now.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post those Dell driver links!!!

Intel Core 2 Duo T5470, 1.6Ghz, 800Mhz FSB, 2M L2 Cache, 17.0" Wide Screen, 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, Dual 320GB (2 x 160) SATA HD, 2GB DDR2 667Mhz

Jake...

 

Has anyone had problems with usb ports not working? I have everything else working (even the card reader) but my usb ports don't work. Under device manager I have 7 USB Root Hub that are not working correctly (There are also 7 that say they are installed correctly). I have tried to manually install drivers from the unpacked driver chipset but they still don't install.

I have a Vostro 1400

Edit: I got the usb to work. I just uninstalled all the usb devices in the device manager then restarted. Windows reinstalled them when I booted up. Working great now

 

I have the Dell Wireless 1390. Can someone provide me the driver for that?
I tried R115321.exe, but it failed saying "not compatible"

 

Try this:

http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151519.EXE

You could have found this on Page 4 of this discussion also if you would have labored enough to go thru all pages.

 

I've read through all the posts and seen that XP is being installed with a Dell XP disk. What if you don't have one? I only have the OEM disk that came with my Desktop. Will that work at all?

 

Maybe. I used a Dell XP PRO CD that came with an Optiplex 745, and it worked beautifully. I suppose it depends on how old the CD is and what computer it came with...

 

Hi everyone !

This whole discussion has been realy helpfull for me in installing XP in my Inspiron 1420, thanks for all your help. As for my two cents - some people reported that there Nvidia graphics drivers are not working thats because their is an option to buy your notebook without this card and use onboard the gm965 which is X3100. drivers for this are not available on dell site. I found the drivers on ibm site which were ment for lenevo 15.4" laptop but it worked fine on my notebook. you can download it from :
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-67978.html

Rest all is working fine but my bluetooth module is still not working. I have tried everything said earlier in this forum and all i could think of. can some body please help me on this. Keep up the good work, Chow!

 

One more thing : the combination of FN with other keys (f1, f2 & f3) is not working. same goes for media direct button.

 

Hi,

My bluetooth is working fine now !!! Reason : dell says it is a common problem, download R159805.exe and install. it worked for me.

thanks any ways.

 

thanks this is great. do you think you could tell us what your experience has been on the dell with XP os? like how efficient it is etc.

 

Read the full content of this Article: http://www.dev.notebookreview.com/news/acers-new-android-pc-uses-intel-haswell/

 

I find xp working pretty good on 1420, and so do all of my applications.

 

I have a Vostro 1400 and this guide has helped immensley.

I'm having issues with the LCD screen coming on from standby mode.

Also, is there a way to get quickset working via XP.

I have an OEM copy of Windows XP Pro from New Egg and you have to activate everytime you reformat your harddrive. Is there a way to activate it without having to call Microsoft everytime?

 

Read the very first post in this thread. There is a link to the Intel chipset drivers:

http://support.dell.com/support/top...plash?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~mode=popup&file=205326

To know how to install them, again read the first post in this thread

 

Lightflux - Great post - Thank-you very much. I used your nLite directions to create a SATA-enabled copy of XP Pro for my dv2000t. It worked like a charm....

 

i was able to follow this guide to a t on my vostro 1500 an have xp running with no exclamations/question marks in device manager! nice one lightflux....

-inkwell

 

Yeah! completely agree with everyone here. It's quite useful post with all the instructions to prepare your OS, its installation and rounding off with the drivers for the hardware. Made my day when I installed XP on my Vostro 1500 (1.6 Ghz C2D, 1GB RAM, 120GB, 128 MB nVidia, WXGA ---$529 + tax = $555)

This has been an immensely satisfying change(I would like to call it an UPGRADE rather) going back to XP. Vista was hogging around 684MB, even literally nothing..no applications were running (in idle state). Personally, nothing wrong with Vista... it just has a huge apetite for RAM/processing power. I hope Windows comes out with a less graphical version of Vista, something light, slick, fast, using less resources keeping the advanced features of Vista, probably a bridge between Vista & XP.

Anyway, everything aside, this is great post. Hats Off!!! to Lightflux

 

First off, thanks to you guys for making this guide, I've been scouring the internet looking for drivers and such, but before I format I have some questions:

1) What's the deal with the SATA drivers and slipstreaming and such? How new of an XP Home cd do I need to not have to do that? I have a Dell XP Home cd that shipped with my M1710 a couple of yrs ago, would that work?

2) The sigmatel driver is the XP vostro 1500 driver correct? After doing the steps you mentioned, and getting it working, does stereo mix work?

3) How are people fixing their memory card problems because I ran into that with XP on my M1710?

4) Someone mentioned something about how the partitions are arranged (partition 1, 2 , etc.). First thing I did when I got my 1420 was pop in the vista cd, delete the partitions, make one partition and format, but I think it was labeled as partition 2. I didn't think anything of it but how can I change that when I format and install with XP?

 

Well I guess if my xp home cd doesn't have it I can just put the bios into ata mode and put it back after drivers are installed right?

Also I guess if I just wipe my HD with dban, I won't have any partition issues

 

I got a hold of a Dell Inspiron 9200 XP OEM disk. Would that do the trick for an install?


To stuckinasquare3, from reading the earlier pages, yes I believe that would work fine.

I don't know about DBAN, if you did a clean format though I don't see why not. Wouldn't you be wiping the recovery and media direct partitions too though?

 

You only need to wipe the first 512 bytes of the hard-drive to delete your partition table, and then you have a clean drive to populate.

Careful with the MediaDirect button if you have no MD partition ... if you press it and your partitions get nuked, start a thread or message me and I'll tell you how to make a full recovery with no data loss

 

Does anyone know?

 

I guess it should work. I just added the SATA driver to an XP Pro SP2 OEM CD from 2002, but I have not received my Vostro 1400 yet to test it. I had trouble initially in nLite and finally I burn the bootable CD after the driver integration.

 

Let me get this straight, from one of the posts i read all i need to do is either find some one with or purchase from dell the windows xp pro and just install it on my 1420 and thats it?
Im really interested in doing the change but im afraid of messing something up being that i dont have the slightest idea of what you guys are talking about, maybe some one can walk me through it when im ready.

Would doing something like this cause a warranty issue?

 

That is about all I did on a Vostro 1400...A newer Dell XP OEM CD had everything to do a complete install, and then it was just a matter of getting some drivers from dell.com (from the Vostro 1500 page), and one driver from Broadcom for the ethernet. It was pretty simple.

As far as warranty concerns, you can put any OS you want on the 1420, it won't void the warranty, but dell may not support you if you call for tech support...

 

I, like many others, am not able to get QuickSet working on the Vostro 1400 with XP. Has anyone figured out the trick to getting QuickSet running and avoiding the "system not supported" error?

 

I have it running on my Vostro 1400 just fine...I'm not sure why it doesn't install now, unless it is a matter of the ORDER that things are loaded. When I initially loaded XP PRO on my 1400, then used the 1500 Quickset, it installed just fine, and it is running fine now. But, if I try to reinstall it now, I get the unsupported system error.

Go figure.

 

Thanks for the guide, this will be very helpful when my 1420 comes in on Monday

 

I tried QuickSet last.

Other than that, I went in the order of this thread exactly except I had to uninstall and reinstall the wireless and ethernet drivers to a bcmwltry.exe error.

 

I donno if it was mentioned but if you change ur bios from SATA to ATA.. windows xp works fine without all the bs slipstreaming..

 

My 1420 is working fine with XP now but I left mediadirect and quickset dun work. Anyone can help me on these issues?

 

MediaDirect installation needs to start before you install the OS so it can create a separate partition and copy some files over for the installation after you install the OS. I'm not sure if there's a way to force an install after the fact.

QuickSet is hit or miss. A few lucky people have it working, but it seems most of us do not.