UPDATE: OK Now I'm Really Mad!

[ !]So If anyone remembers, I had formatted the HD on my brand-new Inspiron 1150, reinstalled XP-Pro and then all the drivers only to have the screen resolution and audio be all messed up. After calling tech support a half dozen times on this issue, here is a summary of what happened:

First tech support told me I had messed the machine up by formatting the HD...

Then they told me the sound card was faulty...

Then they told me they would call me back with a solution (HAHAHAHA).....

Then they had me re-format the HD and re-install XP and the drivers cd 5 times back to back....

After repeated calls to tech-support and several re-formats and re-installations of XP-Pro and the drivers, a friend of mine pointed out (NOT THE TECH SUPPORT PEOPLE AT DELL MIND YOU!) that the drivers were for an Inspiron 1100 NOT AN 1150 [ !]

So I just got off the phone with them AGAIN and they said they would send the correct driver CD.

I am so effing mad.... this is finals week at the college I am attending.... my laptop has been down for two weeks and will not be back in service for at least another week .... IF DELL REMEMBERS TO SEND ME THE DRIVERS CD-ROM THAT IS!!!

Can you tell I'm not happy?

Thanks for listening. Knobby.

 

ouch, that's a bad time to have problems with a laptop. i remember being in college and wasting time dealing with such things when finals are upon you would just be a nightmare. i'm surprised there's nowhere for you to just download the drivers, might want to investigate that.

 

Yeah, there should be somewhere on the Dell website that you can download the drivers for your notebook.

 

Yes, in fact Dell does have a downloads section at their website. I visit this frequently as they often post updates frequently, particularly with BIOS updates, chipsets, etc...

I would recommend installing the lastest drivers from the website.

 

I had similar problems when i formatted the HD on my dimension 4600. I would go to each site seperately (ie ATI, Creative, etc) to make sure you get the latest drivers. If your screen is running at 640x480, then you know for sure that the graphics drivers need to be installed. I share your pain, Dell did a terrible job of backing up my drivers as well, nearly 1/2 were missing from the disc.

Dell 8600
1.8 dothan SXGA+
128mb radeon 9600PRO TURBO
512mb RAM

 

Yeah I know I could try to weed through the driver downloads at Dell, but honestly the truth is I am not the most computer savvy person in the world and I'm really not sure which ones I need to make my laptop run. And I suppose I'm a bit of an idealist to think that when I spend a thousand dollars for something, it should come with the correct parts and pieces. Oh well, I know I should lighten up a bit about it, but it's the timing that is so awful.

 

HAHAHAHA small world bellingham washington.......

At the end of the day, it's just a fancy calculator....

 

http://support.dell.com/filelib/criteria.aspx?c=us

I understand that you should get your money's worth from a company but if you want something fixed quickly its usually better to do it yourself if possible.

The link above should provide you with the drivers you need for the Inspiron 1150, it shouldn't be too difficult to navigate. If that doesn't work go to the Dell main page, click on "Service & Support" click "Downloads" and choose your Inspiron.

Burn them onto a CD and double click on them in your Inspiron.