Vista Clean Install Problems on Studio 1555

I decided to hold off on upgrading to Windows 7 on my Studio 1555 but I wanted to perform a clean install of Vista. So I popped in the Vista installation disc that came with the computer, partitioned the hard drive, and installed Vista. Now it is up and running but with a few problems. The problems are; (1)the ethernet controller is not recognized, (2)the intergrated camera is not recognized (when I open Webcam Central is says "Please plug in a supported webcam), and (3) the displays that used to show up when using the brightness and volume function keys no longer appears. I installed all of the drivers on the drivers and utilities disc that came with the computer but these problems are still there.

Can anyone help me?

 

You may need to get some drivers from Dell's website.

Go to support.dell.com and click drivers. Type in the tag service tag of your laptop and it will show all of them.

I know for a fact that (3) is Dell's Quickset.

Why have you decided not to install Windows 7? If you're formatting anyways, Windows 7 is a much better choice IMO. It found and installed all of the necessary drivers for me. All I had to install was Quickset and the driver for the touchpad (that allows multitouch and scrolling).

 

I wanted to play around with the laptop and see how it felt on Vista first but if you say that 7 finds all the drivers automatically then I am probably just going to go ahead and install it.

 

Yep, it found all but 2, maybe 3 of the drivers. And those were just extra ones. All of the necessary ones were installed for me.

Be sure to download the Windows 7 RC before August 20th, as it won't be able to be downloaded after that date. You'll be able to get keys and installed after that date, just not download it.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx

 

I already have a disc with 7 on it. I just did not want to install it yet.

 

Ah, ok. Well let us know how it goes.

 

I got a quick question. I'm using Vista home premium, I get a free upgrade to Win7 when its released. Question is, if i download and install Win7 RC, it will be Win7 Ultimate right? So once october comes, and I get the disc or whatever from Dell, do I have to reinstall Win7 since the one they send me will be Home Premium?

 

Yes you will have to reinstall. Besides, you'd want to reinstall, because the RC is "unfinished work". If you download win 7 RC at the moment, it will be Ultimate, that is correct.

 

Great, thank you for the reply. I guess I'll just wait until October comes. It'll save the hassle and I'll get a more thorough comparision between Vista and Win7 on the machine anyways.

 

How long did it take for you to install 7 and get everything up and running, sonarav? I only ask because I have a fairly tight schedule and I need to know how much time I need to set aside.

 

To be honest, I really don't remember. If I had to guess I would say 30 minutes. It could have been 15 minutes or 45. Certainly no longer than 45.

 

I installed Windows 7 this weekend as well and I installed in about the time it took me to make breakfast. It was very, very quick. Windows 7 is pretty slick as well. Almost everything installed really easily and even wireless worked right away. The GPU drivers were a bit of a pain, and the IDT audio drivers won't install with the setup software. But everything works now. Even Dell Dock runs fine.

 

30 minutes?! That is much faster than any clean installation of Vista I have ever done.

 

So I installed 7 this morning and you were right, everything was pretty much working right off of the bat. The only thing I needed to install myself for Dell Quickset. The brightness setting meter works fine but when I try and change the volume the meter appears but it does not show the setting. It is just blank. Anyone know how to fix this?

 

I have that same issue with my 14z, and it appears to be a win7 issue. It's apparently fixed with the final release. I'm not too bothered by it, since it actually changes the volume, but yeah.

 

QuickSet only works for a few things with me. Brightness shows up, but I don't get any indicators for Volume. The MediaKeys work though.

 

Check out the Inspiron 1545 drivers page on the Dell site. They've just posted up a new section on Windows 7 drivers, and Quickset is included. The volume display now works fine for me, but it might not work for you Studio owners.

 

for 1 - For ethernet controller make sure you install "Broadcom driver" under Network category of the support website, when you are looking for your system.
for 3 - Certainly quick set.

I am also install dell system software etc. Let me see what comes there. Overall reinstall is fun, i can optimize things and now its in my control.