Windows 7 x64 drivers for an Inspiron 1520?

I'm installing Windows Vista (64-bit edition) on my Dell Inspiron 1520.

Previously I was using the 32-bit edition, with the Vista-32 drivers from the Inspiron 1520 page on the Dell website.

As you know, Dell does not officially support 64-bit on the Inspiron 1520, although the processor is 64-bit capable. Thus, there are no Vista-64 drivers on the Inspiron 1520 page. I'm searching for appropriate drivers, but am unsure on the following issues:

1) Often a Dell Vista-64 driver exists on the Dell website, for the exact same device as mine, but for a different laptop. Especially when intended for newer laptops, these drivers often have a higher version number (and more recent release date) than the corresponding Vista-32 driver available for the old Inspiron 1520. Is it safe to install these?

2) Is it safe to install drivers directly from the device manufacturer? For example, can I download the Matrix Storage Manager or INF Chipset driver directly from Intel, or does the Dell version have customizations that are essential for my laptop?

Can anybody help me out? Any comments on the issue will be appreciated.

 

If the drivers for another model are for the exact same device as the one in your 1520, then it should be safe to install.

 

Any other opinions on this matter?

 

Almost everything works out of box with Windows 7 64bit (I'm using it now).

You only need a few things: 1) Graphics Driver, 2) Ricoh R5C833 Media Card Reader Drivers, 3) Synaptics TouchPad Drivers

Graphics Drivers
If you have Intel graphics, the drivers are found here: Intel Download Center.
Product Family: Graphics
Product Line: Laptop Graphics Controllers
Product Name: Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Operating System: Windows 7, 64-bit

If you have nVidia graphics, the drivers are found here: nVidia Drivers.
Product Type: GeForce
Product Series: GeForce 8M Series (Notebooks)
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit

Media Card Reader
If you clean install Windows 7, you'll notice that there are some unknown devices in the Device Manager (Other Devices with a yellow question mark next to them). These are for the the Ricoh Media R5C833 card reader built into the side of the laptop. Drivers can be found straight from Dell (listed for another laptop): Dell Search for R234107 (or search dell yourself for R234107).

The file is R234107. When you run it, it will extract the driver to a directory of your choosing. You can either continue with graphical installation (I did not try this), or install the drivers manually in the device manager (this works well).

Synaptics TouchPad
You can download official Synaptics TouchPad drivers directly from the Synaptics Download Page. I had some trouble with the tap-zones in driver version 14.0.3, so if this is still the latest version posted, you might try some beta drivers from the LaptopVideo2Go forums.

 

How about things like Quickset or am I the only person still using that :S

 

Hi!
Thanks a lot alfredska for your help!

But like demonhotrod I would like to run quickset (I'm on 7 64 bits).
Is it possible?
Thanks!

 

I don't know for sure about quickset, as I haven't found any interest in installing it myself. You can try the following though:

Search for R163853 on DellSupport
(or here is a direct link)

This is the closest match I could find for QuickSet for 64bit windows which is compatible with the Inspiron 1520. Please report back if you try it.

 

Either you haven't read beyond the first post, or you don't realize that QuickSet is software... not a driver.

 

Quickset is garbage, I noticed that it slowed my 1520 startup time to a crawl.

 

No I don't think QuickSet slow my computer a lot and I found it usefull

Thanks alfredska but I just found it on this blog: http://mileski.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/dell-inspiron-1520-windows-7-64-bit-drivers/
And it works well for me!

 

If you go to google and type in site:notebookreview.com Dell 1520 64bit drivers, it will bring you to a topic where someone posted all of the drivers for the Inspiron 1520.

I have them all downloaded in a zip folder on my server.

The only use for Quickset ... or for me ... is display settings. Windows 7 kind of wliminates that problem with the winkey+p thing.

 

I´m having problems to install nvidia driver for my Geforce 8600 GT. In past my videocard was running ok under windows 7 rc. I try a lot of drivers from Nvidia 8 series and diferent OS versions (WIN 7, VISTA and XP) But doesn´t work.

Any solution???

 

I did not come accross to any problem installing official nvidia drivers from their site (inspiron 1520 with 8600M GT , win7 x64 ultimate)

 

Please help on how to install Windows 7 64 bit on Dell Inspiron 1520.

When I insert install DVD setup proceeds but after clicking Install Now,

I get a message requesting stating: "CD/DVD drive device driver is missing, if you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD, USB flash drive, please insert it now"

Did anyone also encounter the same problem? If so, please help on how to resolve this.

Many thanks in advance!

 

Hi! I have installed Windows 7 Home basic on my Dell Inspiron 1520.
I have an issue that I have had when I still had Windows Vista 32-bit, when I install my Nvidia drivers things like YouTube videos have these little white and red dots over it. Also, back when I had Vista when applied the Areo theme - everything went fuzzy... I am really desperate to know what to do... I have tried multiple drivers. But always I seem to get this problem. Any help will be highly appreciated!!

 

Do you have the latest Nvidia drivers? I'm on 266.58 drivers from Nvidia.

Also update your Flash.

 

I am pretty much in your boat or about to jump in at the moment, still debating between whether I should make the switch to the 64-Bit (x64) or 32-Bit (x86) versions. I can't upgrade my RAM beyond 4GB anyway, so I don't know if I should even consider the 64B or not. I had a hefty conversation regarding that and what I do know, is that I'll be upgrading to Windows 7, just not sure what version I should pick. In my efforts to research this, I did stumble onto discovering this:

Dell Inspiron 1520 – Windows 7 64 bit drivers Mileski’s Weblog

I believe it has a complete list of drivers and download areas for most of your 1520 needs. I am still trying to conduct a more thorough search, as I have a Dell Truemobile 360 Bluetooth 2.1 Card, but I have trouble find drivers for it. It's an essential part of my business and I don't think I'll be updating to 64B, unless I can find it.

Please do let me know how it goes and what your experience is like w/the new OS. My specs are listed in my signature.

Edit: I was able to find a Dell Truemobile 360 Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR Driver for Windows 7! Unfortunately, it's not listed here for USA but in google I was able to get to it through the European Website. The drivers are for the Vostro 10xx series, but I downloaded and installed drivers for Windows Vista and it worked even though it said it was only for that same series.