Windows XP Pro UPgrade on a T-1628 (T-1616), drivers inside

I had in the past made a thread about my HP laptop, and putting Windows XP on it (dumping Vista), located here, which appears to have been helpful. So I thought I would make another one.

Recently, a friend had given me a Gateway T-1628 model laptop to remove Vista from, and UPgrade it to Windows XP.
I had him look around the internet for details, and he said to try this thread for a Gateway T-1616 model (which has similar specs to the Gateway T-1628 he had given me):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=191749

While that thread he had found here was very helpful to start off with. I found that it was just that, only a good start.

For comparison, if you are curious, here are the specs on both the laptops:
Gateway T-1616 Specs
Gateway T-1628 Specs

I found this Vista -> XP transition MUCH more difficult than the HP I had previously done. Mostly due to the SigmaTel Audio Drivers, and always getting a (Code 10) message in device manager when trying out various versions of the drivers.
Really, I must have tried OVER a dozen different combinations of audio drivers / versions, etc.

In the end I got my friends system working 100% inside of XP Device Manager.
All of the Windows XP Drivers I used are inside a rar file, which can be downloaded from here (~80MB):

http://rapidshare.com/files/146672680/Gateway_T-1628_and_T-1616_XP_Drivers.rar.html



I won't go into all the details that I did in the HP thread about doing an XP install. There isn't a need really.
All of the drivers I linked to were EASILY installed with either a Setup.exe command, OR the "Upgrade Driver" button from the "Driver" tab inside of the devices property window from Device Manager.

Most of what you get inside the driver pack is in folders, numbered chronologically (z01 - z11). You should install them in that order.

And there is probably a good chance that newer drivers exist other than what is included in this driver pack. If you find them, good for you, I have just included what worked for me.

There are just a couple notes about what is inside that driver pack:

WLAN Drivers / Utility
There are two "z03" folders. The first one will install the WLAN Utility, AND a much older driver.
The second will ONLY install a much newer WLAN driver.
The second z03 pack probably isn't needed unless you are having problems.
Just note that the WLAN Utility is ONLY in the first z03 package. And having used several different WLAN Utilities, I find them MUCH more customizable than just the simple windoze one.

Audio Drivers
Ugh, I can't even describe the pain gone through just to get this working.

1st!
Be ABSOLUTELY sure to install the Microsoft Windows Update / Fix kb888111 (folder z05) BEFORE installing the other audio (& modem) drivers.

2nd:
Do the "Upgrade Driver" method for the "ATI HDMI Audio" (z06) device inside Device Manager. It is one of the yellow ? Unrecognized devices inside Device Manager.
There are probably at least two of those Unrecognized devices listed.
If Windows doesn't auto-detect the first one of the Unrecognized devices you try and do the "Driver Upgrade" for. Stop, and try the next one.

3rd:
SigmaTel (IDT?) Audio Drivers. This one took the most effort to get working. But after finally finding the right driver set for this device, it was just a simple run the setup.exe program for the SigmaTel Audio drivers (z07).


Direct Application Launch Button
This driver pack (z09) is more just to get rid of the final 3 unknown devices out of device manager. I really don't think it actually does much. There is NO setup.exe, so just do the normal "Upgrade Driver" method.


Thats it!
Enjoy using your Gateway t1616 or Gateway t1628 with Windows XP!

EDIT: 9/22

Tweaked was kind enough to point out using some AMD drivers below, which will probably help save some battery life.
The links in his post were bad, but some very quick googling revealed this page:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_14098,00.html

Direct link to AMD Processor Driver Version 1.3.2.0053 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64)
Direct link to AMD Dual-Core Optimizer Version 1.1.4

Thanks Tweaked!

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PLEASE DO NOT PM me for support, I won't respond.
You are better off posting your questions in this thread.

Also note, that this was an XP UPgrade for a friend, so I no longer have the laptop in my possession, and I will be unable to answer any specific questions about it. Hopefully other people will be able to help out with the more specific questions.

 

Hi Dave,

Since you have so much Energy ... and it appears you know EXACTLY wheere to find the stuff ... I wonder if you have the time to find out the Drivers for Gateway M-6862 see specs below ... Plus the Drivers to use a USB Bluetooth with this Unit in XP.

Gateway M-6862 Specifications
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/2008/Tempest/1015594R/1015594Rsp2.shtml

Please Note that the Specs says that the Graphic Card is
"ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 2600 XT PCI Express Graphics
512 MB GDDR3 Dedicated Memory " HOWEVER, in the laptop box it says it is only a "ATI HD 2600 with 512 MB GDDR3" and not a XT.

THANKS,

G!

 

The Dave, Great job!

I have been reading (and trying) several others ideas from about 10 different sites and forums trying to get this machine (a Gateway T-1628) up and running on XP and had zero luck getting everything to work 100%. Well until I found yours that is! Thanks Bro.

Yesterday morning at 7:30 I popped in an XP Pro SP2 installation disk and rebooted my 1628. About 35 minutes later I installed The Dave's drivers following his directions. Wouldn't ya know it everything yes I said EVERYTHING in the device manager is 100% known and working! The machine is very fast and enjoyable to use now. I did notice though that windows was forcing the processor to stay at 100% all the time.

Like I said this was not my first attempt at getting this to work with XP so I searched again and found a guy had found the following drivers from AMD.

and

These two drivers allow the cores to work independently of each other and also fluctuate power usage. As a result your batteries should last longer as a result when on the go...

Thanks again The Dave!

 

Your welcome

Thank YOU for the tip on the AMD processor drivers.
I will add that to my main post as well.


gonwk, Google is your friend

 

Today I am working on a slip streamed (n-lite) installation CD. I'll let ya know how that goes. Wish me luck!

 

Good Luck. It's not too hard. I foresee no problems for you.

 

I just wanted to post back to say I was not able to get the slipstreamed disk to work... oh well not like its too hard to install a few things manually. However I did finally fork over the 20 bucks to buy an HDMI cable and tried that out last night. First let me say the HDMI does indeed worrk in Windows XP Pro SP3 with these drivers and this setup.

Now let me continue to say this was my first Hi Definition experience and all I could say was ****! I have really been missing out! It looks better than a standard DVD by far!

This has driven me to want to build my own HTPC so I can continue to watch my favorite shows in hi-def.

 

Wow, I just registered so that I could reply to this thread. Found this thread via Google and I have to say, AWESOME!!! Thank you SO SO SO much for doing all this work for us frustrated Gateway laptop owners who absolutely HATE Vista. If I could return the favor somehow, I would. Please let me know.

Thank you again!

 

I'll like anyone who done the downgrade to XP, please update us if it was with it? Is the T-1628 faster? I have Vista on mine and I alway wonder how much faster she would run if I had XP.

Thanks