Dell Vostro 1400 and XP drivers
So my new notebook is a Dell Vostro 1400. This Dell Small Business laptop is basically a completely black Inspiron 1420 that comes without most of the bloatware. Specs are: Intel Core 2 Duo Santa Rosa CPU (T7300 2.0 Ghz), 14.1″ WXGA+ screen (1440×900), 120 Gb hard drive, and 2 Gb RAM. Also came with Intel wireless, Bluetooth and a built-in webcam that is handier than I thought it would be.
Anyway, one of the first things I did was to format the drive and install Windows XP instead of Vista. For reference, here is a list of the drivers I had to download:
Essential
SATA drivers – You’re going to have to find a way to load these onto your install CD. NLite is a good option – initial release 9/28/2007.
Intel Mobile Chipset – initial release 9/28/2007
Ricoh Driver – updated 10/24/2007
Network
Broadcom Ethernet Driver – initial release 6/28/2007
Intel PRO/Wireless Driver – updated 11/19/2007
Dell Wireless Driver – This is for people who got the Dell wireless card instead of the Intel – multi-device update on 12/18/2007 combines US and foreign drivers into one file. Separate smaller downloads still available on Dell site.
Modem Driver – initial release 5/11/2007
Graphics
Nvidia 8400GS Driver – For those with the dedicated graphics card – updated 12/14/2007.
Intel X3100 Driver – For those using onboard video – initial release 11/21/2007.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Driver – updated 12/3/2007
Bluetooth restore
From Dell: “The Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth® may become disabled when downgrading to Microsoft® Windows® XP from Microsoft Vista. This is due to the Dell Wireless Bluetooth adapter being turned off before the reinstallation of the Bluetooth software or operating system. To resolve this issue, download the utility to enable the Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth adapter.”
Touchpad
Official Touchpad Driver – updated 11/5/2007
Enhanced Touchpad Driver – I use this instead of the above driver because it enables more options.
Multimedia/Extras
Sigmatel Audio – updated 12/20/2007
Webcam Driver – updated 12/12/2007
Quickset – updated 3/26/2008
BIOS
BIOS – Usually not necessary. I have included it here only for reference. Use it at your own risk! Version A07 released on 2/4/2008.
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There are a few dead links there. What I couldn’t find though was Intel Wireless Drive. Was this fould on the intel or dell website? Also what was the driver named?
Thanks.
WordPress seems to have put in an extra line break on some of the links. I fixed them and they work now, including the Intel wireless driver.
Thanks lot of.
Hy I wanna know on what cd do i have to put Nlite ???
On windows or on my drivers cd ??
pshyko22: Neither. Install Nlite and then use it to make a new Windows CD. Basically, you’ll be combining your old Windows CD and your driver CD. For details, go to nliteos.com and read through the faq and guide. Also, there’s a forum there with lots of helpful people.
Thnx a lot i’ve resolved the pblem !!
Hey Admin, so basically by installing the above drivers for BLUETOOTH 355, I can use it with XP??? Since DELL gave me incompatibility warning when chosing XP over Vista?
AL: Yes, it will work but be careful if downgrading from Vista as it may disable the card in the process. You’ll need to re-enable it before installing the driver (possibly in the bios as well?). Also, I just went to Dell’s site and configured a Vostro 1400 with XP and Bluetooth 355–did not receive any compatibility warnings.
ThAnKYoU!!!! gracias amigo!!!
Hi, I used bluetooth patch, now – the bluetooth control led is still ON – but i don’t use bluetooth… :/ Can I uninstall this patch??Or how to do it?
The bluetooth led isn’t an activity led, it just stays solidly lit if bluetooth is enabled. If you intalled the driver, you can disable it by right clicking on the bluetooth icon in the system tray. If you didn’t install the driver, you can disable it in the bios.
Thanks a lot, very useful.
Have not managed to get the display to show at 1280 x 800, just 1024 x 768. Any ideas anyone ? vista drvrs don’t work.
Everything else ok
Pete
thanks for the details.
XP is a breeze compared to Vista. Vista was such a dog, my programs were slow, it took up so much RAM, the only pro was it looked good.
i love XP
cyclingPete, do you have the Nvidia card or the X3100? My Nvidia card was able to display 1440×900 using the above driver. However, if you’re using the onboard X3100 then I previously didn’t have a link to that driver. I have added it now—but haven’t tested it myself since I have the dedicated card. Anyway, hope it helps.
I’m having trouble installing the conexant d330 modem driver. is say’s that it can’t find the modem at all. I presume this is a required driver for getting the wireless to work. Also trouble with getting the audio drivers to work. Am i doing things in the wrong order??
Wireless should work without installing the modem driver. I know some people don’t even bother installing the modem driver. As far as order, make sure you install the chipset driver first. I usually save the audio drivers for last and make sure to reboot between individual driver installs if you’re having problems.
You did a great job! Thanks a lot!
Hi I am facing a problem while installing Win XP on Vostro 1400. I’ve enabled the ATA option in the BIOS and upgraded the BIOS version to A07. Now when I am trying to boot the system with Win XP cd, everything is running fine till the setup loads the required files. But when it starts installing it gives an error msg that ur system has been shut down to prevent any damage. It gives some pci.sys error. Any help ?
Thanks.
Ashish: Does your Win XP cd include SP2? A quick Google search suggests that might be the problem if you’re using an older XP disc.
hi
i successfully installed XP on my dell vostro 1400. I did not make any cd with nlite. Instead i went to the bios setup->SATA Operation and changed it. That way when i loaded the XP cd it was able to recognize the sata hard disk and i successfully installed XP. But now when i revertback the bios thing to the default setting the xp doesnt loads, but if i keep it to the changed option it loads. My concern is what performace issue could this cause on my laptop’s performance ? Please help
The default SATA/AHCI setting is theoretically faster than the ATA setting, which is why many go through the trouble of NLiting the drivers onto the XP CD. However, I’m not sure if you’ll really be able to tell the difference in day-to-day operations such as web browsing or word processing.
Hi
Thanks for your reply. I have successfully followed all the steps but my wireless card does not seem to work. i was trying to install the dell wireless card 1395 driver but still the wireless is not working… Is it important to install all the drivers in some specific order ?
Thank you. I had most of the drivers, but was missing a few. Nice, clean write-up.
When I try and integrate the SATA drivers for Nlite it gives me way to many options, which one is the correct one?
Utk: Make sure you install the chipset driver first. Also, make sure that wireless is enabled both in your bios as well as on the physical switch at the front of your notebook (could it have been jarred to the off position?). If all that doesn’t help, you may need to go to device manager and update the driver directly by navigating to the driver folder and choosing the inf file.
Mike: It’s been a while but my old NLite setup file says: Provider: Intel, Mode: TXT -iaAHCI_ICH8M, Type: SCSIAdapter, Version: 7.0.0.1020. Hopefully, from that you can pick the correct version. I believe the mode info is the key here.
Thanks Admin
, as you pointed out above that my Win XP disc may be missing SP2 and that was the case. After using a Win XP disc with integrated SP2, the installation was smooth.
Thanks a lot !!!! for all your advice.
Regards,
Ashish
Thank you very much for this post. Clean and simple. I believe this will work in my vostro 1400 with xp os.
Thank you.
Regards,
JB
+639197137705
[...] XP SP2 CD due to the SATA/AHCPI setup on the laptop (so I turned it off), but after finding this excellent page, I managed to get all my drivers back onto the system and it runs perfectly. I could have rolled [...]
This really helped me a lot! Many many thanks! =)
Thanks a zillion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was helpful, thanks a lot
thanks a lot!!!!!!
gracias por el dato
Hi, This article is good, BUT one small question.
I need the LAN/Network Drivers to connect to internet through broad-band.
Could you please let me know the respective Link for the same laptop configuration
Roopesh: I think the Broadcom Ethernet driver link is the one you need.
I installed Windows XP with the AHCI disabled. Now, can I enable it again without reinstalling the OS? I just get the BSOD (blue screen) if I try to boot Windows XP after enabling ACHI.
Thanks in advance.
hey thanks a lot buddy!!..this blog really helped a lot bigger mess….well i just wanna more..How could you know what type,brand, of sound card or the Display adapter or or which companies RAM is present in a laptop without opening the laptop offcourse..and specially if you lost the manual and the guide in which all the hardware profile is given. or u may say the components present on the laptop is given..i hope you understand my prob
Dw Pwr: You will get a BSOD unless you install the SATA/AHCI drivers. I have heard of people updating them after the OS is completely installed, but have never tried it myself.
vaidyalem: Best way to know for sure is to open up the laptop. However, CPUID/CPU-Z can also tell you a lot about your cpu and chipset. Finally, the Vostro 1400 only has two options for display adapter so if one driver doesn’t work, use the other. Same thing with the wireless card. Everything else on the laptop has only one option and it’s all listed on the Dell website.