Stuck on vista basic

The Drivers may also be found on the Dell ftp website. This has been reorganised recently so drivers are listed by model. Select your type and then model number. We will take the Inspiron laptop and install Windows Vista 32 bit for example. The user should download only the latest drivers for their system which correspond to their Operating System. Finally one thing to note is that certain categories, in particular Network Wireless Card and Video Graphics Card were customisable and have several variants, you must select the correct ones for your system.

Downloading from the ftp website is faster but designed for advanced users. However due to the sorry state of the drivers and downloads page I recommend all users to use the ftp website. Pay attention to driver install order Step 5c. All the drivers should be downloaded and saved to a USB stick. The way this guide is intended Steps are preparation for installing Windows so the user has everything they need when installing Windows.

This is why Step 5 downloading drivers and Step 10 installing drivers are independent. If however the user has already attempted to install Windows likely they won't be able to access the internet to get the drivers and will need to use a working system to download them. There are a couple of unofficial driver sets listed for selected laptops and desktops provided by me.

These are likely to work but theres no g uarantee. When downloading drivers for a clean install I recommend using the same folder structure as me to prevent confusion and to ensure that you install all the drivers in the correct order. Not all systems will have this. Note there are the drivers and the applications.

The applications should increase system performance. If a full installer isn't present then it is likely the preinstallation drivers see Step 6. Video Driver - Under Video. Generally there are several variants for Video Driver e. Ignore any for TV tuners at this moment.

There may be a few variants of graphics cards for a laptop and you must select the correct ones. I n desktops if there is no dedicated graphics card in the card slot, then they have the onboard generally Intel driver. Generally there are several variants of graphics card per desktop model and you need to pick the correct one. Conexant Drivers - Under Communications.

Drivers for Modems are often natively included in Windows Vista if its not there don't worry. Modems are becoming obsolete also. For newer systems if modem drivers exist, they may fail to install as a modem is not present. As modems are becoming obsolete the modem is not always installed as default for a Windows Vista laptop.

Network Ethernet Driver - Under Network. Sometimes Intel, Atheros but the later two can be the wireless card. Wireless Card - Under Network. Not present for all Desktops but most that come with Windows Vista or later will have a wireless card included. There are generally several variants of Wireless Cards and you will need to pick the correct one.

For some newer systems the wireless and bluetooth card are one and the same. Touchpad usually mentions Synaptics or Alps - Input. Generally for laptops only. There may be additional drivers if you purchased a non-standard keyboard for a desktop e. Audio - Under Audio. Ensure you install any drivers before Audio Applications. Again pick the correct one for your system, there is generally not that many variants in the Audio.

This is a dedicated soundcard. There will be a driver available but you may be able to get a later driver from the Creative Website. There is sometimes also Creative Applications available for the onboard Audio. Many systems don't have these and are only added via customisation.

Bluetooth If applicable - Under Network. For some newer systems the wireless and bluetooth card are one and the same and the driver will be installed alongside the wireless driver. This is for the power settings and Fn keys. Usually this is for laptops only. Webcam Driver found - Under Input. Most desktops won't have a webcam driver or will use a dedicated Logitech or Creative webcam which can be downloaded from the perspective vendors.

Note for desktop systems with a webcam integrated into the monitor, the webcam driver may be found bundled with the monitor driver. Installation of the monitor driver will install the webcam. Mobile Broadband Drivers - under Communications.

Most users don't have these but the drivers are there for users that do. These are the main drivers and I have tried to give a basic guide to cover all systems. There will of course be some other variants from model to model and customisations within the same model such as mobile broadband cards, TV tuners and other drivers depending on your systems configuration. There may also be security drivers for Latitude and Optiplex series. The check for any missing drivers is via the Device Manager Step 12 and you should post on the Microsoft OS forum if you run into problems there.

These can be updated if you wish but I would recommend leaving these well alone. Sometimes if these updates go wrong, things seriously break. If you have no problems with any of these devices then leave them be.

You may look through Applications to see if you find anything else useful. The BIOs can also be updated if there is a later version but be extremely careful with a BIOs update - A failed one will brick the system but this is very rare I tend to update my BIOs when an update is available but many of the others will recommend to stay clear of BIOs updates. This is mentioned in Step 17 further.

In the case where newer hard drives are fitted several errors may occur during Widnows 7 Reinstallation:. Downloading the. You will need to extract the file with 7zip as shown. First download and install 7zip from here , selecting the 32 bit. Look in this folder for a F6flpy-x86 32 bit or F6flyp-x64 folder 64 bit and copy this to a USB stick.

Select the correct one to match the version of Windows you are installing. Note if there are additional folders and a setup. Note some of the items under "SATA Drivers" are applications these should be installed alongside the system drivers.

See the downloads page below for example. The 2 Applications should be installed at the end of the installation while the two drivers should be loaded onto the USB stick.

The 2 Firmware may be installed at the end of the installation if desired. For the Intel Drivers the F6flpy-x86 and F6flpy-x64 should be offered as seperate. Download the correct one and extract it with 7zip then copy the extracted folder to your USB stick.

If you get one of the error messages above start a new post in the Disk Drives forum stating your model number, your type of hard drive if you know, for example if you purchased one and what Operating System you have tried to install. In addition it may be worth mentioning what SATA drivers you have attempted to use. Step 7a is for advanced users, most regular users should skip it. Not all systems have card readers,. DBAN will then load. The easiest way to use DBAN is by typing autonuke and then pressing enter.

You should get these two screens. DBAN will then begin to securely format your hard drive. Note DBAN can take a very long time to securely format a large capacity hard drive. When completed you should get a screen like this. Hopefully it will say DBAN succeeded although sometimes it mentions an error. Most of the times that it has mentioned an error to me it has actually fully formatted the drive and ran for the same length of time as it should i. Note using DBAN may sometimes cause some issues with product activation if using upgrade product keys as the original version of Windows is not there.

Some people have reported that a double install of Windows Vista will work in this case see here. Others reinstall the old operating system, activate it and then proceed with a clean install Windows Vista.

This step is only for systems shipped with Media Direct. These systems will have a MediaDirect button in close proximty to the power button as shown below. If your system doesn't have this button skip this step. The partitions for Media Direct must be set up before the installation of Microsoft Windows otherwise pressing the Media Direct Button while the system is powered down can corrupt your Operating System.

It should look like the following:. Power down your computer. Select option 1 recommended or option 2. Note: The application must be installed after the system drivers while on the Windows Desktop Step Ensure everything documents and the downloads listed above is copied over onto the external hard drive.

You will get a black screen that says "Windows is Starting Files" then one that says Microsoft Corporation. These should disappear pretty quickly. Next one that says Starting Windows. You will then be prompted for your language, time and currency format and keyboard settings. Mine are all set to U. Select Install Now. If using retail media you will be prompted for a product key. A Dell OEM disc should not require you to input this key and this screen should not display.

Once you have input your key select Next. The following screen will display if you have input the wrong key. Alternatively you may skip this step and get a trial of Windows Vista for 30 days. If you do this, it will explicitly ask you what version of Windows Vista you wish to install. There are always some bugs when selecting "Upgrade" on this screen and this seriously hinders your systems performance. Ensure that "Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer is ticked" it should be set like this by default.

Select all the drivers listed and then click next. It will take you back to this screen. Select "Drive Options". This will reveal the drive options. The tools are rather self-explanatory. For a new hard drive you will need to select New to make a new partition case below. To delete it and then must create a new partition or partitions if you want multiple partitions e. Once you have created your partitions; select the partition you wish to install Windows on and select Next.

You might as well delete the Dell factory partition if going down this route as it will no longer work and hence serve no service. To format it, leave the partition intact but remove all data and factory partition. You might as well delete the Dell factory partition if going down this route as it will no longer work and hence serve no service and instead Extend the main partition.

To install Windows on the partition but not format it in this case all old files will be found in the Windows. Again you might as well delete the Dell factory partition if going down this route as it will no longer work and hence serve no service and instead Extend the main partition. The Dell Factory setting won't work in either case. I recommend deleting or formatting but you must take the 3rd option if you have not carried out Step 1 and wish to keep your data.

Note: if you have not backed up all your data onto an external hard drive. Do not select any of the drive options particularly format or delete. In this scenario all your files will be saved in a folder called windows. Eventually you will get to here. Type in your "username". Next type in your password, retype it and leave yourself a hint.

Alternatively just select next to have no password - not recommended but optional. Now name the computer, by default the PC name will be "username-PC" but you can change this as desired. Next you will get the Windows Update options, I generally select Use recommended settings. Then select your time and date settings. Set up Network settings and or connect to a wireless network.

You may ignore this step and connect later. Use Google Fonts in Word. Use FaceTime on Android Signal vs. Customize the Taskbar in Windows What Is svchost. Best Smartwatches. Best Gaming Laptops. Best Smart Displays. Best Home Security Systems. Best External Solid State Drives. Best Portable Chargers.

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Best Linux Laptops. Best Wireless iPhone Earbuds. Best Bluetooth Trackers. Best eReaders. I would re-install OS, but HP does not provide an install disc with their systems only a full recovery partition. My system is backed up except for Windows folder , but I really don't want to have to do a full recovery, as I have a lot of specialized programs and settings that would probably take me a week to re-install and re-configure.

Overview - KB Install this update to resolve issues with non-compatible applications. For complete details of this update, see the associated Knowledge Base Article.

After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. Here is my usual BlackScreen troubleshooter as there may be something you have not tried or if you can gain some access you might be able to revert and retry some of these. Repeatedly tap F8 as you boot?

Safe Mode is reached by repeatedly tapping F8 as you boot up. First check this thread in case its a simple one and if not come back to this thread. That there is no information on a black screen like there is on a blue screen just adds to the difficulty. Often using a restore point nor startup repair will have any effect. You can try a google to see suggested repairs some of which have worked however these cover a wide field of efforts.

Here is a video of one fix. You can try System Restore from it. If you do not have the disks your system maker will sell them cheap. Or try from Safe Mode if you can get there. You can try an In-Place Upgrade hopefully saves programs and data or a repair installation hopefully saves data and will have to reinstall programs.