Okay, computer help, again.

[goldgecko4]

Okay, so here's the story: I got that computer (HP Pavilion a1748x) that I was talking about a few weeks back. Now, not being able to stand Vista, I basically backpedaled to my old copy of Windows XP Media Center Ed. Formatted, started fresh.

Now, here's where it gets a little bit off.
The computer won't even recognize that I have a network cable installed. Okay, well, maybe I don't have the drivers I need for something. Sure enough, in device manager, I get the yellow question mark for
-Other PCI Bridge Device
-PCI Device
-PCI Simple Communications Controller
-SM Bus Controller
-Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

Not being given a boot disc with my computer, I go online to search for these drivers. Find them through HP, but the only problem is that they only have them for Vista. Yikes.

So, my question is, ultimately, I need these drivers, because, like it or not, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Problem is, I don't even know what these things are or do, let alone how to find the drivers. Is there a way to find XP-compatible versions of these, because I'm worried that these components were, perhaps, only made to be compatible with Vista.

I need help, and if ya'll don't know whats up (although I hope you do!), can you point me to a site that might? Thanks a lot!

[JPS]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Any computer that goes through a company after the manufacturer(HP, COMPAQ, DELL, etc...) has drivers only for the windows version that is installed on the computer, meaning you cant downgrade without a bunch of problems, I had the same problem with my computer(a Compaq Presario with HP stuff) that I tried to downgrade to 98SE, but the computer wouldnt recognize any drivers after that, and the drivers are licensed by the company that sells the computer and cannot be distributed freely and are only offered on the boot disc.

At least thats what I gathered after I had to reformat to Vista and researched why I had so many problems, I may be wrong though.

Whered you go to get drivers?

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6122_102...sageID=2597434

this may help

[goldgecko4]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

I've looked everywhere. The ones that were Vista-specific were from HP's site, though. So, I need to re-acquire a copy of Vista, then? ****. Okay, well, how does this sound, what if I install Vista, install XP on top of it, and then delete Vista? Would that not solve the problem?

[Libby]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

They didn't give you a back-up disk with all your files on it? If they didn't, I'd go back and get one, and then ream them for not giving it to you.

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

i never got one either, its not something they always do so be careful.

[goldgecko4]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

I ordered a refurbished model off tigerdirect.com. But yeah, I would think that even with a refurb, they'd give you a boot disc.

[JPS]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Yeah, Id definitely go back and complain, theyre suppose to give you one

EDIT: oh, I didnt know you ordered one online

[goldgecko4]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Yeah, well, I guess I'm outta luck. I'm in the process of acquiring another copy of Vista as I speak, so I guess I'm stuck with that. I really don't like Vista, but I guess it's better dealing with that than dealing with an XP computer that can't go online and has no sound. Thanks for the help, gents/ladies.

[JPS]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Vista isn't too bad once you get used to it, I hated it at first but its alright

I have all of the visuals set to classic windows :3

[thetruecoolness]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Yeah, well, I guess I'm outta luck. I'm in the process of acquiring another copy of Vista as I speak, so I guess I'm stuck with that. I really don't like Vista, but I guess it's better dealing with that than dealing with an XP computer that can't go online and has no sound. Thanks for the help, gents/ladies.

I would try searching a little bit harder, especially if you can find out what motherboard you have. But onboard network drivers might be hard to come by.

Now another choice you might want to consider (considering Vista is $160 or so legally) is to just buy a PCI NIC card. They're less than $30 usually, and then you can use your new computer and XP. You just need to make sure you have an extra PCI slot on your mother board, and don't mind opening up the computer to install it (it's pretty simple).

[goldgecko4]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Hmmm... if you could, elaborate on exactly what that is, what it does, and how I would use it. If you don't mind PM ing me later, that is.

[thetruecoolness]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Well for everyone's possible education, a NIC is a network interface card, which is what allows you to connect to the internet using a broadband connection. Most people use the one on their motherboard, unless of course they can't install the drivers .

So basically what I was suggesting, is because you can't get the NIC on the motherboard to work you could buy a NIC PCI card (something that plugs into the expansion slots on your motherboard) which would allow you to connect in the meantime, and would likely have XP drivers, unlike the network slot on your motherboard currently.

here is a link to some http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=1628%3A10711.

If you just connect to the internet you won't benefit from getting a gigabit network card, but if you plan on doing a lot of larger file transfer in the future over a home network, you might consider getting one (since they're around the same price).

As for the sound, a sound card might be a good investment later (and would be anyway if you want better quality sound with no interference, all motherboard sound will always have some electrical interference, noticable mainly when recording), but a decent sound card is typically around $50.

[goldgecko4]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

The idea to replace the cards did enter my mind, but now that I know how affordable they are, it's sounding like that's going to be the way to go soon. Hey, while I got ya here; any good recommendations for a good vid card from around $150 to $250?

[thetruecoolness]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

I typically just search in newegg and see what comes up in that price range then sort by number of reviews to see which ones people buy. I would recommend getting one that supports DirectX10 if you want to keep up with gaming down the road (though at the moment DX10 requires vista, but the video card will still support Dx9 and there is always Open GL ). Also if you ever plan on watching any HD stuff on your computer get the ones that support HDCP. Other than that most important things are GPU (core) clock, memory (RAMDAC) clock, and RAM (higher the better, though honestly not sure which is the most important overall). So that means a GeForce 8000 series, and I usually don't buy ATI so I don't know much about their video cards (I hear they have better color reproduction but I'm not sure).

Biggest thing to find out is if your motherboard still has AGP, and which type (8x, 4x), or if it supports PCI eXpress (typically 16x for video card slot), and apparently there is a PCI eXpress 2.0 now (which I guess are backwards compatible with regular PCI express but not sure).

So Power Search on newegg is your friend, even if you decide to not buy from there. www.anandtech.com is another good place to research computer parts.

[hitogoroshi]

Re: Okay, computer help, again.

Ungh, I hate ati. ati2dvag.dll ftl. It's a random glitch that's pretty much uncurable.