| Author |
Message |
    
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6375
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, October 1, 2005 - 5:16 pm: |     |
I just ran a utility program and discovered that when my replacement hard drive was installed, drivers for the following devices weren't:
multimedia audio controller
ethernet controller
video controller
video controller (VGA Compatible)
I have a Dell dimension 8400 running windows XP professional.
(Yes, I tried each of the disks which came with the computer and couldn't find the drivers on any of them, nor, could my system find them on an on line search.)
Any helpful advice given in standard English (as opposed to technicalese) would be welcome. I do not have any formal training in computer science, maintenance or repair. |
Gatica
Citizen
Username: Katracho
Post Number: 135
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 1, 2005 - 5:34 pm: | |
Go to the Dell website:
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
- Enter your PC's service tag
- Choose the operating system that your computer is currently using
A list of available drivers will be displayed
|
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 287
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, October 1, 2005 - 5:51 pm: | |
It could also be that your motherboard has "onboard" systems for video and audio that you're not using due to an upgrade (that is, you bought better sound and video with PCI cards).
The ethernet controller is troubling - is your ethernet connection working right now, or are you using dial up? |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6376
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, October 1, 2005 - 7:34 pm: | |
I am using dial up. That is the only method of internet connection I have ever used with this computer. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6377
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, October 1, 2005 - 7:51 pm: | |
Gaticia:
Thanks so much for the link. I have added it to my list of favorites and I'm downloading all kinds of stuff now. I'll report back when finished to let you know if it worked. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6383
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 10:48 am: | |
Update: Followed Gaticia's link. (Thanks again so much Gaticia!!) Downloaded both the driver and the patch listed for my system (used service tag #). Installed driver. After patch had been downloaded, I received a message that my sound card wasn't installed. (How do I find the sound card to install it? (Windows XP Professional with service pack 2 and all updates)
Went to Windows Update (my supposedly automoatic update had set itself to go on at a time when I am always off-line - it could have asked for a workable time first - changed that setting!) and discovered that I had no no Windows Media Player (It's now been downloaded and installed) and no driver that my system needs for the sound system to work. This one is called the ATI RADEON X300 Series Driver.
Still no sound coming out of the computer but I'm continuing to work on it.
Once the sound problem is solved, its on the the rest of the list.
Don't get me wrong. I have the greatest admiration for the geniuses who were qble to devise an effective way to make sound and image travel dependably through space in an astoundingly short amount of time but couldn't these same geniuses have come up with a way of providing a simple user-friendly book of instructions on how to install and use the thing?
Yes, I know, life really doesn't come with an effective user manual either.  |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 9740
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 11:19 am: | |
Device drivers are one of the truly hard problems of computers. No one has done a really great job, even though the situation has improved a lot over the years.
Joan, right click on "My Computer" and choose "Manage". Then double click on "Device Manager". On the right panel, right-click on the devices with yellow question marks. That will let you update the drivers and refer to the files you recently downloaded.
|
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6385
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 1:59 pm: | |
Tom:
I have just spent several hours working within the wonders of device manager. All audio systems are working properly (according to device manager), yellow exclaimation points have been removed (only the ethernet one remains and I am not up to tackling that today), audio device is enabled, audio device is signed. Volume controls are now visible on line. Windows has been restarted after every one of these checks.
Still no sound.
|
Network & PC Care
Citizen
Username: Npccare
Post Number: 105
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 2:06 pm: | |
Joan, you don't happen to have 2 audio ports on the back of your computer do you?
Maybe one on the motherboard and one in a PCI slot lower on your case? |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6386
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 2:22 pm: | |
Good Question:
I belabored that one most of last night.
I am using the line out audio port (green) which is the one both my owner's manual for the pc and my bose speakers manual indicate should be used for the connection. It is also just the right size to fit the jack.
This is also the port I used before the hard drive died and had to be replaced. It worked perfectly then. If there is another port I should try, what would it be called and where could I expect to find it? |
Network & PC Care
Citizen
Username: Npccare
Post Number: 106
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 2:46 pm: | |
I was just wondering if you had 2 of the green ports on the computer. They sometimes upgrade to a PCI card with on-board sound.
Not sure what else it can be at this point.
Have you gone into the sound control panel to make sure the sound isn't muted or anything? |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1332
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 2:51 pm: | |
Have you tried going to your sound control panel and checking to see if the mute button is checked, or if desktop speakers are chosen as the active speakers? |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6387
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 4:24 pm: | |
Sound isn't muted. None of the five sound setting are. How can I check to see if the speakers are chosen as active speakers?
No other green ports that the speakers' jack can fit. Remaining (unused spaces) are colored black, blue, yellow and orange.
Could the driver I downloaded from the internet have been an upgrade which is not compatable with my audio device (older)?
Another possibility my diagnostic program came up with is that two pieces of hardware might have the same assignment??? Is this worth considering and if yes, how do I check this without doing irrepairable damage to the system?
|
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6391
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 8:14 pm: | |
Thanks everyone. I'm not sure what did it but I now have sound.
Next on my list is identifying the driver I need for the ethernet connection. This category does not appear on the driver list Gaticia's link lead to and my computer can't find it.
After the holiday I will try searching the disks and seeing if I can find it that way but it would help to know what I am looking for.
Thanks again. You are all terrific. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 9755
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2005 - 11:15 pm: | |
Is it a built in ethernet or is an add-on card? If it's an add-on, that would explain why Dell doesn't list it. If you don't know if it's built in or add-on, what model computer is it?
If you're asking about ethernet, you must be getting ready to get broadband, yes?
|
Gatica
Citizen
Username: Katracho
Post Number: 143
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Monday, October 3, 2005 - 9:15 am: | |
Joan:
I did a search for drivers for your Dell Dimension 8400. According to Dell, you could have one of the following network devices (Ethernet controller, network card, NIC card, or whatever you want to call it):
- Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller
- Broadcom 57XX Gigabit Integrated Controller
- Dell Dell Wireless 1450 (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
Replace the "x" above with any alphanumeric character. i.e. 570aa, 570ab, 570ac, and so on.
If you have an add-on PCI NIC card, then you'll probably have to pull it out and look for the make and model. Then you will have to go to the NIC manufacturer's web site to download its drivers.
Hope this helps.
Gatica |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 9457
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 3, 2005 - 11:22 am: | |
Are you using IE or another browser such as Mozilla?
I had to use IE to download a driver for a printer because it wasn't designed to be used with Mozilla. Just a non-techies thought. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6393
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 3, 2005 - 2:48 pm: | |
Gatica:
Thanks again. Your responses have been so helpful and to the point. I will follow through on your suggestion as soon as the holiday is over. I don't know which of the above I have but I will try doing a properties search in Device Manager and see if that turns up anything.
Wouldn't the driver search based on my service tag indicate which of the above listed devices I have?
Tom:
I am not getting ready to switch to broadband. I didn't even know an ethernet controller was needed for broadband service. However, I hate it when my computer diagnostic program tells me I have something on my computer which isn't working and a one-would-hope simple solution is available to get it working again.
Restoring everything I had on my fried hard drive has become a lot more complex than I originally thought it would be. You would think these things would come with a table of contents to follow in the event of hard drive failure.
Bob:
Computer illiterate that I am, I use the AOL provided by Dell which came with my computer as my primary browser but I used IE to locate and download the above mentioned drivers because the page would not load in AOL, even though that is also IE-based. |
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