Dell XPS 420 Windows XP Pro SP2 installation success

On Fri, 9 May 2008 16:51:12 -0400, "Paul"
<paule@nospam-mindspring.com> wrote:

>
>"Tom Lake" <tlake@twcny.rr.com> wrote in message
>news:g020bk$okn$1@aioe.org...
>>
>> "Paul" <paule@nospam-mindspring.com> wrote in message
>> news:kYmdncKM9JP9wb7VnZ2dnUVZ_v3inZ2d@supernews.co m...
>>
>>> First, disconnect the 19-in-1 card reader cable from the motherboard -
>>> otherwise XP setup will see the card reader(s) first and set up the hard
>>> drive as the H: drive, and even though XP boots successfully on H:, when
>>> I tried to do the registry edits to make it a C: drive, XP rebooted and
>>> hung just before the login screen.
>>
>> Why does it matter what drive letter the system drive is? XP will work
>> fine
>> in any case and software will install to the system drive no matter what
>> letter it is.
>> MS is trying to get us away from relying on drive letters so we can move
>> ahead
>> into the future.
>>
>>
>> Tom Lake
>
>
>Call me superstitious or old-fashoined, but I prefer to have my system drive
>with apps installed on C:. "If it ain't broke"
>
>If I were interested in blazing new trails into the future I would have
>installed Vista 64-bit edition. <g>
>
>-- Paul
>
There are still a few apps out there that still insist on installing
on C;\ . We ran across a biometric app recently that insisted on C:\
with no way to override.

Mike

On May 10, 4:38*am, Michael Arm <m...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 9 May 2008 16:51:12 -0400, "Paul"
>
>
>
>
>
> <pa...@nospam-mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> >"Tom Lake" <tl...@twcny.rr.com> wrote in message
> >news:g020bk$okn$1@aioe.org...
>
> >> "Paul" <pa...@nospam-mindspring.com> wrote in message
> >>news:kYmdncKM9JP9wb7VnZ2dnUVZ_v3inZ2d@supernews. com...
>
> >>> First, disconnect the 19-in-1 card reader cable from the motherboard -
> >>> otherwise XP setup will see the card reader(s) first and set up the hard
> >>> drive as the H: drive, and even though XP boots successfully on H:, when
> >>> I tried to do the registry edits to make it a C: drive, XP rebooted and
> >>> hung just before the login screen.
>
> >> Why does it matter what drive letter the system drive is? *XP will work
> >> fine
> >> in any case and software will install to the system drive no matter what
> >> letter it is.
> >> MS is trying to get us away from relying on drive letters so we can move
> >> ahead
> >> into the future.
>
> >> Tom Lake
>
> >Call me superstitious or old-fashoined, but I prefer to have my system drive
> >with apps installed on C:. * "If it ain't broke"
>
> >If I were interested in blazing new trails into the future I would have
> >installed Vista 64-bit edition. <g>
>
> >-- Paul
>
> There are still a few apps out there that still insist on installing
> on C;\ . We ran across a biometric app recently that insisted on C:\
> with no way to override.
>
> Mike- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

XP pre-SP2 installs required SATA drivers to be located on a floppy
drive designated as a:

So I'm not sure Microsoft are THAT keen on moving us away from drive
letters? I wonder how much extra coding would have been required for
the user to have a drop-down box where he/she could choose where the
SATA drivers were located.

[REUVEN]

Paul thank you for your post on win xp pro sp2 for xps 420. Just got one & despise vista. Would you be able to email me the win98/dos nfdisk to wipe the hard drive? Could you also tell me the order in which to install the necessary drivers? I downloaded from dell your list but I have the nvidia 8600 gts & the clsbxf xtreme gamer. I noticed on the important drivers thy're listed as multi os. Is that why the xps 420 can be successfully reformatted w/xp? Also can I get away w/just sp2 w/o other patches w/o sp3? Additionalyy how do I get the ATI theater 650 pro combo a/d tv tuner driver?

Thanks
Reuven

I'm not Paul, but...

Do a google search for dban. Download it and make your own floppy or burn a CD.
Dban wipes a hard drive nicely.

With any Windows install, always install the motherboard chipset drivers first.
You can't go wrong. XP will install just fine as long as there are drivers
somewhere to support it. If drivers for the Windows OS you want are not on the
Dell web site, then look for them on the chipset manufacturers' web sites. (I
even managed to do a clean and perfect install of Windows 98(!!!!!!) on a Dell
Dimension 2400 about a year ago for one of the more trailing edge companies in
the world because I could get all the Win 98 drivers from the Intel web site.)

.... Ben Myers

On Thu, 22 May 2008 16:39:03 -0500, REUVEN <REUVEN.39ueek@no.email.invalid>
wrote:

>
>Paul thank you for your post on win xp pro sp2 for xps 420. Just got
>one & despise vista. Would you be able to email me the win98/dos nfdisk
>to wipe the hard drive? Could you also tell me the order in which to
>install the necessary drivers? I downloaded from dell your list but I
>have the nvidia 8600 gts & the clsbxf xtreme gamer. I noticed on the
>important drivers thy're listed as multi os. Is that why the xps 420
>can be successfully reformatted w/xp? Also can I get away w/just sp2 w/o
>other patches w/o sp3? Additionalyy how do I get the ATI theater 650
>pro combo a/d tv tuner driver?
>
>Thanks
>Reuven
>

Until we some day end up with virtual drive letters, I'll still insist on the OS
being installed on the C: drive. Ran into a similar with problem with a custom
system built for a client. Ended up unplugging the cable for the internal USB
card reader and reinstalling Windows. Heaven help you if your OS is on M: and
then you somehow disconnect the all-in-one card reader. Your system will be
FUBAR due to all the hard coded entries in the registry for drive M!!! Just
another fine Windows feature from the boys in Redmond. No, that's children in
Redmond.

It's still C: for me... Ben Myers

On Thu, 8 May 2008 21:34:28 -0700 (PDT), Juan Kerr <juan.kerr@bluebottle.com>
wrote:

>On May 8, 9:43*pm, Red Squirrel <inva...@thisis.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> I never disconnected the 19-in-1 card reader on my machine and I never saw
>> this at all. * Disk came up as C: and D:, DVD as E: and the four slots in
>> the card reader were F: G: H: & I:
>>
>
>I got caught like that on one of my Dimension 9200's........but even
>worse!
>
>Card reader took C,D,E and F, DVD ROM took G, DVD RW took H and my
>2407 monitor took I,J,K and L.
>
>XP ended up installing on M :-/
>

"Ben Myers" <ben_myers_spam_me_not@charter.net> wrote in message
news:b6hc341d60pkvdneqjfbdp9jaac79a6o2s@4ax.com...
> I'm not Paul, but...
>
> Do a google search for dban. Download it and make your own floppy or burn
> a CD.
> Dban wipes a hard drive nicely.
>
> With any Windows install, always install the motherboard chipset drivers
> first.
> You can't go wrong. XP will install just fine as long as there are
> drivers
> somewhere to support it. If drivers for the Windows OS you want are not
> on the
> Dell web site, then look for them on the chipset manufacturers' web sites.
> (I
> even managed to do a clean and perfect install of Windows 98(!!!!!!) on a
> Dell
> Dimension 2400 about a year ago for one of the more trailing edge
> companies in
> the world because I could get all the Win 98 drivers from the Intel web
> site.)
>
> ... Ben Myers
>


Here's the XPS420 / Windows XP driver list from a moderator over at the Dell
Forums:

http://www.dellcommunity.com/support...=179583#M30626

It worked fine with mine - though I don't have the media reader or
bluetooth.


Stew

On Fri, 9 May 2008 13:09:29 -0400, "Tom Lake" <tlake@twcny.rr.com>
wrote:

>
>"Paul" <paule@nospam-mindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:kYmdncKM9JP9wb7VnZ2dnUVZ_v3inZ2d@supernews.c om...
>
>> First, disconnect the 19-in-1 card reader cable from the motherboard - otherwise XP
>> setup will see the card reader(s) first and set up the hard drive as the H: drive,
>> and even though XP boots successfully on H:, when I tried to do the registry edits
>> to make it a C: drive, XP rebooted and hung just before the login screen.
>
>Why does it matter what drive letter the system drive is? XP will work fine
>in any case and software will install to the system drive no matter what letter it
>is.
>MS is trying to get us away from relying on drive letters so we can move ahead
>into the future.
>
>
>Tom Lake


I think the problem isn't XP itself but some 3rd party software. I've
had some obscure, not well written software insist on looking only at
drive C for drivers or such (hardcoded so you couldn't tell it to look
on another drive). Inotherwords, some add'l software just won't run
if it can't find the OS on drive C. Fortunately for me, I haven't
run into this problem in years but I can't/won't say it doesn't still
exist.

With the Microsoft way of doing things, a drop-down menu to select where to load
SATA drivers would have postponed the delivery of XP by another year and created
another 1000 security holes. Please, oh, please, oh, please, think about these
things before suggesting that Microsoft do this sort of leading edge
development!

.... Ben Myers

On Sat, 10 May 2008 04:56:15 -0700 (PDT), Juan Kerr <juan.kerr@bluebottle.com>
wrote:
<SNIP>
>
>XP pre-SP2 installs required SATA drivers to be located on a floppy
>drive designated as a:
>
>So I'm not sure Microsoft are THAT keen on moving us away from drive
>letters? I wonder how much extra coding would have been required for
>the user to have a drop-down box where he/she could choose where the
>SATA drivers were located.

[REUVEN]

thanks Ben. Would have gotten back to you earlier but had to install xp on xps 420 4x until it took. The "starting up windows"-blue screen does hang for about 65 sec. Any way to speed that up? I have 4gb 800mhz ram w/Intel core 2 Q6600 Q-core 8mb 2.4 ghz 1066FSB

Reuven

Originally Posted by S.Lewis

"Ben Myers" <ben_myers_spam_me_not@charter.net> wrote in message
news:b6hc341d60pkvdneqjfbdp9jaac79a6o2s@4ax.com...
> I'm not Paul, but...
>
> Do a google search for dban. Download it and make your own floppy or burn
> a CD.
> Dban wipes a hard drive nicely.
>
> With any Windows install, always install the motherboard chipset drivers
> first.
> You can't go wrong. XP will install just fine as long as there are
> drivers
> somewhere to support it. If drivers for the Windows OS you want are not
> on the
> Dell web site, then look for them on the chipset manufacturers' web sites.
> (I
> even managed to do a clean and perfect install of Windows 98(!!!!!!) on a
> Dell
> Dimension 2400 about a year ago for one of the more trailing edge
> companies in
> the world because I could get all the Win 98 drivers from the Intel web
> site.)
>
> ... Ben Myers
>


Here's the XPS420 / Windows XP driver list from a moderator over at the Dell
Forums:

XPS 420 XP Drivers (This is not supported by Dell) - XPS Desktops - Dell Community Forum

It worked fine with mine - though I don't have the media reader or
bluetooth.


Stew

[gordonhh]

Hi Paul,

My name is Gordon, and I recently spent a lot of money on a high-end Dell XPS 420, with Vista Premium installed. I am in my first few days of using it, and it is a DISASTER--Vista is the disaster, that is.

Can I call you or you call me so I can possibly pay you a consulting fee so I can instal XP on this machine?

I am not a techie, so I need some guidance.

My phone number is 973-285-3977 (New Jersey).

Please HELP, if you have the time, and are so inclined.

I am in a bad spot. This Vista is a DISASTER, HORRIBLE.

Thanks!