Which NVIDIA nForce chipset is in the XPS 720?

I posted in another thread about problems with a new Dell XPS 720 crashing
when used as a backup-to-disk target for Backup Exec. It's currently running
Windows XP (as shipped) and I wondered whether we were asking a little too
much of it.

So... tried to install Windows 2003 standard (MSDN version) and it blue
screens just as it says "Starting Windows" after the initial copy of
boots/set-up files. Completely repeatable :-)

I wondered if it's a driver issue, maybe SATA with the NVIDIA nForce chipset
and I needed to try the SATA drivers on floppy disk.

Problem is I don't know what chipset is inside this beast. On Windows XP,
the device manager says "NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550". I thought. possibly
incorrectly, that it was the nForce 6 series, maybe the 680i but now I'm not
sure so sure.

Does anyone know what chipset is in the XPS 720?

But more importantly, are there any Windows 2003 drivers? I went down the
list and couldn't find any. Would Windows XP drivers work? Not sure how
compatibility the driver model is.

And.. I think I know what the SLI bit is about (dual graphics rendering) but
that's the LT prefix?

Thanks, Rob.

Just plug in your service tag at support.dell.com and

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote in message
news:FPKdnUkViN72G8vanZ2dnUVZ8qeknZ2d@bt.com...
> I posted in another thread about problems with a new Dell XPS 720 crashing
> when used as a backup-to-disk target for Backup Exec. It's currently
> running Windows XP (as shipped) and I wondered whether we were asking a
> little too much of it.
>
> So... tried to install Windows 2003 standard (MSDN version) and it blue
> screens just as it says "Starting Windows" after the initial copy of
> boots/set-up files. Completely repeatable :-)
>
> I wondered if it's a driver issue, maybe SATA with the NVIDIA nForce
> chipset and I needed to try the SATA drivers on floppy disk.
>
> Problem is I don't know what chipset is inside this beast. On Windows XP,
> the device manager says "NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550". I thought. possibly
> incorrectly, that it was the nForce 6 series, maybe the 680i but now I'm
> not sure so sure.
>
> Does anyone know what chipset is in the XPS 720?
>
> But more importantly, are there any Windows 2003 drivers? I went down the
> list and couldn't find any. Would Windows XP drivers work? Not sure how
> compatibility the driver model is.
>
> And.. I think I know what the SLI bit is about (dual graphics rendering)
> but that's the LT prefix?
>
> Thanks, Rob.
>

oops. Plugging in your service tag at support.dell.com in the download
section will give you the downloads for the system. You need the SATA
drivers (F6).


"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote in message
news:FPKdnUkViN72G8vanZ2dnUVZ8qeknZ2d@bt.com...
> I posted in another thread about problems with a new Dell XPS 720 crashing
> when used as a backup-to-disk target for Backup Exec. It's currently
> running Windows XP (as shipped) and I wondered whether we were asking a
> little too much of it.
>
> So... tried to install Windows 2003 standard (MSDN version) and it blue
> screens just as it says "Starting Windows" after the initial copy of
> boots/set-up files. Completely repeatable :-)
>
> I wondered if it's a driver issue, maybe SATA with the NVIDIA nForce
> chipset and I needed to try the SATA drivers on floppy disk.
>
> Problem is I don't know what chipset is inside this beast. On Windows XP,
> the device manager says "NVIDIA nForce 590/570/550". I thought. possibly
> incorrectly, that it was the nForce 6 series, maybe the 680i but now I'm
> not sure so sure.
>
> Does anyone know what chipset is in the XPS 720?
>
> But more importantly, are there any Windows 2003 drivers? I went down the
> list and couldn't find any. Would Windows XP drivers work? Not sure how
> compatibility the driver model is.
>
> And.. I think I know what the SLI bit is about (dual graphics rendering)
> but that's the LT prefix?
>
> Thanks, Rob.
>

> Just plug in your service tag at support.dell.com and

That just gives me the build list from Dell - doesn't mention the chipset.

Cheers, Rob.

> oops. Plugging in your service tag at support.dell.com in the download
> section will give you the downloads for the system. You need the SATA
> drivers (F6).

Problem is that there are no Windows 2003 drivers. I've looked now on the
NVIDIA website and the only nForce Windows 2003 drivers are for the AMD
variant, not Intel.

Suspected we are out of luck and that you can't run Windows 2003 on this
system at the moment.

Cheers, Rob.

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote in message
news:wcqdnaw4BeuaBMvaRVnytQA@bt.com...
>> oops. Plugging in your service tag at support.dell.com in the download
>> section will give you the downloads for the system. You need the SATA
>> drivers (F6).
>
> Problem is that there are no Windows 2003 drivers. I've looked now on the
> NVIDIA website and the only nForce Windows 2003 drivers are for the AMD
> variant, not Intel.
>
> Suspected we are out of luck and that you can't run Windows 2003 on this
> system at the moment.
>
> Cheers, Rob.

Windows 2003? I didn't know there was a Windows 2003. Or is that Windows
Server? Just asking.

Given the remarkable similarities between Win 2000 Pro, Win 2003 Server, and
Windows XP, the Windows XP drivers might be worth a try. On the other hand, I
am aware of Windows 2000/2003 Server absolutely rejecting a lot of software that
one intuitively believes oughta work. This is the black art of authoring INI
files in action. A lot of install/not install decisions are triggered by INI
files, truly the blackest of black arts, right up there with voodoo, killing
chickens, and wearing a necklace of garlic cloves, which I always do when
working on a Windows computer. For Linux, I find that a simple amulet works
well... Ben Myers

On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 12:26:48 -0000, "Rob Nicholson"
<rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote:

>> oops. Plugging in your service tag at support.dell.com in the download
>> section will give you the downloads for the system. You need the SATA
>> drivers (F6).
>
>Problem is that there are no Windows 2003 drivers. I've looked now on the
>NVIDIA website and the only nForce Windows 2003 drivers are for the AMD
>variant, not Intel.
>
>Suspected we are out of luck and that you can't run Windows 2003 on this
>system at the moment.
>
>Cheers, Rob.
>

> Windows 2003? I didn't know there was a Windows 2003. Or is that Windows
> Server? Just asking.

Yes, Windows 2003 server.

Cheers, Rob.

It does if you go to drivers and downloads. However, missed the fact that
you were trying to install Win 2003.

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote in message
news:hYmdnTpq3PxcBcvanZ2dnUVZ8sCknZ2d@bt.com...
>> Just plug in your service tag at support.dell.com and
>
> That just gives me the build list from Dell - doesn't mention the chipset.
>
> Cheers, Rob.
>
>