XP vs Vista: Drivers

[stretch0069]

Just bought a laptop.The problem? It came with Vista. Its not as bad as I thought it would be, but as someone who likes to tinker, it blows bad.

So....I have an unused XP license. I bought a HD and installed XP on it. Problem is some of the stuff isn't working due to, what I believe is, drivers. I'd download some drivers to try, but one of the devices not working is the ethernet port.

The Gateway site has drivers, but they labeled for Vista.

The beast is a Gateway P-7805u FX.


So.....will the Vista drivers work -or- are there other sources for XP drivers??

[Harvey]

Re: XP vs Vista: Drivers

This is getting to be a big problem, especially with laptops. Manufacturers simply aren't writing drivers for 'legacy' OS's like XP any more.

If you can somehow identify the actual hardware used, or lookup the VEN and DEV IDs there's a chance you'll be able to find something that will work, but often its simply a case of there's none available.

[zandrax]

Re: XP vs Vista: Drivers

Run Craig's pci.exe or, better, System Information Viewer and search drivers for the listed devices. You should find almost all except the audio one.

Zandrax

[severach]

Re: XP vs Vista: Drivers

Generate a new install CD with DriverPacks. This often takes care of the important devices.