Dell site won't help me: Please direct me to source of 64-bit drivers for XP?

[NewsAndHistory]

Would any of you please tell me where to find a drivers pack for XP Pro (64-bit) that can work on Dell Inspiron 531S? The official Dell website does not offer such drivers. It only offers 32-bit drivers for that type of computer.

I'm searching for 64-bit drivers for XP is because I have no interest in using Windows Vista or any 32-bit operating systems from Microsoft. Like I mentioned before, the Dell website is not offering the proper drivers I need for this computer and the Windows XP (64-bit).

I've read articles about getting 64-bit drivers to work on that computer, but I haven't found any website that offers the same drivers. I'm basically on my own, according to this Dell expert (see below). That person told me about the drivers without sharing 1 single link to download the 64-bit drivers (or chipset) for XP, which he/she mentioned:

Dell does not support 64 bit in that model and the reason there are no drivers. You are basically "on your own" to try and find suitable drivers.

However, if you installed the Chipset drivers, Windows should either install a generic driver or find suitable drivers.

The correct install sequence is (1) Install Windows (2) Install chipset driver (3) Install Device Drivers.

On Intel systems the chipset drivers define what is on or attached to the motherboard. I assume the AMD drivers do the same thing.

[Shades]

A last resort method is to know exactly which hardware is in your laptop, go to the website of the manufacturer of the hardware to see if there are drivers available.

To find out which hardware is in your computer, try this freeware tool: SIW

After that...you are on your own.

[Dormouse]

This is what you get with Dell. The company is always right and restricts choices available to customers to make its own life easier/cheaper. Messing inside Dells can be a daunting experience because of the discovery of non-standard parts and connectors.

[Carol Haynes]

Have you actually installed Windows64 yet? If not try it on a small empty partition and see how many drivers you are missing.

As already suggested try to identify what is present - you can take the side of the machine and look at the motherboad for the make and model number (often printed between PCI slots) or use SIW to identify the motherboard then download the latest 64 bit drivers for that motherboard from the mobo manufacturers website (if they in fact have any).

My guess is that most of the problems will be sorted at that point - if not you need to identify the missing devices and go to the item manufacturer's website to see if there are any drivers for the device in 64 bit mode.

One of the big issues with XP 64 was that not all devices are supported by 64 bit drivers. It may be that Dell can't supply 64 bit drivers because they don't even exist. Don't forget that Dell are basically box shifters. All of their computers are made with parts by 3rd party manufacturers and Dell just assembles the final package (often performing unnecessary mods to make life complicated for end users) and install an OEM copy of Windows.

If they only supply 32 bit Windows Vista it isn't totally reasonable to expect them to supply drivers older versions of Windows - those drives may not even exist. As Dell does not write drivers they have to rely on manufacturers to supply suitable drivers and manufacturers don't tend to write legacy drivers for defunct OSes (which XP officially is now).

Is there a specific reason you need XP 64? Vista was a bit of a dog when it was released but it seems OK now so long as you apply the updates.

[NewsAndHistory]

Thanks for your help, Shades, Dormouse, and Carol Haynes! I will download System Information for Windows (XP) now.

The only reason why I wanted to use XP is because I've heard that Vista was a resource-hog, and it seemed impossible for end-users to close the backdoors in Vista, which was developed by notorious homeland spy agencies, such as NSA. It bothers me, so I try to avoid their latest products.

I don't meet a lot of Vista-enthusiasts. Please share your opinion about those 2 operating systems with me.

[Carol Haynes]

I hated Vista when it came out (and it was a resource hog). My laptop only had 1Gb of RAM and it was a nightmare with constant disk trashing.

Having said that since SP 1 was released it works fine on my system. You do need 2Gb of RAM and you need to tweak a bit to turn off pointless stuff that irritates but once it was set up properly it works just as well as XP for me.

I still have a desktop running XP and my laptop with Vista32 HP and I now find myself using the laptop more as it boots up quicker and seems to run pretty smoothly (with pretty much the same software set installed and similar performance hardware).

If you haven't used Vista give it a try for a month before you give up on it.

If you are going to use Windows at all you may as well get used to Vista as XP is pretty much on its last legs and when Windows 7 comes out you will only be able to upgrade from Vista (XP upgrades are not supported). Windows 7 is looking very promising and face it ultimately they wil stop security support for XP and at that point you will have to take the plunge.

WRT Windows XP 64-bit you are probably on a hiding to nothing if you have a motherboard that doesn't have drivers. You might stand a better chance with 32-bit XP as there always was a better range of drivers. If you want to you can dual boot the two operating systems on two partitions - then you can have the best of both worlds. It isn't as easy to install XP as a second OS to Vista because XP doesn't detect Vista being installed so doesn't configure the boot system properly. A quick search on the internet can tell you how to do it though.

[NewsAndHistory]

Carol, thanks for telling me about your experiences with both of those operating systems. I see what you mean. I haven't tried Windows Vista or Vista-compatible drivers in a while. I will try Windows Vista today.