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Laptop HD/driver problem

Discussion in 'Mobile Computing' started by ghostdog14, Jan 10, 2011.

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  1. ghostdog14 Newcomer, in training

    ok so i have a dell inspiron 1505 (like 2003 or somthing lol) anyways broke forever ago never botherd with it but got bored one night and discoverd it was the hard driver. wouldnt let me uses a windows cd or do anything really so i just went and bought a new hard drive.. installed windows xp blah blah on it and bam works nicely and ****.. however theres about 7-12 drives that have question marks in front of them and no clue what to do. i cant connect to the internet with it( ive tried everything i know to do so) and failed time after time. which is really all i want it for, when i put my comcast cd in it discovers the network adapter but no connectioin; and no its not the eithernet cord or my box or anything like that. so any help would be greatly appreciated.. thank you!

    some of the drives:

    base system device (there are 3 of these)
    BCM2045
    ethernet controller
    network controller
    PCI device (2 of these)
    SM bus controller
    Video controller (VGA compatibe
    ghostdog14, Jan 10, 2011
    #1

  2. mailpup TS Special Forces Posts: 7,907   +77

    Whenever you install the operating system, you have to also install the various device drivers such as those you listed. Go to the Dell website and using your service tag number, get the appropriate drivers for your laptop.
    mailpup, Jan 10, 2011
    #2

  3. ghostdog14 Newcomer, in training

    i have no way to connect to the internet with my laptop that needs the drives so how can i do that?
    ghostdog14, Jan 10, 2011
    #3

  4. mailpup TS Special Forces Posts: 7,907   +77

    You'll have to use another PC for this purpose, of course.

    Typically, when you contemplate reinstalling an operating system, you should have all necessary drivers ready to go beforehand to minimize downtime.
    mailpup, Jan 10, 2011
    #4

  5. ghostdog14 Newcomer, in training

    okay,, thanks a lot ;)
    ghostdog14, Jan 11, 2011
    #5

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