[labrat]

Hello wonderful Dell Mini peeps. I recently found some Dell mini 1011s that I got when I wanted to Hackintosh. I did that with a couple and have passed them on. I have 2 1/2 units left and have found 2 deserving recipients for them. However, they don’t do Mac so I got the original installation discs for xp out to start from scratch with something.

It appears I’ve overestimated my capabilities, again. Xp installed fine and seems to work but I can figure out how to get the drivers from the cd to the machine. When I fire up the external cd, it analyzes the system but stops there.

Since I’ve had macs for years, i am very very lame with windows. I follow directions well but I have to have ALL the directions! Start from scratch and assume I know nothing!

I would really like to get these units working so these people can have a computer. The other alternative is the trash. 😢

Any advise or direction to instructions is greatly appreciated!

Thank you. Mods, please excuse my ignorance and I hope I’ve not violated the rules.

[holmes4]

If you installed XP from the Dell install CD, it supplies all the drivers necessary. Typically on Windows drivers get installed by running an EXE that installs them, though there are other methods. Which devices on the Mini do you think need additional drivers?

All the XP drivers are downloadable from the Dell support site.

[labrat]

Thank you Steve. That’s what I did and the window xp is fine but there are no drivers for the audio, wireless, Ethernet, etc. there is a separate disc that says it contains the drivers and it installs but I don’t know where to tell the computer to look for the drivers. These were the original discs that came with the computer so I thought they would work. Dell won’t give me any help at all.

Did I mention how lame I am with windows. I’m used to Mac.

[holmes4]

Go to https://www.dell.com/support/home/us...ini10v/drivers and download the drivers you need. Each one will be an EXE file. You can do this on some other computer (even a Mac.) Copy them to a FAT-formatted USB flash drive. Then on the Mini, plug in the flash drive, a directory window should open. Find the EXE file for the driver you downloaded and double-click the EXE, then follow the prompts.

I suggest that you make note of the EXE file name for each of the driver downloads, as they're not always obvious. Many of them will ask for a reboot after installation.

[labrat]

Thank you, Steve. The computer won’t let me access the set up option. I set it to default to cd first when I downloaded the clean install of xp. Hard drive was second option for startup so the computer will start up to windows fine. But when I try to enter the setup again, it asks for password. And since I didn’t set a password, I don’t know what to enter. If I could get to the Internet, I might be able to get the other drivers but the wireless/internet drivers are ones that are needed.

May I message you for help or is here better?

[holmes4]

Are you referring to the Mini's BIOS setup? That's unrelated to drivers. There isn't really a "setup" in Windows. As I suggested, download the drivers on a different computer to a flash drive, then install them locally on the Mini.

I don't check this forum every day, but I'll set a subscription for it so maybe I'll get notified.

[labrat]

Thanks, Steve. I think you see how lame I am with windows. I think I just realized that the boot order that the bios won’t let me change really has nothing to do with drivers. I will try the usb option. I don’t think it will work though because when I try to download the drivers from the disc, the drive spins up but the computer says it can’t find the drivers.

I went to the Dell link you gave and you have to ask for the drivers you want. I don’t know what to ask for. I know the internet function doesn’t work, I know the sound doesn’t work but I don’t know what other things were installed with the computer. I guess it’s just a lost cause and they will head for the landfill.

Sorry for the ignorant questions.

[holmes4]

As I wrote above, you'll be bypassing Windows search for drivers. You say you can boot into Windows, so if you can get that far you can plug in a flash drive and run the executable driver installers from there.

If you don't know the BIOS password, that's a problem. There are some posts in the forum about web sites that claim to be able to generate a BIOS password based on the Dell service tag, but I'm not sure that they work. That said, if you don't need to change the boot order (I think there may be a key you can press to temporarily change it at boot, but I don't have the model you do), you can leave the BIOS alone.

[labrat]

Thanks, Steve. i want to get all the drivers i need but things like internet, audio are the only things i know I need. The computer does recognize a usb stick, though.

[holmes4]

You will probably need drivers for Bluetooth, the wireless select switch, battery meter and maybe the SD slot. There are certainly a lot of downloads there. I'd also recommend the "Mobile chipset", Intel Graphics, webcam and touchpad drivers.