My Dell Mini Forum

Curious · #1

After struggling with drivers for Windows 7 Beta 1, I've decided to make an all-inclusive guide to help with drivers.
You can find out how to install Windows 7 via a USB drive here.

Note: Because Windows 7 is essentially Vista in regards to driver compatibility, it's been pointed by holmes4 out that many of the Vista drivers for the Mini 12 will work under Windows 7 on the Mini 9. I would recommend restarting your computer as recommended by the installation programs before going on to the next driver.

Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggling via the Battery Meter/Wireless Switch. No special instructions, just install like normal and your Fn-2 key will work as it did under XP.
[Added by holmes4] Despite the above saying it includes the Battery Meter function (Fn-3), it doesn't. This does, so install it also if you want Fn-3 to work. The only other thing it does is add a way to disable further charging of the battery while on AC power until the next reboot, so you can live without it.
New - Updated Bluetooth drivers for enabling additional profiles such as A2DP wireless audio.
For the wired LAN connection, if you can connect wirelessly to the Internet, just go to Windows Update and it will be an optional download.
Otherwise, you'll need the Mini-12's vista drivers for the Realtek LAN RTL8102EL. Run the exe to extract the drivers (default C:\Dell\Drivers\R196115\). Setup will attempt to run, but it will inform you that it's incompatible with this version of Windows. From here, go to the Start Menu and [right-click] on Computer and choose Manage. In the Computer Management screen, choose Device Manager from the left side of the screen, and then expand the Network adapters. [Right-click] the Realtek item and choose Update Driver Software. Browse your computer for the software, and go to C:\Dell\Drivers\R196115\WINVISTA\32 and click next. The driver will be installed, and wired LAN will work.
To enable side-scolling and other features on the touch pad, download either the Dell or Synaptics touch pad drivers. There are more features available if you download from the Synaptics site.
The drivers for the Jmicron card reader (*updated 2009-08-14) will add Sony Memory Stick and MMS support to the card reader.
Finally, the Creative Labs web cam driver is optional, as people are reporting that the webcam works with the generic Windows drivers.

Once you're done with driver installations, check out my other post, Windows 7 - Ultimate SSD Speed Tweaks.

I hope this guide was helpful to you in getting all the features of your Dell Mini working under Windows 7.

Have fun with Windows 7!

networktec · 09-15-2009, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfKeeper

I'm not sure they lied so much as there seems to be a breakdown in communication between you and Dell.

The link I provided previously is part of the service manual. At the top of the page click on the "Back to Contents Page" to see the entire manual.

Internally there are some differences between the 10 and 10v. The differences are the case plastics for the different ports on the side (HDMI vs VGA), the system board, etc.

where do i get a copy/download the service manual for the dell mini 10v, and if poosible, dell mini10?

thanks, appreciate the help

john.woody · 12-16-2009, 09:36 PM

Great post installed Windows 7 Pro. Works faster than xp ever did, and battery life is so much better.

benbacardi · 01-07-2010, 03:51 PM

Great guide! I just have one problem....

I've used the latest drivers for the card reader, yet still my card doesn't show up when I put it in the slot... I don't know what to do about this! Any help appreciated!

Thanks,

Ben

cookiemonster · 01-08-2010, 11:13 AM

What kind of card is it? xD cards fit perfectly, but are not supported. It's really just SD, MemoryStick, and their variants (mini/micro/pro/etc).

benbacardi · 01-08-2010, 11:16 AM

Nope, it's just your standard SD card...!

cookiemonster · 01-08-2010, 11:25 AM

Does the card show up in Disk Management, but not in Explorer?

benbacardi · 01-08-2010, 12:01 PM

Nope, it doesn't even show up there

cookiemonster · 01-08-2010, 01:53 PM

BTW, the latest version of the driver is 1.0.34.2
It is available on JMicron's website.

Has your card reader worked previously, benbacardi?

benbacardi · 01-08-2010, 02:18 PM

Yes - it used to work with OS X and it worked with XP. And I downloaded the driver from that website yesterday, still no luck

strider_mt2k · 01-22-2010, 04:07 PM

Just got a couple of copies of Win7 Pro.
I ended up moving my copy of ultimate onto my server and stopped back to find the list updated with the latest greatest.

Again, and wholeheartedly: THANK YOU!
This info makes re-installs go as smoothly as the OS runs after it's done installing!

My Dell Mini Forum

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