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From: Flasherly on 7 Nov 2009 03:43
On Nov 3, 11:39 pm, Davej <galt...(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 3, 5:31 pm, "TVeblen" <killtherob...(a)hal.net> wrote:
>
> > "Davej" <galt...(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Have a Dell laptop that is acting a little odd. After installing the
> > > OS and everything I learn that the drivers are supposed to be
> > > installed in a particular order. Has anyone dealt with this issue?
>
> > You normally install motherboard drivers, video drivers, LAN drivers, and
> > any other built in device driver first, generally in that order. If you are
> > installing SCSI drivers you do that before you install the OS (XP and
> > earlier). And if you must choose between Legacy IDE mode or SATA mode you
> > need to do that before you load the OS too.
> > More detailed explanation of the issue would be helpful in getting
> > intelligent responses.
>
> Well, the question is -- how can you look at a system and tell if the
> drivers have been installed in the correct order -- and if they
> weren't -- how would you fix that without a complete format and start
> over?

I don't believe there's a "set to stone" requirement they are, though
granted there may be conflicts and the easiest way (to avoid the
programming kludge) could be to follow what's recommended. If not,
well, then there's ways to test for conflicts with the appropriate
"monitoring tools" -- namely what's being done to the registry and
where, if at all overlaps occur, and what programs are overwriting one
another with common system or same-named file and DLL links. Even
better yet is to have a known good config (factory install), same
provided driver installs (downloads available from some support
centers) -- last, there's always a sector-to-sector binary backup for
going in with whatever OS/drivers for compatibility issues, and
backing out with a restore should things get out of hand.

Did that with a Thinkpad ages ago -- where really nasty, nasty things
would happen to the HD. Being on a warrantee, I called IBM's support
center, curious why it would entirely blow-off the HD, requiring IBM's
support (LLF) format routine, at 8 or so hours, to even get back to
square one. The support guy I talked to screamed at me: "YOU DID
WHAT!!" -- after I told him I didn't want a Windows only system with
their utilities, and had reinstalled a different OS for efficiency.
No backup, though, so I had to do it all the "hard way" by figuring
out, myself, what address ranges were a likely culprit to upper memory
block (384k thingy between 640k and 1meg) "hardwired" to IBM's ROM for
accessing the HD. A-ha and thought so...once I excluded the area,
wasn't a problem.

I guess what the IBM guy was effectively trying to tell me, is that I
was taxing his expertise. Ages ago. ...nowadays they all pretty much
have professionally trained, nice people to talk to from faraway
places, such as India. Depending, and not necessarily to be
discounted. I was dumbfounded by Verizon's help links into Manila,
PI, where an 800-operative took control remotely, over the modem, to
fine tune programming for the modem's ROM. Except for when testing
things out, which got a little complicated, so she called her
supervisor -- whereupon he took one look at my system, grabbed the
horn away from her, (running voice simultaneously, I think I could
definitely hear him beginning to breath heavy over her shoulder before
that), to told me: "You're really such a smart guy. Why don't you go
and figure it out yourself."

Pretty smart guy, himself, I told him. Really enjoyed the experience
-- last thing I'd expected from Verizon. Usually I threaten them
first, in order to get someone's attention. :)
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