DeVista-fying Gateway MT6458: Marvell TOPDOG driver??? 9

[wahnula]

Hello,

I am cross-posting this in the XP forum, I know we are not supposed to do this but I am desperate. This Gateway MT6458 (Turion TL50, ATI RS485M) notebook was purchased by a co-worker upon recommendation from a slimeball Best Buy salesman, who was told how it would be used, it was for his hospital-bound disabled wife. Asking a 100% competent person tho learn a new OS is hard enough; in her condition it would be a paperweight. Its "Vista Experience" was 2.1, I think. Woof.

I asked him to return it for an XP model, but he did not want to pay the 15% restocking fee, plus the salesman told him it would be fine by the end of the year...but he did not tell him his printer and scanner would not work with it nor that he could not join the company Domain with Vista Home...GRRRR

Anyway, I have done all the standard steps:

Index hardware
Clone Vista drive
Load XP
Hunt-and-peck for drivers

I have done this several times with Gateway and others with excellent results, but I have found a nut I cannot crack: The built-in wireless NIC, a Marvell TOPDOG PCI-Express 802.11n Wireless Adapter [EC85]

I thought I had hit paydirt at the Marvell site that had an XP driver for the TOPDOG, but all it did within XP was identify the device, and Windows noted it would not work properly. "Wireless Network Connection" does not appear in Network Connections. Device Manager reports it as "Marvell TOPDOG PCI-Express 802.11abgn Wireless" but it still has the yellow !. The other PCI-E device, the Marvel Yukon NIC, is working fine, so I doubt it is a bus issue. There are no other !s in Device Manager and I must say it is a peppy PC w/ XP, with Vista it was a DOG, and not a topdog!

I have also tried every wireless adapter driver on Gateway's site, Realtek, Broadcom, as well as tried to run the Vista driver. No joy.

Thanks folks.

Tony

 

[ekernelfire]

Place where you can find the xp topgdog driver (i think @ least is says so), hope to save someone those $30-$40+SH charge =D

http://www.station-drivers.com/page/marvell.htm

 

[wahnula]

Well...as I recall that's the same one on the Marvell website. Unless it's been recently updated it's probably no good...but worth a shot!

Tony

author of "the thread that would not die and did not involve COAX

 

[mocars2]

ekernelfire - I tried the 802 wireless one listed on that page but it didn't work for me.

 

[trustin]

So does anyone have a step by step on how to complete the downgrading the easiest?

Did a xp driver for the wireless pop up?

How do I keep from losing the 10gb of the recovery partition?

 

[wahnula]

trustin,

So far, nobody has posted one and Marvell has not responded to my support request, so it's a safe bet to say no XP driver yet.

Steps:
1. Read this entire thread, all 647354 posts;
2. Download and run DBAN on the drive, quick pass should do

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

3. Get these drivers from the Gateway support site:

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/search.asp?param=MX3702+&st=kw

Video: ATI Radeon XPRESS 1150 NB
Audio: Intel SigmaTel 9250
Modem: Integrated Conexant V.92 Ready
Network Interface: Marvell Yukon 88E8038 10/100

NIC is most important, you can get the rest later. Boot from XP CD and load normally. Install A/V, (

http://www.free.grisoft.com)

then install the NIC driver and any others from CD or flash pen then hit the 'net to update virus defs (no need to run a scan) and settle in for a fun night of Windows Update. Once all 643582 updates are complete, you can go to the Gateway site and download whatever hardware drivers you're missing.

To install a driver, right-click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager, right-click the device, Update Driver, point it to the file where you saved the driver. I think the ATI is an exe.

4. Read this thread. Again. It's all here

Tony

 

[trustin]

What is the purpose of the DBAN, can't the XP installer delete the partition?

Will the notebook recognize the boot cd after it's been nuked clean? Which driver is the NIC and is that the ethernet connection?So have every other driver but the wireless been found?

why are you using the MX3702 drivers instead of the MT6458 drivers? Will those work? I notice that the MT6458 drivers dont' have many for XP.

Thanks for your help.

 

[wahnula]

What is the purpose of the DBAN, can't the XP installer delete the partition?

Yes, the Windows installer should be able to delete the partition, I just like starting fresh. Especially if the partition is created withing Vista and hidden. DBAN gets everything clean, the drive is recognized as RAW and you partition and format from there.

Which driver is the NIC and is that the ethernet connection?

Marvell Yukon, NIC means Network Interface Card. I think I got my driver from Marvell site.

So have every other driver but the wireless been found?

Yes. It's hunt-and-peck, that hardware list was given me by Gateway support, I had already located all the drivers by then. The first step is really to boot into Vista and document all the hardware from within Device Manager.

The drivers from other models may or may not work, go to the Gateway support site noted above, type SigmaTel in the search box and pick the latest XP driver. If it doesn't work, try another. The same Gateway site, search "ATI 1150" etc.

Remember that embedded devices can cross model lines as well as manufacturers. A desktop Dell Yukon driver might work in a Gateway notebook, for example. The most critical one is the video, as the generic ATI driver has resolutions the display can't handle.

Tony

 

[wahnula]

I just found my hardware index from last month(sloppy desks rule!)

Texas Instruments PCIXX12 Integrated Flash Media Controller 
Motorola SM56 data/fax modem
Texas Instruments OHCI compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Marvell Yukon 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller
Texas Instruments PCIXX12 Cardbus Controller
ATI Radeon Xpress 1150
Sigmatel High Def Audio Codec
               ...and...drumroll please.....
Marvell TopDog PCI-Express 802.11n Wireless (EC85)

but double-check yours, some things might have changed. Or the coffee-rings on the pad might have obscured some data.

Note to Microsoft, Gateway, and Best Buy: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW???

Tony

 

[jatowolf]

Does anyone have the name of the driver file that worked for audio on this notebook? I've been going down the list at gateway looking for something that works now for three days and I can't get any of them to work.

I've been searching for a while and this is the only site I've seen with any hope for audio, I've pretty much given up on the wireless, but sound is a bit harder to replace, it is soldered to the main board.

 

[wahnula]

THE BEAST LIVES!!! I am so glad to have helped so many people sidestep the Gateway blues, this thread has a life of its own thanks to the short-sightedness of both Gateway and Microsoft.

Anyway, for audio, first uninstall any previously downloaded/installed drivers. Then go to this page:

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/search.asp?param=MX3702+&st=kw

Under Driver and Download Search Type "sigmatel" without the quotes. There are quite a few new ones, I used the one from May but try them all, one will be in there that works...I guarantee. If I'm right, how about a star? I'm usually a pretty quiet guy, but it's nice to be appreciated once in a while.

Oh and if it DOES NOT work I'll stick with you until you get it.

Tony

 

[wahnula]

jatowolf,

Any luck? It's considered good form to post back with the results of your attempts...

 

[burtsbees]

Man, I wish I had seen this post...I have the same laptop, and loaded XP Pro, and had one HELL of a time finding the drivers, especially the Sigmatel. But I finally did---this was in March. If I had seen this post, I would have gladly supplied you guys with drivers, including the wireless adapter and sound drivers.

Burt

 

[wahnula]

I would have gladly supplied you guys with drivers, including the wireless adapter

So burtsbees...are you saying there IS an XP driver for the Topdog card??? I have a sale on eBay hinging on this one fact.

Tony

 

[burtsbees]

Tont, don't quote me on that...I thought mine was TopDog, but cannot be sure...I cannot tell you until Wednesday when I go back to work---that's where my laptop is. I will try a Google hack to try to search for an FTP site with drivers for that.

Burt

 

[burtsbees]

Do you happen to know the name of the driver file? What is it for Vista?

Burt

 

[burtsbees]

By the way-have you tried the Vista driver in XP???

Burt

 

[wahnula]

Burt...this laptop is no longer in my possession. It was de-Vistafied as a favor to a co-worker. I found an XP Topdog driver on the Marvell site at the time, installing it did identify the device to XP as the Marvell "Topdog" (previously "unknown device") but that's it, still no functionality.

And yes, I tried the Vista driver along with everything else. I pride myself on being a good sleuth, working hard to solve problems on my own, and have succeeded with every other case of de-vistafying new PCs, for me to post for help is an indication of how frustrated I was. There may be an XP driver SOMEDAY, but as of the 13th of June, when I solved my problem (by the ninth post) it simply was not around.

And by the way this thread keeps returning and the many different people with the same situation I tend to think there still isn't...and Marvell or Gateway is in no hurry to produce one.

Tony

 

[burtsbees]

Like I say, I can check my laptop when I return to work. Sorry this has been so frustrating to you. When I de-Vistafied my laptop, it was because I hated Vista---having such a hard time finding drivers (Gateway is HORRIBLE for supporting their own products, as you may well know), I hate Vista even more. Sorry about all this---I feel your pain.

Burt

 

[wahnula]

Burt...Don't bother on my account..as I said my pain is long gone. You will no doubt be helping the rest of the herd, though.

Moo.

 

[lonebirch]

Good Morning everyone. Hope you haven't given up all hope on getting the Marvell TopDog 802.11n mini PCI wireless adapter that comes stock OEM in the Gateway MT6458 Laptop to work correctly.... 'cause.... I've got the hot and honest truth and frankly, it works perfectly. Please follow my instructions carefully and your Marvell Adapter will work perfectly with Windows XP or WXPMCE. I have no idea about any other OS, because right now, other than Ubuntu, there aren't any OS's I'm interested in working with:
MARVELL TOPDOG INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Open this link in a new tab of your web browser:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/release_notes/d103154.asp.

2. Download the 'WN311T Driver and Utility Version 4.1' driver package to your 'desktop' or 'software' folder of your choice.
3. Double-click on the 'wn311t_setup_4_1.exe' install file to install the driver package. (***IF WINDOWS TELLS YOU THE DRIVERS DON'T HAVE SIGNATUERS AND ASKS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO INSTALL THEM, TELL THE OS 'YES'!)
4. *** Very Important... this particular driver doesn't like to control itself and will need to allow Windows to control the adapter/driver, rather than Netgear's wireless setup utility.
5. After install, please reboot your laptop, thanks.
6. you should have a good and solid wireless connection through the TopDog mini PCI 802.11n adapter.
7. Navigate down into the Netgear folder in the Programs folder on the root of hard drive and you should be able to find a file in there called 'NETMW145.sys'. copy it to the 'WINDOWS\System32\drivers' folder and paste it in there.
8. Now go into the 'Device Manager' control panel in whatever way you prefer and double-click on the '?' adapter with the yellow question mark showing the hardware you've been pulling your hair out over. Choose to update the driver and take total control by demanding to choose the driver yourself and when you are finally asked to supply the disc, just redirect the OS down into the the 'WINDOWS\System32\drivers' folder and choose the 'NETMW145.sys' file you pasted into it earlier. Once again, WXP will ask if it's OK to install the driver because it doesn't have a signature; tell Windows 'yes'. Your wireless connection should work perfectly.
*** THE FINAL WORD ***
I've done my best to try and describe what I just did to make my MT6458 Gateway run its Marvell card correctly. The driver just described 'NETMW145.sys' works smooth as silk on the Gateway MT6458 Laptop I purchased less than one week ago. Since downgrading to Vista isn't an option for someone who wants a fast and stable OS to run their hardware and programs, I was faced with the same issues as all of you when I reformatted and did a fresh install of WXPMCE on the stock 160 gig HD that comes in this little bad boy. Fortunately, you all pitched in and gave me some good ideas and I finally figured out which manufacturer was using the exact chip in their aftermarket PCI-E wireless device and through process of elimination I was able to find the right driver... nothing but a long stroke of luck. At least my 74 yr old dad won't have to struggle now when I ship him his new laptop You'all have fun now, ya hear!