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XP Drivers for a Gateway w/Vista? 11

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Allen455

Allen455

Technical User
Jan 18, 2007
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Hi,
I have a Gateway MT3705 laptop, purchased yesterday at Best Buy, which came with Vista preloaded. I played around with it a lot yesterday, but I came to the conclusion that Vista just isn't solid enough for my needs yet (though the eye candy is definitely cool!).

So I want to go back to XP Pro, but I can't find the right XP drivers for many of the devices, as Gateway seems to only support Vista for their new models. Argh.

The video issue is easy enough, and I got ATI Catalyst drivers for the xpress 200m inside.

But beyond that, this is proving to be a real headache. I still need drivers for my modem, sound card, ethernet, and wifi controllers. There's an integrated media card reader that would be nice to get working, too...

Does anybody have ideas on how I could track these down, given the lack of drivers on the Gateway website?

This page has a list of the components and part numbers and stuff, but it's all integrated chips and stuff, so I can't download the drivers from the manufacturers' own sites.

Any ideas would be really welcomed!

Oh, one idea I had is that if there are similar models that were released like last month, but with XP instead of Vista, their support pages should have the proper drivers... anyone know such model numbers?

Thanks a ton!
Allen
 
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xflatlinex - I think that one you just gave is for another machine not the mt6456 and I also think that guy had a Broadcom wireless not the Marvell in the 6456 but it might work you never know.
 
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granvillegayle - If you're still reading this I guess the wireless card by Marvell is hopeless so the 2 options are ger another wireless card like the Intel Wireless WiFi 4965AGN that has the XP and Vista drivers for $30+ or use a USB wireless adapter ( I'm doing this and it working fine)
 
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Does anyone else get really horrible and distorted audio on the MT6456 using XP?
 
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No - actually mine sounds good for small speakers. I read that the sound on this 6456 with Vista was poor but after reading that and getting XP in there I was surprised it sounded OK on mine.
 
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Hi everyone,

I've been following this thread for quite sometime and I happy to happy have found some useful information. The only thing that I have a problem with this the last "Ethernet Controller" ~ according to Device Manager ~ I think, it's the WIFI driver. I'm not too sure. Has anyone came up with a solution or driver for this "device" ? ~ I'm trying to avoid buying a wireless adapter for my laptop, since this "device" is not working.

Any help would be appreciated.

Stats:

Laptop Model: Gateway MT6456
OS: Downgraded from Vista to XP
 
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StomperX - I've been following your questions on the web and have responded to them. 1st did you ever get the sound working on your friends MT6456?

As of these days the wireless card in there will only work with Vista - and you know your choices by now.
 
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i have the same problem with the wireless driver in my gateway MT6456

the RealTek 8185 DON'T WORK

another idea/solution?
 
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I have basically the same problems-no Ethernet,multimeda audio & some PCI controllers-the drivers won't reinstall. I have a Gateway 6525GP that I also got at BestBuy. Gateway doesn't have the drivers & I'm not sure who the manufactuer is. I don't want to take my laptop apart. How do I know what other drivers Gateway has that might work for my model. Or please tell me somewhere else to look. I can't get on-line without the ethernet.

 
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MARVELL TOPDOG 802.11 WIRELESS INSTALATION (WORKING!!!)

Just folow the instructions and the wireless start working, thanks lonebirch you you help :)

---------------------------

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: 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!
Click to expand...
 
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granvillegayle or mocars2....

I just purchased the MT6456 w/vista. I plan on putting xp pro on it. I have seen where the nice gentleman posted the link to all the drivers needed except for the wireless lan. I also saw that you downloaded the video driver seperately. Could you please provide me the exact link to the download? Also, did you try the instructions on the bottom of this thread to update the wireless card with the driver mentioned? If so, did it work for you? Are there any special instructions I need to down before doing a fresh install of XP Pro?

Thanks
 
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runnerbl - did you get all the other drivers installed except the wireless topdog card?
No I never got the topdog wireless card to work.
Also check the other forum link above on this subject.
 
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I too bought a Gateway 2 Months ago, Model No: MT 6834b which came with MS Vista. I just cannot get on with it and I'm also having problems with software issues. I decided to format and revert back up XP pro. First, it wouldn't boot up telling I had no hard-drive.....Eventually, I installed XP after taking my wife's Gateway disc from a diferent laptop which is running XP. Went in ok, but had more problems with things like Sound card, Display, Lan etc. contacted Gateway but not much help... So I re-installed Vista....... Was thinking seriously of buying myself another Labtop just to get XP back...

Any feedback would be greagful

Thanks in advance
 
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Hi all,

Thanks for this thread info. I have a MT3422 which I switch back to WinXP. I got almost everything working. (wireless, sound, video, media reader)
The only thing that I cannot figure out is an unknown device "Other PCI Bridge Device" -> I think this is the wired NIC but I am not sure and I have tried a lot of thing. Anyone can help me here. The link above for the Marvell Yukon drivers does not work.
Thanks,
 
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