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Hello I want to downgrade to windows XP pro SP2 and have everything installed.

So far I found audio drivers for L355D-S7825 that worked through RealTek but I tried the PCI LAN drivers and they didn't work.

Right now Im using puppy Linux and puppy Linux is using RealTek RTL-8169 gigabit Ethernet driver to access the internet , modual=r8169 Bus=PCI interface=eth0
this works perfectly for accessing the internet on my Toshiba L355D-S7825

However when I downloaded the same RealTek RTL-8169 drivers that are meant to work on XP it didn't work, I downloaded the drivers from Toshiba and they as well do not work, and they don't seem to offer the PCI LAN drivers they only offer it for vista

I also downloaded allot of other drivers and tested them which were recommended but these as well didn't work these were sl25lanx.exe, REDETH-00817004-UN.exe and PCI_Install_5699_0828.zip which didn't work after installation.

if anyone can help me out it would be much appreciated.

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Note: later reported the problem was resolved. For others who hit the same wall when downgrading to XP, the most reliable troubleshooting route is to identify the NIC by hardware ID, find a driver that exactly matches the device and Windows bitness, and install it manually if the vendor package is targeted at newer OS versions.

Identify the device first (Windows: Device Manager -> Properties -> Details -> Hardware Ids; Linux: run lspci -nn | grep -i ethernet to get VEN and DEV numbers). Use those IDs to look up the exact chipset on and search driver listings in the Microsoft Update Catalog. If the vendor only supplies newer-OS packages, extract the driver package (7-Zip works) and use Device Manager -> Update Driver -> Have Disk to point to the INF. If the INF does not include the correct OS/architecture section, editing it can sometimes work but is an advanced, risky step—backup and test before relying on it.

Additional practical checks: confirm XP is 32- or 64-bit and pick matching drivers; install chipset/southbridge drivers first; uninstall failed driver entries and reboot before retrying; verify the NIC is enabled in BIOS and test with a live OS to rule out hardware faults. If all else fails, try an alternate NIC (USB or PCI) or contact vendor support for legacy drivers.

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ok i figured out how to fix it really simple

Member Avatar for John717

please delete this thread and my account , the issue I had was really simple no brainer and I solved it myself, also despite the fact that a thread to a software download was 100% legal since all software and information's came directly from the authors page free to download and to use despite this the thread was deleted and falsely claimed not legal so i will not be posting again so please delete my account as well.

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