Member Avatar for soleman

OKay..
Well my g/f bro has an old computer. It orignanly had WinME on it and one day it froze and when i went to start it up would not work. So i had an xp disk and used it on it and got xp on the computer. NOw i was wondering WHERE do i get a driver for the computer so itll work with the internet?! I have no idea what type of comptuer it is .. can somene please help me ! THANK YOU!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by BinaryMayhem

Dani AI

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As explained, installing Windows XP over WinME often leaves the network adapter without a usable driver. WinME/9x drivers generally won’t work on XP because XP uses the NT driver model. As suggested, Device Manager is the first place to look, and ’s idea to use a hardware ID scanner is the right follow-up when Device Manager is vague.

Practical steps (no internet required on that machine):

  1. Open Device Manager (Start → Control Panel → System → Hardware → Device Manager or run devmgmt.msc). Look under “Network adapters” or “Other devices” for items with a yellow icon.
  2. Right‑click the problem device → Properties → Details → select “Hardware Ids” (or check the General tab if Details isn’t present). Copy the top string; it will look like:
    PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8139

    In that string VEN_xxxx is the vendor and DEV_xxxx is the device. Use another computer with internet to search that exact string or search the vendor ID (VEN) at a PCI ID database to find the manufacturer and model.

Next actions once you know the vendor/model:

  • Download the driver that explicitly says Windows XP (or Windows 2000/XP) from the OEM or chip vendor, not a WinME/9x driver. If the NIC is onboard, motherboard chipset drivers may be required first.
  • Transfer the driver via USB stick, CD, or floppy, then use Device Manager → Update Driver → Have Disk and point to the driver folder.
  • If identification fails or you need the quickest fix, a low‑cost PCI Ethernet card or USB‑to‑Ethernet adapter with XP support will get the PC online immediately.

Note: check the BIOS to ensure onboard LAN isn’t disabled, and avoid installing drivers from untrusted sources.

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Member Avatar for tayspen

OKay..
Well my g/f bro has an old computer. It orignanly had WinME on it and one day it froze and when i went to start it up would not work. So i had an xp disk and used it on it and got xp on the computer. NOw i was wondering WHERE do i get a driver for the computer so itll work with the internet?! I have no idea what type of comptuer it is .. can somene please help me ! THANK YOU!!

Welcome to DaniWeb

There should havebeen disks that came with the computer. Run those to install all the drivers. Then to see what else you need go to


Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware tab>device mananger.

and see what kind off network card it is (look under the network part) Then get the drivers using another computer, transfer them via floppy drive, then install.

In my sig there is a link to get system info...the info you need could also be found from the program.

-T

Member Avatar for BinaryMayhem

I doubt the drivers that came with the computer will work for XP... (ME follows the hardware platform of win 9x.. NOT NT)
to find the drivedrs your going to either A) need to open the computer and examine the hardware, or B) dl this program, burn it to cd... http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php and post back here...

if you dl the program, click the icon that looks like "my computer" (1st one) then scroll down in the context window till you can see network card. either take a Screen shot or type out the information exactly and post it here.

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