x64 on a Dell Inspiron E1505.

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 that I've upgraded with a T5600 Core 2 Duo CPU, a pair of PC5300 2gig SODIMMs and a 500 gig hard drive.

I downloaded the "media refresh" X17-59465.iso updated x64 ISO of Windows 7 and made a bootable USB stick to install it.

Partway through installing it popped an error about not having a driver. Restarted, it boots off the hard drive, gets to the Starting Services screen then pops another box saying it can't install Windows.

I know other people have installed x64 Win 7 on this exact model with a Core 2 Duo CPU upgrade so what's the trick to making it work? I also know it will use around 3.5gig of RAM.

Would going back to the 1.5gig of PC4200 that was in it get Win7 to complete its install?

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals,

Boot into BIOS setup, reset to defaults, save changes. If an EFI BIOS you'll need to decide if you want UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS. If UEFI follow these special steps for Install, otherwise enable Legacy BIOS or Compatibility Support Module to proceed with normal install:

Set DVD drive first to boot, HD second, set SATA controller to AHCI, Save changes and Exit.

Then boot into Windows 7 installer DVD or flash stick burned or written using tool and latest ISO for your licensed OS version here. I would use a fresh ISO written with tool in Step 2 as yours is in question.

At first installer screen Press Shift + F10, or enter System Recovery Options to open a Command Box, type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK 0 (after confirming Windows 7 target HD #)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
FORMAT FS=NTFS LABEL="WINDOWS 7"
ACTIVE
EXIT
EXIT

Next click Install Now, then Custom install to Clean Install Windows 7 to the partition you created. If it fails then report back at which step and the verbatim error message.

In addition read over these steps to understand the tools and methods which work best to get and maintain a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. The steps are the same for retail.

After install you can adjust partition size or Create new partitions for data, etc. in Disk Mgmt. You are creating the partition here for the purpose of wiping the HD and marking Active which overcomes certain install failures.

I booted it again off the USB stick, did everything exactly as before and it Just Worked(TM) the second time around. It put the previous failed install into windows.old

Just one of those crazy things Windows does some times, eh?

First thing it did was download drivers for the video and the card reader and four other updates. I need to check if it's needing any other drivers then get IE updated and Classic Shell on there before I do anything else.

Just needs a driver for "Base System Device".

Enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3)
then run all rounds of Important and Optional Updates until there are no more offered.

This will provide most drivers and many needed performance patches. Always accept all Updates. I would only hide Bing and IE11 until it resolves issues with Win7 gadgets, etc..

Any drivers missing should then be imported from the model's Support Downloads webpage. Here's how to trace Unknown Devices - Windows 7 Help Forums

I used Unknown Devices which revealed the missing one to be the Memory Stick part of the Ricoh card reader. Windows update automatically found the SD card part and downloaded the driver for that, so why not the Memory Stick driver?

The official Dell support pages for the E1505 and 6400 only has 32bit XP and Vista drivers. This page has the whole lot for Vista x64 and earlier, back to Windows 2000. Drivers for Inspiron E1505 But note the complete lack of any Ricoh x64 drivers.

Found one that works here Driver Details | Dell US

This has been a PITA since 1995 where Windows knows these details about the hardware but hides it all from the user with the generic "unknown device" bullshoi. It only adds hours and hours of time to working on computers hunting for the right drivers.

Computer and software manufacturers have been doing this sort of bleep for the 30 years I've been working with them, probably did it before and will very likely continue to keep on doing it.

The more obscure the driver, the less likely it will be provided by installer or Windows Update. I've shown you how to maximize the chances.

There will always be one or two devices which need drivers or tracing. Lately I've been having good luck copying the full Hardware ID into Google and being handed the driver itself in one of the top results. Remember that almost anything you're encountering has already been experienced by others so there may also be search results for "Missing Base Device on HP Pavilion D7-01234." If not you can get help in our Drivers forum where they can find any driver. I even use Driver Max sometimes for their one free driver a day download.