Can you get drivers off an old machine?

[ZaphodB]

Okay - a bit of a speculative post here.

My daughter has a Win 7 PC (now 12 years old) and decided to upgrade the RAM (from 4GB to 8), the graphics card and has bought herself a small SSD.

She's purchased Win 10 Pro and tried installing it on the SSD (all other boot drives removed) but has had no end of problems. Win 10 works for maybe a few mins then either freezes or blue-screens.

Thoughts??

She thinks the problem may be that for some reason, Win 10 isn't installing the correct drivers, so has asked how she can determine the drivers that were installed for the various devices in Win 7 and if it is possible to re-install these on the Win 10 disk.

I suspect that it can't be done.

I know that Win 7 uses the same drivers as Vista (so that upgrading from Vista to 7 should have been painless) but does Win 7 use the same drivers as Win 10? I suspect not.

Also, if she could use the Win 7 drivers, is there any way (a piece of software for example) that will pull all the relevant drivers off her working (but slow) Win 7 installation so that she can re-install under Win 10.

I have said that if she goes into Win 7's Device Manager, selects the particular device (eg mouse) then goes to Properties > Drivers tab, she should be able to see what driver has been installed and then Google the divice together with the driver name to pull a fresh copy off the web. I've also advised not to get drivers from anywhere apart from Microsoft or the device manufacturer's website.

Being 170 miles away means any help I can give her is like telephone tech support!

Thanks in advance,

Zaph

 

[samuria]

Was 7 32or 64 bit and she got 10 64bit? Did she do clean install of 10 or upgrade she could upgrade for free no need to buy 10. You can't copy drivers as they need to be signed for 64 bit so old drivers won't be signed. What exactly were the problems with 10 if it's an old pc any old drivers would be default generic drivers. First thoughts is the SSD can the old PC support sata3 and have you changed disk settings in the BIOS as it may be set to legacy which could give problems

 

[iko22]

Hello ZaphodB

You mention Windows 7, Vista and Windows 10, but it appears your question is really about Windows 10. In which case you'd better post your question on Ten Forums, instead.

If the computer freezes often, then maybe try a Safe Boot? A Safe Boot will load the minimum amount of Drivers.

Not all drivers are compatible with the different versions of the Operating System. If your daughter suspects faulty drivers on the OS, then how about starting Device Manager and looking for the yellow triangles next to devices? The yellow triangles with exclamation marks indicate a driver fault.

 

[ZaphodB]

Was 7 32or 64 bit and she got 10 64bit? Did she do clean install of 10 or upgrade she could upgrade for free no need to buy 10.

Old PC had Win 7 64-bit. She tried to install (and had lots of problems) Win 10 64-bit as a fresh install on a brand-new SSD. Only aware that she'd bought a copy of the OS (for £30) after the fact.

You can't copy drivers as they need to be signed for 64 bit so old drivers won't be signed. What exactly were the problems with 10 if it's an old pc any old drivers would be default generic drivers.

PC (with WIn 10) boots then locks up/crashes/BSoD within seconds to several minutes.

I think she's even had problems booting to Safe Mode

First thoughts is the SSD

You are saying that you suspect the new SSD might be flaky?

can the old PC support sata3 ...

No idea

... and have you changed disk settings in the BIOS as it may be set to legacy which could give problems

I believe she has set the BIOS correctly.

What settings would you advise?

Hello ZaphodB

You mention Windows 7, Vista and Windows 10, but it appears your question is really about Windows 10. In which case you'd better post your question on Ten Forums, instead.

Vista and 7 were mentioned specifically because I know that Vista and 7 basically used the same drivers so if you had issues with an upgrade to 7 you could use Vista's drivers.

Win 10 is mentioned because she is trying to use Win 10 on a brand-new SSD. However the question I asked was how can you (if it is possible) get the drivers from a Win 7 machine - so a relevant question in this forum.

I believe she has registered on TenForums but not aware that she's asked for any help yet.

If the computer freezes often, then maybe try a Safe Boot? A Safe Boot will load the minimum amount of Drivers.

I think that even booting to Safe Mode she is experiencing issues.

I suspect that she may be correct in thinking that there is a problem with the SSD.

Not all drivers are compatible with the different versions of the Operating System. If your daughter suspects faulty drivers on the OS, then how about starting Device Manager and looking for the yellow triangles next to devices? The yellow triangles with exclamation marks indicate a driver fault.

That would only work if the PC would work long enoiugh for her to be able to do that.

To be clear - using the old physical hard disk drive (containing Win 7) - the PC boots but is S L O W.

Upgrading the RAM from 4GB to 8GB helped but she decided to try a SSD for the OS installation and use the old HDD for data storage. Except that from the get-go, she's had problems both installing Win 10 on the SSD and then once installed, getting the PC to run for any length of time before it freezes/BSoDs - so running any kind of diagnostics is currently a no-no.

She's only experiencing problems with the SSD and Win 10.

I may ask her to try to do a fresh install of Win 7 on the SSD to try to rule out the SSD as a problem. Either that or send the SSD back to the supplier as faulty and obtain a replacement.

Personally, I think it is either a BIOS setting that isn't correct or some other software incompatabilty. A third guess would be a flaky SSD. After that, I'm fresh out of ideas.

Zaph

 

[iko22]

If she can plug the SSD into a different computer, then she would be able to run a disk health check, such as HD Sentinel or HD Tune.

Otherwise, a reinstall of Windows 7 or 10 on the SSD seems in order. Just don't activate the licence, or update the OS, until she knows it is stable. There is a 30-day grace period on the licence.

 

[samuria]

I don't think the SSD is faulty but the BIOS needs settings to sata 3 and ahci if it's set wrong that could be the problem if it's old it may not support sata 3 tell us what BIOS options there are for disk. It may be worth cloning 7 to SSD then update to ten

 

[SIW2]

Can you get drivers off an old machine?

Yes, but I doubt that will help.

 

[flavallee]

ZaphodB:

If your daughter's 12-year old computer is a factory-brand one, can you advise us what brand name and model name and model number and serial number/service tag number it is?

Knowing its description and what hardware it came with would be helpful to us - which its support site should have if it's a factory-brand one and if it's not too old.

 

[ZaphodB]

Thanks folks.

PC is a Mesh (no idea of model name!)

However, of more use is the motherboard, which is an EVGA nForce 750 SLI

The graphics card that she bought was an MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 AERO ITX with 2GB GDDR5 Ram

I have the manual - link here.

Hope this helps,

Zaph

[Edit: I'd have posted those details earlier but I had to look them up]

 

[iko22]

Type and run System Information, from the rb: Start Menu, that will detail the model name.

 

[Megahertz07]

I suspect that the freezes and BSOD may be related to the memory she added.
To insert or remove memory sticks, always disconnect the power cable from the wall outlet.
Try to work with only the original memory on the original slot.
If it works, replace the original memory with the one she bought to see if works.

 

[ZaphodB]

Type and run System Information, from the rb: Start Menu, that will detail the model name.

As per my OP, I am 170 miles away. When I next speak to her, I'll ask.

Don't see how that's any more relevant than giving you the exact motherboard and graphics card though.

Can you please explain why the System Name would be helpful? Thanks.

I suspect that the freezes and BSOD may be related to the memory she added.
To insert or remove memory sticks, always disconnect the power cable from the wall outlet.
Try to work with only the original memory on the original slot.
If it works, replace the original memory with the one she bought to see if works.

That's a good idea.

PC works fine with the old HDD (containg the Win 7 OS) with 8GB RAM - it is possible I suppose that Win 10 would have a wobbly.

I'll ask her to give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

Zaph

 

[flavallee]

However, of more use is the motherboard, which is an EVGA nForce 750 SLI

That appears to actually be a EVGA nForce 750i SLI motherboard.

EVGA nForce 750i SLI - motherboard - ATX - LGA775 Socket - nForce 750i SLI Specs - CNET

 

[iko22]

As per my OP, I am 170 miles away. When I next speak to her, I'll ask.

Don't see how that's any more relevant than giving you the exact motherboard and graphics card though.

Can you please explain why the System Name would be helpful? Thanks.

Nope, it's totally voluntary. It might help us to help you, that is all.

Ask your daughter to go ahead with Megahertz07's suggestion in post #11.

 

[ZaphodB]

That appears to actually be a EVGA nForce 750i SLI motherboard.

EVGA nForce 750i SLI - motherboard - ATX - LGA775 Socket - nForce 750i SLI Specs - CNET

Hi, yes that's correct a 750i SLI not as typed a 750 SLI

Nope, it's totally voluntary. It might help us to help you, that is all.

Ask your daughter to go ahead with Megahertz07's suggestion in post #11.

I have done that. It was a good idea.

I've also suggested trying to put Win 7 on the SSD to see if that works as expected or whether she experiences the same problems. That way we can pinpoint the SSD as the problem or rule it out.

Difficulty is that she has a quite demanding job so it is often several days before she gets round to stuff - if at all. It is very frustrating for me as I almost expect a few hours turnaround and usually get heading towards a week!

I'll update this thread as and when I have any further info.

Thanks to all for their time, suggestions and advice - much appreciated.

Zaph

 

[Megahertz07]

When working in dual channel mode, ram sticks should be same brand, same tag, same speed, same timings, same chipset or you may have issues.
As it's an old computer, the memory modules she bought are probably second hand. And some people don't know they have to disconnect the PS from the wall outlet before insert or remove memory sticks and can damage the module.

In other words, the ram she bought can be damaged.

 

[ZaphodB]

When working in dual channel mode, ram sticks should be same brand, same tag, same speed, same timings, same chipset or you may have issues.
As it's an old computer, the memory modules she bought are probably second hand.

Both 2GB sticks that were in were Corsair XMS2 memory - one in each of the blue sockets (Slots 0 and 2) as per the manual page 9 - so matched.

No, she bought 2 sticks of compatible 2GB DDR2 Ram from Crucial, brand-new. These went into the two black sockets (slots 1 and 3) - so also matched.

And some people don't know they have to disconnect the PS from the wall outlet before insert or remove memory sticks and can damage the module.

In other words, the ram she bought can be damaged.

She knows this too - switch off at the wall socket & earth herself when adding/removing RAM (or the SSD or Graphics card for example) - to ensure that any static charge is drained.

It is unlikely that the Crucial memory is bad, but it is possible. It is equally unlikely that the SSD is a problem, but also possible.

She has to go step-by-step until the culprit - s/ware, drivers, memory, SSD - is identified.

Zaph

 

[samuria]

Going back a few post did you find out the disk setting in the bios?

 

[ZaphodB]

Was 7 32or 64 bit and she got 10 64bit? Did she do clean install of 10 or upgrade she could upgrade for free no need to buy 10. You can't copy drivers as they need to be signed for 64 bit so old drivers won't be signed. What exactly were the problems with 10 if it's an old pc any old drivers would be default generic drivers. First thoughts is the SSD can the old PC support sata3

Hi Samuria,

To answer (or attempt to) your questions.

The motherboard manual states SATA II.

Surely the SSD would be backwards compatible?

and have you changed disk settings in the BIOS as it may be set to legacy which could give problems[/B]

No, not yet.

Going back a few post did you find out the disk setting in the bios?

I wonder what setting it should be. There is no 'Legacy' setting.

Under the 'Advanced Chipset Features' tab the options are:

• Spread Spectrum
• PCIE Spread Spectrum
• SATA Spread Spectrum
• LDT Spread Spectrum
• System BIOS Cacheable

The 'Spread Spectrum' settings are to do with the the clock, elimination of voltage spikes and EMI for US FCC compliance if I Googled that correctly.

Under the 'Integrated Periperals' tab the options are:

• IDE Function Setup (with the following options):
  * OnChip IDE Channel0
  * Primary Master PIO
  * Primary Slave PIO
  * Primary Master UDMA
  * Primary Slave UDMA
  * IDE DMA Transfer Access
  * SATA-ATA Controller
  * IDE Prefetch Mode
• RAID Config (whose options mainly seem to be related to USB apart from this option):
  * IDE HDD Block Mode

Any idea what the correct setting may be?

Would it be something to do with the PIO (Programmed Imput/Output) or the UDMA settings??

Cheers,

Zaph

 

[ZaphodB]

Bump!

Anyone?

Zaph