Is there any way to get windows 7 to recognize devices?

[ElectricSun]

My laptop, a Dell Latitude D630, was clearly built with Windows XP as there is a product key on the bottom, but when i recieved it on christmas, it had a fresh install of Windows 7 professional, so it's not surprise some hardware might not work. It has a small camera at the bottom of the monitor that isn't recognized what-so-ever. It has a bluetooth status light that is never on so i assume i could try and get drivers, so i downloaded bluetooth module from dell drivers site. It said compatible with XP, but i tried anyway and it said "could not fine a compatible bluetooth chip on your system." i was planning to get xp in the future anyway as a side-OS to make use of this, as well as certain old programs. should i just wait and do that or is there any fix to allow these devices to work on 7?

 

[mrjimphelps]

If Dell's XP drivers don't work, see if they have Vista drivers for this computer. Vista is a lot closer to Windows 7 than XP is, so you might get lucky there.

Also, you could try to get the VEN and DEV numbers for the Bluetooth module and for the camera, and try to track down the drivers that way. The VEN and DEV numbers will take you directly to the vendor (VEN) and the device (DEV), so you might have better luck that way than by going to the Dell web site.

Here is a good explanation for getting the VEN and DEV numbers of a Windows device:
https://community.spiceworks.com/ho...vendor-and-device-id-s-through-device-manager

There used to be an extremely useful website called PCIDatabase.com that allowed you to search on the VEN and DEV numbers, so that you could locate drivers for your devices. However, PCIDatabase has gone dark. Here are some other possible places to search on the VEN and DEV numbers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/computerte..._those_of_you_who_used_to_use_pcidatabasecom/

Another option would be to run Windows Update, to see if it finds a driver for either of these devices. If it does, then install only the drivers for these devices (don't install any other updates), then reboot, to see if the devices now work.

Good luck!

 

[ElectricSun]

If Dell's XP drivers don't work, see if they have Vista drivers for this computer. Vista is a lot closer to Windows 7 than XP is, so you might get lucky there.

Also, you could try to get the VEN and DEV numbers for the Bluetooth module and for the camera, and try to track down the drivers that way. The VEN and DEV numbers will take you directly to the vendor (VEN) and the device (DEV), so you might have better luck that way than by going to the Dell web site.

Here is a good explanation for getting the VEN and DEV numbers of a Windows device:
https://community.spiceworks.com/ho...vendor-and-device-id-s-through-device-manager

There used to be an extremely useful website called PCIDatabase.com that allowed you to search on the VEN and DEV numbers, so that you could locate drivers for your devices. However, PCIDatabase has gone dark. Here are some other possible places to search on the VEN and DEV numbers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/computerte..._those_of_you_who_used_to_use_pcidatabasecom/

Another option would be to run Windows Update, to see if it finds a driver for either of these devices. If it does, then install only the drivers for these devices (don't install any other updates), then reboot, to see if the devices now work.

Good luck!

thanks so much. Feeling silly now, i just discovered my "camera" is not actually a camera, but an ambient light sensor. haha! i found the drivers for it on dell website ( said vista on it) and will see if it works. however for the bluetooth, i will be using the device manager method becuase i've tried many different things, none working.