Will Windows 7 work on dell dimension 3000?

[qishengguan]

will vista driver better than XP? it seems like vista driver is newer?

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, Vista drivers work with Win7.

 

[qishengguan]

This is the only one i found at intel.com, no vista drivers. This video controller is very old, so they do not have compatible drivers for windows 7.

 

[gregrocker]

This is not the same as XP. Win7 is driver-complete with few exceptions.

Use the drivers given by the installer, and quickly updated via optional Windows Updates when you elect to auto-update hardware: Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware

Then if any drivers are missing, import them from the Support Downloads webpage your model computer or device. You may have to google for Vista drivers for that exact device model.

 

[bonefx]

This Thread is a bit old. I'll post this in case there's anyone who wants to know.
The answer is yes. The only thing that didn't work on my Dimension 3000 after upgrading to Windows 7 ultimate was the video driver. I couldn't adjust the resolution at all. This is what you need to do if you're having the same issue. Do this after doing all the updates for windows 7 including service pack 1. Click on the link below. Please note that this driver is listed for windowsXp. don't worry I'll show you what I did to make it work winth win7. Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States].
Under Video, download R106458.EXE (4MB). the file will get saved under c:\dell\drivers. Click start(botton Left) where is says: search programs and files, type device manager.
Select device manager. you'll see it at the top of the window.
Click the little arrow next to Display Adapter.
Right click what you see under the drop down. (Graphic controller), and select: update graphic software. Then click on Browse my computer for driver software.
Click browse and go to C:\DELL\drivers\R106458. Click Next. Wait several mins. when done it will ask you restart your computer. Once the system comes back up go back to device manager under display adapters and you should see the new driver. Intel(R) 82865G Graphics Controller. after that you should be able to change your resolution.

Please let me know if this works for you.
Good luck
BFX

 

[slras]

Windows 7 won't work on my Dell Dimension 3000

I have a Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop with the original MOBO.

It has an Intel/Dell P4 3.0 GHz CPU w/Hyperthreading.

2GB PC3200 DDR system memory

I have disabled the onboad graphics and sound.

I have 2 80 GB IDE Hard Drives and 1 320 GB IDE Hard Drive.

I have an LG GH22LP21 Dual Layer DVD Writer w/Lightscribe Technology

I have an NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT w/1GB DDR2 Memory (Not PCI-e)

I have a Creative/Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Soundcard (Not PCI-e)

I am running Windows-XP Home Edition 2002 w/SP3 32 bit version.

I have used Vista on this computer without any problems other than the Voice Recognition problems and also that the Chess game will play endlessly with just 2 kings.

I have the updated drivers for my hardware, and at last check, there isn't an update for the Intel Chipset for this MOBO.

I can install Windows 7 up to the point of the first reboot and then I get a message that there aren't any hard drives installed so the system won't boot.

I then take out that hard drive and install the one with Windows-XP and I'm back up and running. I really need a new computer, but finances won't permit one at this time.

I have seen that other members have been able to get Windows 7 to work on their Dimension 3000 so I'm hoping someone can help me out, but every time I try installing on a new hard drive, it gets to the first reboot and then the no hard drives installed message comes up.

I thank you in advance.

Susan

 

[bonefx]

Hi Susan,
since your computer runs on 32bit I'm assuming the win 7 ver you're installing is 32bit?
When installing win7 are you choosing to update or the 2nd option which I think is advanced or custom?

 

[slras]

Hi,

Thank you.

I'm doing a clean install on a different hard drive that has been low level formatted and then reformatted and partitoned using the Maxblast Software and then Windows 7 also formats the drive while installing. And yes, it is the 32-bit version.

As I mentioned, it installs fine and then on the first reboot, it get a message that there aren't any hard drives installed in my system.

If I were to hit any key while the computer is booting, it would boot from the DVD and want to either Install or Repair. But since I am letting it boot from the hard drive, that is when I get the message.

I forgot to mention that it is Windows 7 Ultimate x.32

I also had downloaded the "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" and the only thing that shows up as incompatible is the "Intel Chipset" driver.

Susan

 

[gregrocker]

Where did you get Win7? Did you burn the disk yourself? Try burning another at 4x speed using ImgBurn, or write to flash stick using Universal USB Installer with Win7 in dropdown menu - boot under USB, Removable, HD's on one time boot menu with HD set first to boot in BIOS setup.

If XP wil still start then try running the installer from XP to overwrite C, i.e. choose C partition from which you are installing at the screen when you choose where to install.

If you needed the IDE controller driver added before installing (rare) you wouldn't be able to see the HD when you select where you want to install Win7. Are you choosing Custom Install and selecting where you want to install there? Try that next from booted installer.

Try unplugging all other HD's and wiping the target HD first: SSD - HDD Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

May I ask why you disabled onboard graphics? Do you have a video card that is compatible with Win7? You may need to try the install with the onboard.

If these all fail, try resetting the BIOS to defaults in BIOS setup. Set HD to boot first, trigger DVD using one time BIOS Boot menu key.

 

[slras]

Hi Greg,

Thanks.

It was a purchased version from 2009, and I did remove all other hard drives from the computer. I have a few spare 80GB drives that I keep for emergencies and I only installed one of them and as I mentioned previously, it was a clean install. I don't want to do it as an upgrade or wipe out my windows-XP because I would lose programs and I don't want to reinstall XP all over again, it takes too long to do all the updates, even with a DSL connection, then the reboots and more updates and reboots.

I have tried booting from a USB device, but it won't work, even though I can set that up in my CMOS.

I did choose Custom Install and even let it connect to the Internet to see if there were any updates and that all worked fine until the first shut down and reboot.

Yes, I disabled the onboard graphics and sound because I sometimes use the computer for games with surround sound and 3D Graphics so I made sure what I purchased was compatible with Windows Vista and 7 and the graphics card onboard just isn't fast enough or has enough memory so the IDE cards I have are better than the onboard. The soundcard is for 7.1 speakers or 5.1 speakers which works great for certain games.

I also have an extensive vinyl record collection that I am digitizing to preserve the vinyl from getting scratched. So I also use the computer for music.

I've been having problems in IE8 ever since the last major update to XP and I can't get certain characters to show up properly. Instead of a Wide Colon I see FF 1A and I've downloaded every font pack that I can find and it still won't show the Wide Colon on webpages. I have gone to the library and used their computers and IE9 works fine on the websites I am having problems with. I also have the problems with Google Chrome, Mozilla/Firefox and this all happened after the last major update to XP a few months ago. I don't even use Mozilla/Firefox or Google Chrome anymore and uninstalled them.

So you can see why I would like to use Windows 7. I also have a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop that hadn't been used in 2 years and I went to the website that I was having trouble with fonts and on the laptop it was fine, but then I did the Updates that came out in the last two years and now even on the laptop the font problems are there and they weren't before the updates.

If I had the money I would buy a barebones system and use my graphics card and sound card and install everything on a new system and forget about the Dell, but for now, financially that isn't possible. I just don't understand why it installs fine and even does a check for the necessary components before it installs but then when it reboots it tells me there are no hard drives.

I didn't have that problem with Vista, but Vista had it's own problems. And when Microsoft unveiled it, they had problems during their presentation especially with the voice recognition software. Windows 7 is similar to Vista, but the bugs supposedly have been worked out so I don't know why I am having problems when other owners of the Dimension 3000 are able to install Windows 7.

Susan

 

[gregrocker]

Did you try writing to flash stick with the program I linked?

If it let you download updates from the net during install then it wasn't booted. Try install booting the DVD, then the flash stick if necessary: How to Boot your Computer from a Bootable CD or DVD

You can also use the Dell F12 one-time BIOS boot menu key to trigger DVD or flash stick (under USB, Removable or HD's). Try setting HD first to boot in BIOS setup, then using F12 to boot the disk or USB.

 

[slras]

Hi Greg,

Please excuse my ignorance, but when I go to the page to download, it says it for Linux. I don't know if I'm missing something here or not. I have built computers from scratch and have repaired them, but I'm not familiar with Linux. Though I did do an upgrade to my DirecTV Tivo unit a few years back and added a second hard drive for extra storage space.

But I'm not sure about this Universal USB Installer, it's asking for I386.iso and I don't see where to find it. I know how to make an ISO image of a disc but the install DVD isn't in ISO format, it is a bootable install DVD for Windows 7 Ultimate. Whoops, I saw the option to check a box to download the iso file.

I do know how to boot from CMOS and how to change the order of the boot devices and so on. It's just I've never come across this problem before and seeing that other members have been able to install Windows 7 on their Dimension 3000, even though Dell says it will only work on 2 models. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, especially when it does install up to the first reboot. Then it says there are no hard drives installed.

Susan

 

[gregrocker]

Select Win7 in dropdown menu, browse to ISO file, it will format the stick for you.

Boot the stick, follow these steps to install: Clean Install Windows 7

Report back at which step it fails and exact error message. Often googling the text verbatim will find the solution.

 

[slras]

Thank you so much. I don't know if I will be able to try this in the next few days or not, but have already installed the iso file for Windows 7 on my USB stick. Will get back to you with any errors.

Thanks again.

Susan

 

[slras]

I wasn't able to use the USB Boot device as the CMOS screen showed there wasn't any installed, but I was able to install Windows 7 directly from the DVD and did Custom Install and it rebooted fine. Then I did the first set of updates and it validated Windows and was running fine.

Then I did the second set of updates and it installed them and rebooted and I received a message "unable to boot from system drive" So I did Ctrl-Alt-Del and tried again and got the same message. So I guess I can't install Windows 7 on my Dimension 3000. But at least this time it did install and run and I actually was able to use Internet Explorer to check a few things before I did the second set of updates, but after that, it wouldn't boot.

There wasn't any error codes or missing ntdll.dll or whatever. It just wouldn't boot from the system drive after the second set of high priority updates.

After the first updates, it did recognize my USB Stick as a drive and it had the files on it for booting from the USB Device, but CMOS wouldn't boot from it.

So I'm stuck with XP on this computer I guess. I spent about 3 hours removing my XP Drive and then installing a frresh drive and installed Windows 7 and then the updates. So it isn't worth the effort. I just don't know who other people are getting it to work on their Dimension 3000.

Susan

 

[gregrocker]

Try System Restore to before the problem group of Updates, booting from the System Recovery Options on DVD.

If it starts, install the updates in small groups to zero in on the problem update. You can also study the logs and utilize System Resources to identify problems using these troubleshooting steps

 

[slras]

Thanks Greg,

I just don't have the energy to do it all over again. It's not really worth it on this computer. I was hoping it would be an easy process, especially because I was actually able to use it after the first set of updates. It would take to long to do each update by itself.

I have a chance to get a used laptop that is actually faster than my desktop but I just have to come up with the money. And, it has Windows 7 on it and 4GB system ram.

I appreciate all you help though. If I were to do each update one at a time, yes, I might find out which one is causing the problem, but it is just way to much time to waste on such an old computer. And it's a pain disconnectind hard drives and reconnecting them so I will just go with what I have for now until I can get a new desktop, and hopefully the used laptop.

It was worth a shot though.

Susan

 

[gregrocker]

Susan -

I understand if you don't want to expend the energy required sometimes to run Win7 smoothly on old hardware. It can take some dedication.

Just so you know: the process when Updates are causing a problem is to install them in small groups first until you run into the problem, then System Restore if necesary from DVD System Recovery Options.
Then install the same group of Updates singly until you find which one is the culprit.

It might also have been a driver if you were installing optional Updates. I install those first since they are integral to System performance.

Here are some tips for the new computer when you get it to Clean up factory bloatware

 

[slras]

Hi Greg,

It wasn't any of the driver or hardware updates, just the High Priority/Security updates I didn't even select the Optional updates yet and I didn't even install my soundcard drivers as I wanted to make sure Windows 7 was going to work first.

I have the Windows 7 Drivers for my soundcard, and video card, but evertything was working fine except no sound being I hadn't installed the drivers and then, I hadn't installed the drivers for my printer and scanner. But I did run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor again and there weren't any issues with these items.

I don't know, maybe I will try again because it did a Restore Point before the second set of updates so maybe if I do them a little at a time I might get it to work, but it is a lot of work.

I can't tell you how many computers I have worked on and had to reformat and install Windows-XP and then all the updates. Then when I take the computer back to the owner, I have to install all their drivers for their peripherals. It is a very lengthy process.

They think if it a simple thing and it isn't. If they took it to a computer repair store or even that the Geek Squad fix it for them it would cost well over $100.00 an hour and I often did it for free, but then I started charging them and they stopped coming to me for their repairs.

I'm disabled, but my time is worth money too, and what I charged them was pennys compared to what the Geek Squad would charge them.

If I had a faster laptop so I could do my usual online stuff, I would devote more time to try and get this computer to run Windows 7, but I'm a webmaster for a Forum and I need to be able to fix things with the webiste in a timely fashion.

I think part of the problem is that it is a Dell that I am installing it on and it is only supposed to work on 2 of their older models according to their website for the Dimension make.

Oh well, I will ponder this for awhile and see what happens.

Thanks again.

Susan

 

[The DBP]

Sparkle 8400GS 256MB PCI Not recognized

Hi all,

Trying to get a Dell Dimension 3000 up and running for a friend. It's a 2.8 P4, 2GB RAM though I have a 3.2GHz P4 w/ HT on the way. I picked up a Sparkle 8400GS 256MB PCI graphics card to allow Blu-ray playback and some Aero action, but the computer does not recognize it. Dell boot up screen does not give adequate info as to if it is recognized, nor does the BIOS. Graphics are set to Auto, the other option is Onboard, which I don't want. Tried in every slot, and I have a PCI Wi-Fi card that works fine in each slot.

I've seen other threads on other sites about issues using graphics card upgrades in the Dimension 3000. Anyone have any experience with a similar upgrade that might be able to add some insight?

Thanks in advance!