1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
187
December 15th, 2024 16:58
Finding and Installing Controller Drivers
I have the DELL Inspiron 3i model 3668 desktop I bought over five years ago. It has four USB2 ports in the back and two USB3 ports in the front. The short instructions that came with it suggested UBUNTU could be installed. I Installed UBUNTU not knowing (the short instructions did not indicate it) that it reformats the hard drive. As a result, it is no longer in NTFS format and so I cannot install Windows. I want to keep UBUNTU and so I bought another hard drive, the same as the one originally that came with the computer, a WD10EZEX. I installed Win 7 Pro 64 bit. The USB2 ports will not work, although the keyboard and mouse plugged into two of the four ports do work. The USB3 ports do not work. I tried a bunch of USB driver installs (downloaded from the internet) but they could not be installed. I finally found one installer in DELL’s website that says it is compatible with Win 7. It is called USB3_DELL_WIN_A04_SETUP_JTDY2_ZPE.exe. It would get part way through the install but then the keyboard and mouse freezes and so I cannot click on “Next”. I had to unplug the computer to power it down. Each time it would freeze in exactly the same place in the install sequence.
All USB2 and USB3 ports in the BIOS are enabled. The Device Manager says the drivers for the following controllers are not installed.
Ethernet Controller
Network Controller
PCI Memory Controller
SM Bus Controller
Universal Bus (USB Controller
PCI Simple Communications Controller
PCI Data Acquisition & Signal Processing Controller
Where do I find the drivers for all these controllers, including the USB3 driver?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 15th, 2024 19:32
Why did you install Win 7? It's no longer supported by Microsoft and is full of unpatched security holes. Dell isn't offering any Win 7 drivers for this Inspiron 3668, if they ever did. And you can't mix/match Win 7 drivers from other PC models with this system.
Inspiron 3668 supports Win 10 and Dell offers Win 10 drivers, so why didn't you install this OS on the new drive?
For starters, from what drivers aren't installed on your PC, you likely didn't install the Intel H110 Chipset driver. And without the Chipset driver, other drivers either won't install or won't run.
You should install Win 10 on the new HDD using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB stick. That way you'll have full support for all drivers/hardware, at least until Oct'2025 when support for Win 10 end. (This PC model isn't supported for Win 11.)
(edited)
ASpectro
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
December 15th, 2024 21:47
@RoHe
I already know 7 is not supported (I think it ended in January 2020) and undoubtedly has unpatched security holes. My reasons for installing 7 are my own and are irrelevant to my questions except if the drivers I want are not available. I’m skeptical that DELL never had drivers for 7. Win 7 came out around 2009 and many businesses had it for their operating system. Then in 2015 Win 10 came out, five years before 7 stopped being supported. In all this time DELL never had drivers that could work in Inspiron 3668??? Maybe so, but I am skeptical. My 2013 vintage Lenovo laptop, the W530, has Win 7 on it.
Thanks for the suggestion that I need to install the Intel H110 Chipset driver. I will see if I can install it and then go from there.
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 16th, 2024 01:43
Inspiron 3668 was released in 2016, so it would have come with factory-installed Win 10, which -as you said- came out in 2015. Dell wouldn't support any prior OS (eg, Win 7 or Win 8/8.1) on this model since it was released when Win 10 was already available.
If you want to confirm what OS was shipped with your PC, go to the support page and enter its Service Tag. (Don't post Service Tag here.) When it recognizes the PC, click Quick Links and then click View Product Specs. Scroll down the list and it will tell you what OS was installed by Dell.
The Inspiron 3668 support page only lists drivers for Win 10 and Ubuntu Desktop 16.04. If they had ever shipped this PC with any older OS, it would be on that list and compatible drivers for that OS offered.
Even if you install the right Intel Chipset driver, that doesn't mean you'll find compatible drivers for the rest of the hardware, so things may still not work...
ASpectro
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
December 16th, 2024 02:00
@RoHe Thank you for how to get the specs. I entered the Service Tag and the specs said it came with home Win 10. This was an experiment anyway between whether to use UBUNTU or Windows. I remember some years ago that Win 10 can be downloaded for free. From Dell's website?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 16th, 2024 02:09
You can use the Microsoft Media Creation Tool for free to create a bootable USB that will install Win 10.
The Win 10 product key is embedded on the Inspiron motherboard, so you don't need to know it. But, if Win 10 doesn't get activated automatically, log into your Microsoft account and that should activate Win 10.
Be sure to run Windows Update because there's likely a ton of updates that aren't included on the USB you created. Then check in Device Manager to make sure nothing is marked with an error (! or X) and there are no Unknown devices listed.
When that's all done install whatever other software you need...
ASpectro
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
December 16th, 2024 02:13
@RoHe p.s., I see in your post that only drivers for ver 16.04 is available. I have 16.04. I think the newest version is 24-something. I had planned on downloading and installing version 24- in the hard drive that came with it if I decide to go with UBUNTU instead of Windows. However, it may not work if the drivers are not available from DELL. I'll have to talk to the people in the Linux discussion group about this, again if I decide to go with UBUNTU.
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 16th, 2024 17:45
Ubuntu 16.04 is the only version that Dell tested and supports on this PC model. Doesn't mean a newer version won't work, but you'll probably have to find suitable drivers on your own.
You could try the drivers that Dell offers for 16.04 but there's no guarantee they'll work with any newer version of Ubuntu.