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how to ID which drivers are needed on a Compaq 5008CA

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by rebecca, 2005/11/28.

  1. 2005/11/28
    rebecca Contributing Member

    rebecca Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Friends of mine have a Compaq 5008CA with Win ME. The computer came with a couple of Restoration CDs which yield an error ( "QuickRestore Error 50:4 ") whenever I try to run them; there is a D:SYSTEM_SAV partition, but no Recovery CDs. Been having all sorts of problems with the system lately (enumerated in another thread, http://windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=49252), and don't seem to be making much headway in getting the show on the road again. Found out today that my friends' daughter's old computer (with Win2K) just died, and she's getting a brand new one with XP preloaded. She still has the Win2K full installation CD... So I'm thinking of maybe trying to wipe the Compaq's hard drive clean and installing Win2K on it instead (that would be legal, right, as long as there's only one computer running Windows from that installation disk?). I've browsed around Compaq's website, and found a page for Software and Driver Downloads, but now I need to know how to tell which drivers are needed.
    I have Everest and Belarc installed on my friends' computer, but right now we're getting error messages whenever we try to run either one of them. We can still access System Information (under System Tools), but I've looked under 'Components' and 'Software Environment', and still can't seem to put my finger on exactly what the specific components are that would need drivers reinstalled.
    I realize that the info is probably all tucked away on the D: partition, but I don't know how to access said info - I mean, I can open it up in Windows Explorer, but I don't know which folders to do what with in order to do what I've got to do!
    Can someone tell me how to identify which drivers would be needed if we were to do a fresh installation of Windows? Or how to access that info from the D: partition on the Compaq?
    Thanks!
     
    rebecca,
    #1
  2. 2005/11/28
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Rebecca!

    A good place to start is in Device Manager. All drivers should be listed under the respective device. Anything saying "Microsoft blah blah" is generic drivers from the install CD. Drivers with "Brand Name blah blah" comes from Compaq.

    Pick and choose from Software & Driver downloads

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #2


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  4. 2005/11/29
    rebecca Contributing Member

    rebecca Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi again Christer!
    I had my friend look in "Device Manager ", and we definitely ID'd her network adapter/ modem driver - that one actually shows up at the Compaq site you referenced, so I'm sure of that one.
    The only other relevant entry we might have identified is listed under Display Adapters (in Device Manager):
    Rage
    Driver provider: ATI tech enhanced
    date 9/22/01
    file version 4.13.7192​
    Would that be her video driver? All I see at the Compaq site are a couple of "integrated graphics drivers "...
    Based on my own computer (which is a Dell, thus not necessarily similar to what will apply to Compaq, I know), I needed to install five drivers: controller, video, network, modem, and audio.
    Are you (or is anyone) able to tell me what specific heading we should be looking under when searching for the remainder of the required drivers?
    Would it be an option to simply download all the drivers at the Compaq site (for model 5008CA) to a CD and let the computer find those that it needs once we install Windows2K?
     
    rebecca,
    #3
  5. 2005/11/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    First off, did you see what it said under "Caution about Presario Model Numbers "? Different models have different display adapters and need the correct driver, one of the two available at that web page. The same goes for the other hardware.

    Rage + ATI definitley rings my "graphics bell ". The version and date seems to be more recent than what's available at HP/Compaq.

    Download only the ones for the specific model number. I can't help you more on that, unless you find the model number and post it.

    I would suggest that you install W2K and when it is up and running, got to Device Manager and look for any yellow exclamation marks. That would mean that the driver was not available on the Windows CD. My guess is that the Windows CD contains most of the needed drivers. Identify the hardware for which drivers are missing and download them, preferrably on another computer and transfer to CD. (No premature connection to the internet which means that AntiVirus and FireWall can wait until later.)

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #4
  6. 2005/11/29
    rebecca Contributing Member

    rebecca Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Yes, I did see that, and I thought that Pres 5008CA was the full model number - but that doesn't seem to narrow the choices down at the Compaq Software & Driver downloads page. On the computer's label, at the far end of that line that starts out "Pres 5008CA ", is an additional identifier: D70007-105. Beyond that, there's just the computer's serial number...

    I like your suggestion about loading W2K and then going to device manager to see what's missing. Any idea if the keyboard (which is the original one that came with the computer) would work right from the get-go without installing a driver for it? I see a "Presario Keyboard Software, Smart Card Driver, and CPQInet for Windows ME/2000/XP" available at Compaq's Software & Driver download site - how would I know if that would be needed? My friends have a CD that came with their mouse, so I assume the driver for that should be on there.
    Probably a stupid question, I know, because I realize I will have already used the CD drive to install W2K, but once Windows is installed, will the computer need a driver in order for it to know how to read a CD in the CD drive? (Obviously I don't fully get what drivers are for...)
    Thanks for the continued help, as always!
     
    rebecca,
    #5
  7. 2005/11/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Rebecca,
    the link I provided in an earlier post is for drivers for WinME. Since you want to install Win2K, use Software & Driver downloads instead. Some are the same but others are not. It seems like there are less choices for a Win2K installation than for a WinME installation.

    D70007-105 is the Part Number or Product Number. They may be different for different operating systems, optical drives and so on. They may vary according to localization too, such as english keyboard or swedish keyboard. I have found no reference to that specific P/N, the one I found for 5008CA is P/N - 470007-105.

    Any keyboard and mouse will work on the generic Microsoft drivers but "fancy functions" probably won't. You can use them without a problem. Try to find out what "fancy functions" there are and if the user will ever need them.

    The opticals will work OK even without an operating system installed ...... ;) ...... otherwise, you wouldn't be able to install an operating system. The needed drivers will be installed from the Win2K CD at the very beginning.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #6
  8. 2005/11/30
    rebecca Contributing Member

    rebecca Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks, Christer!
    As soon as my friends' daughter gets the W2K CD to them, I'll give it a shot!
     
    rebecca,
    #7

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