Very brief guide to drivers for upgrading a Dell Inspiron 1525 from Vista 32-bit to Vista 64-bit or Windows 7 64-bit.
The Dell Inspiron 1525 is an extremely popular model of laptop and is a very good choice for a Dual-Core cpu at a relatively good price point. However, it has one very big drawback, it ships with only a 32 bit OS. Simply put, a dual-core cpu is a 64-bit processor and the operating system that comes with the laptop is Microsoft Vista Home, which operates at 32-bits. You’ve paid for four lanes of highway, but you’re only using two! Upgrading to Windows XP 64 bit, Vista 64 bit, or even the Windows 7 beta (test version) 64 bit operating system is the only way to take advantage of the additional speed you’ve paid for. And it is worth it.
Dell does not support, suggest, or recommend upgrading your OS to anything other than the factory installed OS. So if you upgrade, you’re on your own. If you’re unsure of how this may affect your warranty, I strongly suggest you contact Dell before doing any modification of your OS. I also highly suggest you back up all of your data, either to an online storage spot or to cd/dvd discs where you can easily access it after the upgrade is complete. (NOTE: I recommend you make that a bi-weekly, if not a bi-daily, habit) Backup! Backup! Backup! Next make sure you have all of the original CD’s and installation material that came with your laptop in case you want to restore the original settings later on. There are hundreds of online guides that will walk you through the upgrade process. Google it and you should be able to find one that works for you.
Dell does not offer a readily available list of drivers for 64-bit operating systems. The purpose of this here is simply to give a list of drivers that I downloaded that worked for me. After doing a fresh, clean install of Vista 64-bit, I got out the Driver Installation disk that came with my Inspiron 1525. On that disk, there are several drivers that are already 64-bit compatible. Insert the disk and select Vista 64 bit under Operating System. Click on extract for each driver you want and under the View pane it will tell you if it is 64-bit compatible. Some drivers under the Vista 32 bit section will also show if they are compatible with 64 bit. Install each of the drivers that meet the criteria. Alternatively, you can go to the Dell Website and enter your Service Tag number (from the back of the laptop) and Dell will provide you a list of all drivers that shipped with your laptop. Click on each one and select the Compatibility option to see if it is 64 bit or not. If it is, download and install.
As I said before, Dell does not have a readily available list of drivers that may be needed after a clean install of a 64 bit OS. Here I will offer the drivers that I hunted down that worked for my installation of both Vista 64 bit and Windows 7 beta 64 bit. These drivers are not necessarily listed as being for the Inspiron 1525, but I have installed them and they provide the same functionality on the 1525 as their 32-bit counterparts. To find them, simply go to Dell’s website, in the drop down box next to the search bar select “Support and Help” and type the R number in the search bar. The driver should be the first one listed. Click and download. Once downloaded, double click to install. That simple.
Downloaded Drivers:
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R153910
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Sigmatel STAC 92xx C-Major HD Audio 64bit
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R165805
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Dell TouchPad / Pointing Stick 64bit
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R166187
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Intel Mobile Chipset 32bit/64bit*
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R166188
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Ricoh r5c833 Card 32bit/64bit*
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R166201
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Intel Turbo Memory 32bit/64bit*
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R173082
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Creative Labs Integrated Webcam 32bit/64bit*
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R174292
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Dell Wireless 1395 WLAN MiniCard*
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R181307
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Java Runtime Enviornment jre-6u5*
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R182065
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Dell Recommended Vista Power Management Settings 32bit/64bit
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R182249
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Dell QuickSet 64bit*
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R167854
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Marvell 88E80XX 10/100 Ethernet Controller 32bit/64bit*
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*available on the Driver CD
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Additional variations you may wish to try:
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R196522
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Dell QuickSet 64bit
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R198006
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QuickSet 64bit
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R200495
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Dell QuickSet 64bit
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R180762
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Dell QuickSet 32bit
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R163853
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Dell QuickSet 64bit
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R174292
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Dell Wireless 1490 Dual-Band WLAN MiniCard 32bit/64bit
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Important:
Dell Support Center does not work with 64 bit OS.
Dell DataSafe Online works, but not very well. For online backup, try MOXY.
Dell Media Direct 3.5 may be permanently deleted from your system if you upgrade and may not fully re-install even when performing a complete re-install via the reinstallation disk provided by Dell.
A few other things that I’d like to mention. First, is that you may find it difficult for some of your applications or software to work with a 64 bit OS. Try Compatibility mode. This will work for probably 60% - 80% of all software. For the rest, it’s hit or miss. Check the softwares’ website for suggestions. Secondly, if your Inspiron 1525 has a built in webcam, try this: When installing, change the default installation directory from “C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell” to just “C:\Program Files\Dell”. This simple change was all that was needed to fix a very pesky problem which was preventing me from using the Webcam. And if you find any other software giving you a hard time, ie: ScreenSavers, this solution may well work for them too. Third, you may need to re-install the Sigmatel STAC 92xx C-Major HD Audio driver after you install the webcam to get the built-in microphone to work correctly. During one install, I had to do this, during another I didn’t. So I just offer it up as a suggestion if needed.
NOTE: You can obtain a free test version of Windows 7 beta from Microsoft, but they do warn that its license expires in August of 2009 and you will need to uninstall it after that point. Therefore, I only recommend using Windows 7 for those who are technically inclined. Stick with Vista if you don’t want to, or don’t like to, install a clean copy of the OS every few months. I will strongly urge you to purchase a copy of Windows 7 once it becomes commercially available as I have almost nothing but good things to say about the beta (test) version. I’m pretty sure the bag of chips will be included in the price.
UPDATE: 5/6/2009 I completely forgot to list R168730 Creative Labs Dell Webcam Manager to the list (How on earth did you guys let me get away with that? It's like the whole point of this guide, right?). Anyway, here it is. Please add it to your list of drivers to download. I guess it's the obvious things that get us. BTW - Windows 7 RC is a must have. It is simply beautiful. - shawnshine
