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After learning how to create client/server programs in VB, I recently got out my old laptop which I thought I could use as a server. I used the following steps to install Windows 10 on it:

Device: Fujitsu LIFEBOOK S7110

I checked the system requirements for Windows 10 and determined that my laptop could run it.

I downloaded the Windows 10 English 32-bit .iso image from Microsoft to my computer (which is a Mac).

I burnt the image to a disc (by selecting the .iso file, and File -> Burn Disk Image...).

I then booted the laptop from the disc. When it asked me to select which partition to install Windows 10 on, I formatted all of the partitions before selecting one (I didn't want any of my old files on the laptop).

However, after installing it, I found that I couldn't connect to the internet, and after doing some research, I realised that I shouldn't have formatted all of the partitions because I'd deleted all of the drivers from the laptop.

I've tried downloading the network drivers from here and transferring them by USB, but the laptop says that it can't run the installation programs for them and asks if I've downloaded/installed the files correctly.* I suspect this may have something to do with these drivers being for Windows XP rather than Windows 10.

I have no idea what I should do now in order to get my laptop connected to the internet.

*My mistake — the error message asking for whether the installation programs were installed correctly came up when I clicked on the wrong file. I've included what exactly happens below. (and yes I always Eject my USBs, so I don't think the drivers were corrupted due to that)

Additional Information + Screenshots:

I can't connect to the internet, and nothing happens when I click Show available networks:

enter image description here

I've tried troubleshooting, but it doesn't work.

I downloaded what I hoped was the wireless driver from here and the download folder is named: FTS_IntelPROWireless3945ABG_105168XP_1007569.

I'd first mistaken iProdifx.exe inside the folder to be the installation file which resulted in the following message (hence what I said above):

enter image description here

I later realised that DPInst.exe was the correct installer, and an installation wizard runs when I open it. However, at the end of the process, it tells me two items were unsuccessfully installed, while another two are successfully installed:

enter image description here

X ._netw38x5.inf
X ._w29n51.inf

V Intel net ...
V Intel (w29n51) net ...

Device Manager:

enter image description here

I'm not sure, but I think the driver I'm looking for is the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection. Its properties:

enter image description here

This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)

If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.

Perhaps the driver is there, but there is another problem?

I checked the three Unknown devices and their Hardware IDs, just in case they're relevant as well:

enter image description here

ACPI\VEN_FUJ&DEV_02E1
ACPI\FUJ02E1
*FUJ02E1

ACPI\VEN_FUJ&DEV_02E3
ACPI\FUJ02E3
*FUJ02E3

ACPI\VEN_FUJ&DEV_02B1
ACPI\FUJ02B1
*FUJ02B1

I still can't connect to the internet, and am in the process of trying everything suggested below.

Shuri2060
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1 Answers1

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Generally speaking, device drivers written for an older version of Windows cannot be used on newer versions of Windows. There are exceptions where this is not true, but the safe assumption in the general case is to assume that, unless your manufacturer explicitly provides a driver for the version of Windows you're installing, the driver from an older version won't work.

That said, in the case of network drivers in particular, many of them do work on newer versions of Windows. This is because of fairly good backwards compatibility between the versions of the Network Driver Interface Specification from Windows XP to Windows 10.

You made a good choice in choosing Windows 10 32-bit, because the Fujitsu drivers for such old technology are probably 32-bit only. (It turns out in your specific case that 64-bit Vista drivers are available, but this was far from certain as I was originally writing this answer.)

However, please try to understand the distinction between an installer and a driver. An installer is packaging of sorts that "wraps up" a driver in an easy-to-install package. A driver is a small collection of files that are immediately consumable by Windows to provide hardware support.

In many cases, the device driver's installer (packaging) is more restrictive of supporting newer versions of Windows than the driver itself is. You may be hitting a scenario where your driver's installer is telling you that it won't support Windows 10, even though, if you were to forcibly "unpackage" the installer and grab the drivers and install them, they may (or may not...) work. It's worth trying, at least -- the worst that could happen is you'd get a BSOD and have to reboot the computer.

The other possibility is that you are grabbing the wrong drivers. Depending on the exact configuration of your Lifebook, they apparently shipped two different WiFi chipsets from two different vendors: Intel, and Atheros. You can find those drivers here (get the ones for Windows Vista, since Vista is newer than XP; these drivers will be more likely to work than the older XP drivers.)

See "WLAN (Atheros)" and "WLAN (Intel)"? Well, if you are not positive which WiFi controller you have, you will have to try the method of "brute force", where you attempt to install one; then, if it doesn't work, try the other.

You could also probe the device and positively identify it by its PCI or USB ID; for instructions on that, click here. Basically you open your Device Manager, then go to the Unknown Device, right-click Properties, then go under Resources, and find its Hardware ID, then google that to see what device it is (it'll generally tell you a manufacturer/vendor and a device -- like Intel 3945ABGN.)

If neither the Atheros nor Intel drivers for Windows Vista work on your system, it's probably an installer (packaging) limitation where they did not anticipate users trying to install these drivers on newer versions of Windows (partly because they wouldn't have had a chance to test the drivers on a newer version; partly because they might be intentionally restrictive on version if they knew that it would break with newer versions).

If it is a packaging problem, then, depending on the exact format of the package, you can try various methods to extract the drivers from the packaging and force-load them into Windows. I'm not going to detail that process in this answer due to the potential complexities involved, but check here for starters, since many drivers come in InstallShield format, and Universal Unpacker can also work on many other formats besides InstallShield.

By the way, it wasn't a "mistake" to format all the partitions and wipe out your old drivers. It's always a good idea to grab the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website when installing a new OS, even if those drivers are designed for an earlier version of Windows. Transferring the drivers with a USB stick is the right approach.

Make sure you are hitting "Eject" on your Mac to eject the USB stick before you bring it over to your Windows computer, though; otherwise, you may be corrupting the drivers on your Mac before they ever reach your Windows laptop! This could be another reason why the drivers aren't installing correctly.

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