Dell Studio 1537/1737 Laptop

Dual boot Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP + driver support

1. Create space for Windows 7 on your machine (and get rid of that icky Vista).
Build a new partition or (Recommended) start from scratch and reformat your entire hard drive.
[Free programs like GParted will do the trick or use your own personal favorite]

For optimal performance and system stability I recommend creating three partitions:

C: Windows 7 beta release 7000 64bit

-Allocate 50GB and format in NTFS (You can allocate more if you prefer)

D: Windows XP Professional
-Allocate 50GB and format in NTFS (You can allocate more if you prefer)

E: Storage
-Allocate 200GB and format in NTFS. Use storage drive to share files between OS’s and prevent
crossing over between the two system drives. For example: saving files/programs on the D drive
(windows XP) when you are running off the C drive (windows 7) could potentially cause registry
errors, rundll 32 errors, and/or poor system performance. It’s recommended to either keep
everything separate or create a third storage partition as I described. A storage drive is great for
sharing documents, favorites, and programs. It’s especially great for media; use it to access large
music or movie collections from one shared location.

Create any additional partitions as you feel necessary and don’t worry; if at any point later on you
decide you want to redistribute hard drive space, rename, resize or delete partitions, this can all be
accomplished with minimal effort

Now that your computer is fresh it’s time to begin

2. First we need to change the SATA option to IDE in Bios so that both Windows 7 and Windows XP will
be able to access your hard drive. To do this:

I. At start up tap the F2 key to enter BIOS

II. Navigate to “Configure SATA as” switch AHCPI to IDE and then hit enter
III. Strike the F10 key and confirm the save and exist by hitting enter

Windows 7 will have no problem installing with the SATA option set to AHCPI however this is not the
case for Windows XP. If you do not perform this step and switch the SATA option to IDE, when you
finally get to installing Windows XP you will get the blue screen of death. The SATA option has to be
 set to IDE in order for Windows XP to access your hard drive (Well, “has to” is a bit strong, there is a
work around if you really want to use AHCPI: using a program called nLight,, a blank DVD and a DVD
burner you can integrate the SATA drivers into the XP installation disc.. If the right SATA drivers are
obtained and all goes smoothly then this new installation disc will in fact install with the SATA option
set to AHCPI. I say, why bother going through all that when you can avoid all problems and just
switch it to IDE. You are now ready to begin the installation process.

3. If you don’t already have a copy Download Windows 7 beta build: 7000
http://www.fileplanet.com/196016/190000/fileinfo/Windows
http://www.fileplanet.com/196016/190000/fileinfo/Windows-7-Beta-

And obtain a valid license key from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

Burn the .ISO image to a DVD disc using the slowest speed possible. Avoid running any programs
while burning. You can use a trial version of Magic ISO to do this or any other DVD burning software
you prefer as long as it’s capable of creating DVD’s from an .ISO image files. Your installation disc is
now ready for use.

4. The next step is to boot off this disc so go ahead and put it in the CD/DVD drive. Now restart and
tap F2 at startup to enter BIOS. In BIOS navigate to BOOT and change CD/DVD drive to be the first
bootable device in the list. Hit F10 to save and exist. Alternatively you can tap F12 at startup which
brings up a onetime boot menu where you can manually select to boot off the disc using the arrow
and enter keys. Either way if done correctly, in the upper left corner of the screen a message will
come up “Press any key to boot ot off disc…” press enter (or if you have your own favorite key, go for
it) and your Windowss 7 installation should begin. When you get to the screen which asks you which
partition to set up Windows 7 on, select the C: drive and then Drive options (advance
advanced) and then
format. This should change it from Primary to System. Now you are ready, go ahead and install it.
The Windows 7 installation is very quick in comparison to prior Windows OS releases (approximately 20-
25 minutes for a full install) and has some major improvements that you will notice right away. During
the installation of Windows 7 on your Studio Laptop it will automatically detect and allow you to
connect to any available Ethernet and Wireless connections. That’s right, without having to install a
single network driver you will already have internet access. Not only will Windows 7 automatically
configure your internet connection but it will do much more. After a clean install of Windows 7 your
Studio Laptop will almost already be 100% configured. Prior to putting in the Dell Resource CD or
running any drivers, Windows 7 will have already successfully installed and configured nearly every
single device on the machine automatically. There will only be few drivers in the device manager with
the yellow explanation mark, and lucky for you I managed to figure out how to install every single one.
It’s important that you follow these next instructions very carefully to ensure a proper installation, and
most importantly, DO NOT just begin installing all drivers off of the Dell Resource Disc, this will reverse
your progress; it will screw up devices that were already properly configured and that were already
using the most ideal drivers for their performance. It is true that most Vista 64 bit drivers work on
Windows 7 which is a great feature; however this does not mean start installing all the Vista drivers that
came with your machine. In particular DO NOT install the sound driver that comes on the Dell Resource
disc; the driver I am referring to is the: IDT 92HD73C1 Audio Rev: A08 which installs IDT High
Definition CODEC. This driver will make your audio much worse; the quality is horrible and the max
volume is reduced by at least 40%. The audio drivers that Windows 7 automatically installs are much
louder, have significantly better sound quality and a better graphical interface for the volume control. In
the device manager under Sound, video and game controllers, there should be two devices both labeled
High Definition Audio Device, you do not want to replace one of these audio device drivers with IDT
High Definition CODEC.

Put in your Dell Drivers and Utilities Disc (Dell Resources Disc) and only install the following:
• Dell QuickSet Rev: A02
• Ricoh Card Reader R5C833 Rev: A01
• Dell Recommended Vista Power Management Settings Rev: A01

Restart you computer and open up the device manager:

Type “device manager” into the search bar in the start menu and hit enter

The only devices that appear with a yellow exclamation mark in the Device Manager are:
• SM Bus Controller
• Unknown Device
• Fingerprint Scanner

I have a solution to install each one of these:

Overview:: SM Bus Controller
The driver for SM Bus Controller is included in the Intel Chipset that comes on the Dell Resource Disc;
however it is not included on the newer Intel Chipset that Windows 7 automatically installs and uses.
The Intel Chipset containing the SM Bus Controller on the Dell Resource Disc won’t install in Widows 7.
However, I came up with a method to install the SM Bus Controller using the original Vista 64 bit driver.

To install the SM Bus Controller:

Use the Dell Resource Disc and attempt to install: Intel GM45 Express Chipset Family Rev: A00
Note the directory [C:\dell\drivers\\R192750] Click OK to extract and then OK once more when it’s done.

If it installs properly, then simply reboot and the SM Bus controller will be successfully installed.

If you get an Error message stating that the operating system is not supported then:

Install the SM Bus Controller manually by pointing it to this directory using the device manager.
I. Click Start, Type “Device Manager” into the search bar and then hit enter
II. Click the plus sign next to “Other Devices” to reveal the SM Bus Controller
Then right Click SM Bus Controller and select “Update Driver Software…”
III. Choose:

IV. Check the Checkbox: “Include subfolders”

Paste [C:\dell\drivers\R192750
R192750] without brackets V. Scan for hardware changes
Click next and the SM Bus Controller driver will install. to
o confirm installation
Overview: Unknown Device
The Unknown Device is actually ITECIR Infrared Receiver (EC) in disguise. The driver for this device is
included on the Dell Resource Disc: ITE IT8512 CIR Receiver Rev: A07 however, installing this driver will
not automatically discover the Unknown Device as ITECIR Infrared Receiver (EC). In order to properly
install this device you need to install it manually from the device manager by pointing the device to
appropriate directory. Here’s the method I came up with for installing this device.

To install the Unknown Device:

Use the Dell Resource Disc and install: ITE IT8512 CIR Receiver Rev: A07
Note the directory [C:\dell\drivers\R196531] Click OK to extract and then OK once more when it’s done.

Complete the rest of the installation:

After the installation successfully installs ITECIR onto your
machine restart and then navigate to programs in control
panel to confirm installation: Start, Control Panel, Programs

Install the Unknown Device manually by pointing it to this directory using the device manager.
I. Click Start, Type “Device Manager” into the search bar and then hit enter
II. Click the plus sign next to “Other Devices” to reveal the Unknown Device
Then right Click Unknown Device and select “Update Driver Software…”
III. Choose:

IV. Check the Checkbox: “Include subfolders”

Paste [C:\dell\drivers\R196531] without brackets V. Scan for hardware changes
Click next and the Unknown Device driver will install. to confirm installation
Overview: Fingerprint Scanner
The driver for Fingerprint Scanner is included in on the Dell Resource Disc under security:
AuthenTec AES2810 Rev: A01 however this is not the driver you should use on Windows 7 64 bit.
Download the latest driver: AuthenTec AES2810 v.8.1.2.37 Rev: A03 directly from Dell.

To install the Fingerprint Scanner:

Download it from Dell: Authentec AES2810, v.8.1.2.37, A03

Hit continue, then OK and then follow the AuthenTec Fingerprint Software installer until completion.

Restart your computer after installation and enter device manager to confirm installation.
If installation was successful AuthenTec Inc. AES2810 should appear under Biometric Devices

Go on to installation of DigitialPersona Personal

1. Pop DigitalPersona Personal disc into your CD/DVD drive
2. An error message will be rendered once the disc loads:
3. Go to Computer and then
right click CD/DVD drive and
Select Open.

4. Navigate to the x64 installer in the directory in: Install\x64

5. Install DigitalPersona Personal and then reboot.
6. You will have the option to enroll fingerprints at startup if done correctly.
Install Windows XP

5. To Install Windows XP on the other partition you need to boot off the XP installation disc so go
ahead and put it in the CD/DVD drive. Now restart and tap F2 at startup to enter BIOS. In BIOS
navigate to BOOT and change CD/DVD drive to be the first bootable device in the list. Hit F10 to
save and exist. Alternatively you can tap F12 at startup which brings up a onetime boot menu
where you can manually select to boot off the disc using the arrow and enter keys. Either way if
done correctly, in the upper left corner of the screen a message will come up “Press any key to boot
off disc…” press enter (or if you have your own favorite key, go for it) and your Windows XP
installation should begin.

6. When you have the option to choose where to install Windows XP make sure you choose the right
partition and don’t accidently overwrite your Windows 7 installation. Since you have already
formatted the drive when it gives you the option to format, choose to leave current file system
intact. Go ahead and complete the installation.

7. To install drivers on Windows XP follow the PDF guides on SamsWare.com and download the
appropriate driver package.

8. Your XP Installation should work now; however, when booting up there won’t be any option to boot
into Windows 7, this is because Windows XP re-writes the MBR (Master Boot Record). To fix this
and have the ability to choose OS on startup you must first repair your MRB. Put in your Windows 7
disc and boot off it and choose to Repair the installation, this will fix the MBR and allow you to boot
into Windows 7, however now XP won’t appear at startup. To fix this purchase VistaBoot Pro or
download EasyBCD. These programs allow you to fix the boot menu at startup. Check out their
websites for additional information on how to use these programs.

9. Enjoy your Dual boot!