I just bought this laptop. It's still in the box until I figure out how to downgrade from Vista to XP Pro. I called Toshiba and they do not have any XP drivers for this laptop. This would be a great laptop for the price if only I could run XP on it.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Full Version: Toshiba A215-S5837 XP drivers
QUOTE(Fiddler @ May 15 2008, 10:14 PM) 
I just bought this laptop. It's still in the box until I figure out how to downgrade from Vista to XP Pro. I called Toshiba and they do not have any XP drivers for this laptop. This would be a great laptop for the price if only I could run XP on it.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
I'm putting together a set of drivers now and will post them here when I'm finished. To get you started here is the link for the Atheros wireless driver - works like a charm!
See attached that was found here:
http://members.driverguide.com/driver/deta...driverid=954917
Good luck! Click to view attachment
QUOTE(discgolfen @ May 16 2008, 11:17 PM)
I'm putting together a set of drivers now and will post them here when I'm finished. To get you started here is the link for the Atheros wireless driver - works like a charm!
See attached that was found here:
http://members.driverguide.com/driver/deta...driverid=954917
Good luck! Click to view attachment
See attached that was found here:
http://members.driverguide.com/driver/deta...driverid=954917
Good luck! Click to view attachment
Any updates on this - I am attempting to downgrade as well and still have issues with the SM Bus Controller and Video Controller (VGA Compatible)
Thanks,
toeho - I will give the Atheros driver a try - thank you for responding
The zip file is corrupt. I will download from the link and try again.
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
QUOTE(Fiddler @ Jun 2 2008, 11:53 PM)
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
Could you please post the Audio Drivers for this model. Mine aren't working.
Thank you!
QUOTE(Fiddler @ Jun 2 2008, 11:53 PM)
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
Sorry for the second reply. I also have a splat on an entry that says "Mass Storage Controller". Do you have a driver for that as well?
QUOTE(Timbo5115 @ Jun 5 2008, 04:20 PM)
Sorry for the second reply. I also have a splat on an entry that says "Mass Storage Controller". Do you have a driver for that as well?
I too am having similar issues. The audio device doesn't even show up in my device manager. I have "PCI device" which I was assuming was the audio device, since it's not working. I tried the suggested drivers for the ethernet adapter (PCI_Install_5687_0520) and it's not working either. It says something like "no information about your device could be found" when I direct it to the drivers. I tried the auto-installer and at the end of the installation it asks me to put the card in the PCI slot or something, which doesn't make any sense.
The Mass Storage controller one seems to be working ok for me, though. I believe the driver I used was the util_software_upgrades_26886B.exe available on the toshiba website. I also attached the file which was rar'ed then zipped (so I could upload it).
Anyone else have other ideas for the audio controller and the ethernet adapter? My wireless is working fine which is good, but I'd really like to get the ethernet working as well.
Thanks!
QUOTE(oniros @ Jun 5 2008, 09:37 PM)
I too am having similar issues. The audio device doesn't even show up in my device manager. I have "PCI device" which I was assuming was the audio device, since it's not working. I tried the suggested drivers for the ethernet adapter (PCI_Install_5687_0520) and it's not working either. It says something like "no information about your device could be found" when I direct it to the drivers. I tried the auto-installer and at the end of the installation it asks me to put the card in the PCI slot or something, which doesn't make any sense.
The Mass Storage controller one seems to be working ok for me, though. I believe the driver I used was the util_software_upgrades_26886B.exe available on the toshiba website. I also attached the file which was rar'ed then zipped (so I could upload it).
Anyone else have other ideas for the audio controller and the ethernet adapter? My wireless is working fine which is good, but I'd really like to get the ethernet working as well.
Thanks!
The Mass Storage controller one seems to be working ok for me, though. I believe the driver I used was the util_software_upgrades_26886B.exe available on the toshiba website. I also attached the file which was rar'ed then zipped (so I could upload it).
Anyone else have other ideas for the audio controller and the ethernet adapter? My wireless is working fine which is good, but I'd really like to get the ethernet working as well.
Thanks!
I finally found audio drivers that work! RealTek HD Audio Ver:R1.74. It's in the pack which can be downloaded here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H28A43MA
QUOTE(Fiddler @ Jun 3 2008, 02:53 AM)
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
After getting all the drivers finally set up for my XP installation, I decided to try to get the Vista install working again. I followed the steps on this site exactly and it worked perfectly.
http://www.syschat.com/dual-boot-vista-xp-...ready-1946.html
It requires a copy of Vista on disc, which my computer didn't come with, so I had to download. I was able to find an uncracked copy (although, I doubt a cracked copy would be a problem) and burn it to disc. I don't think there's anything wrong with this since I paid for the OS with the purchase of the laptop.
When you create a new partition in Vista and then install XP, the computer will automatically boot to XP, since XP doesn't recognize Vista and puts no info in the boot loader. So, you have to put in the Vista disc, choose "Repair" and let Vista handle the boot loading, since it recognizes XP. However, simply repairing the Vista boot loader will only make the laptop boot to Vista now, so you have to manually put in the entry for XP which is detailed on the link above. I'm probably going to mostly use XP, but it's a nice option to try out Vista by having it there as a choice.
One final thing, did anyone figure out how to get the function keys to work in XP? I mean the extra function, like for screen brightness and stuff.
QUOTE(Fiddler @ May 15 2008, 10:14 PM)
I just bought this laptop. It's still in the box until I figure out how to downgrade from Vista to XP Pro. I called Toshiba and they do not have any XP drivers for this laptop. This would be a great laptop for the price if only I could run XP on it.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
>
Fiddler did you ever find the sm bus controller drivers? If so i would love the link.
QUOTE(Fiddler @ Jun 3 2008, 01:53 AM)
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I have the same exact laptop and have figured out how to downgrade, but don't have the XP drivers, my laptop has been crashing like crazy with vista, and my parents have me on a tight computer limit so I don't have very much time to piece together all the drivers. If you still have them, can you please post a .zip here with them? It would be very much appreciated. :)
Thanks for everything. I did install XP whitout problem.
The last driver found was LAN. All is working perfect.
Thanks a lot.
Greetings.
The last driver found was LAN. All is working perfect.
Thanks a lot.
Greetings.
QUOTE(Fiddler @ May 15 2008, 10:14 PM)
I just bought this laptop. It's still in the box until I figure out how to downgrade from Vista to XP Pro. I called Toshiba and they do not have any XP drivers for this laptop. This would be a great laptop for the price if only I could run XP on it.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
I read in one reply that you weren't able to get it to dual boot with Vista... it's definitely possible. I have mine set up to dual boot with no issues whatsoever. I used VistaBootPRO to get the master boot record in order. I followed this page at How-To Geek
Anyway, for anyone still trying to get it to work, here is my collection of drivers that I used to get everything running smoothly.
http://rapidshare.com/files/130880643/A215...rivers.zip.html
The only thing I can't find is a good Synaptics driver to get virtual scrolling to work, but the TouchPad itself works fine.
You'll also have to download the video card drivers yourself. I have the Catalyst Control Center package, which is pretty hefty and easy to find. You can get it, or individual drivers for the X1200 at ATI's site.
And sorry for it being rapidshare. I really don't like the site, but I couldn't find anything better for mass distribution.
can anybody upload the files to another server like rapidshare 
, for some reason here reach 1.9 MB and drop the connection, thanks... wait, now that i think, Fiddler, can you upload all the drivers you found for this machine man?, i have the same #@€&@# problem.... thanks
by the way, i'm learning english, so now sux...
, for some reason here reach 1.9 MB and drop the connection, thanks... wait, now that i think, Fiddler, can you upload all the drivers you found for this machine man?, i have the same #@€&@# problem.... thanksby the way, i'm learning english, so now sux...
QUOTE(Fiddler @ Jun 3 2008, 02:53 AM)
Good News!
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I finally have Windows XP installed on my Toshiba A215-S5837 laptop and everything works. The Atheros wireless LAN driver was found on the Microsoft update website. The zip file is an attachment to this posting and appears to be the latest version available - it WORKS!
Lessons learned:
1. I cannot make this laptop dual boot with Vista and XP. There are "how to" procedures on the internet that show you how, but I was never able to make it dual boot. Vista SP1 is preinstalled on the laptop and is the 2nd partition on the hard drive. The first partition is a Toshiba partition that must not be deleted. I suspect that is how the Toshiba recovery and utilities CDs knows you are installing to a Toshiba laptop, and not just any computer. I tried installing XP on a 3rd partition, but trying to make it dual boot messes up the Vista bootup. Fixing that problem messes up the XP bootup. I decided to take the plunge and kissed Vista's bloated arse "goodbye" when everything worked on XP.
2. When downloading XP drivers from Toshiba, you must use a Toshiba computer!! Otherwise you CANNOT see any of the available downloads. Somehow, their website looks for a Toshiba computer before they let you download any of their drivers or software. I have a Dell laptop, and it would not let me see their downloads. But once I had the Toshiba laptop in a bandaged mode so that at least I could use a wifi usb adapter to get on the internet, I saw 8 drivers listed for the A215-S5837 under XP.
3. The ATI drivers for the video card are available from ATI.
4. Downloading the DVD player from Toshiba does NOT work. The application comes up, but does not play any DVD movies. Fortunately, the Toshiba recovery CDs have this application. If you install it from this CD it will work under XP even though it is for Vista (how nice).
5. One of the nicest applications you can use to set up XP on a machine is SIW by Gabriel Topala, available for free from majorgeeks.com - just go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4387.html. This wonderful app tells you a lot about what is on your computer, including the state of your device drivers. Just click on any device to see if it is properly configured with a working driver, and hunt for the ones still missing (the ones marked with a yellow "?"). The only device I have that is still like that is the ACPI/TOS1900 (whatever that may be). Hunting around the internet, someone thought he found a driver on Toshiba's Canadian site, but I have downloaded just about every driver available from Toshiba and tried to install with no luck. Don't worry about installing something that will wreck your system - if the driver for the TOS1900 is right, it will install without complaint. Otherwise, you just get a message that says the drivers could not install because they were not for your device.
Am I happy? You bet! XP boots up faster than Vista because there is less overhead. All the devices are functional. Those of you who bought a Toshiba laptop will be pleased to know it's a well made machine - only time will tell if it will translate to long service. The ACPI functionality is acceptable if you just use XP to manage the various power consumption modes under battery versus plugin mode.
If anyone needs any other driver, just post a reply and I will upload the needed driver, as long as PlanetAMD64 permits it. Good luck!
Microsoft can take Vista and bend over...
I deleted the first partition. How do I create another one if this is a must have? Thank you very much in advance
I have tried to find thte video driver for this laptop and have had no luck. I have scoured the ATI site to no avail. For some reference to what has been tried please see http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/...d=239#a24266581. Any help for the XP video drivers would be most greatly appreciated. THANKS!
QUOTE(David Seabolt @ May 6 2009, 01:52 PM)
I have tried to find thte video driver for this laptop and have had no luck. I have scoured the ATI site to no avail. For some reference to what has been tried please see http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/...d=239#a24266581. Any help for the XP video drivers would be most greatly appreciated. THANKS!
try this
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/wind...mp;lang=English
Would you please send me the SM Bus controller driver and how did you get the Atheros Utility for your wireless ? Your help is greatly appriciate. My email is hhnguyen66@yahoo.com . Thanks, Brian
QUOTE(Julio1 @ Jul 8 2008, 04:32 PM)
Thanks for everything. I did install XP whitout problem.
The last driver found was LAN. All is working perfect.
Thanks a lot.
Greetings.
The last driver found was LAN. All is working perfect.
Thanks a lot.
Greetings.
Send me your email then I can send you all the drivers. I just install sucessfully Windows XP on my Toshiba A215-S5837 today 5/13/2009. The only thing missing is SM Bus Controller. my email is hhnguyen66@yahoo.com. Brian
QUOTE(Fiddler @ May 15 2008, 10:14 PM)
I just bought this laptop. It's still in the box until I figure out how to downgrade from Vista to XP Pro. I called Toshiba and they do not have any XP drivers for this laptop. This would be a great laptop for the price if only I could run XP on it.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Does anyone have a collection of drivers for this laptop? Your help is greatly appreciated.
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