VOGONS


First post, by MercuryMaurader

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Hello everyone,
I recently obtained an older HP Pavilion ze1115 series laptop with a busted hard drive. Normally, this would be no issue but it has been nearly impossible to find drivers anywhere. All the archives and websites I have found are incomplete and I have only found 5 to 6 working drivers for my Windows XP installation. I know HP has made it difficult to find drivers for their older systems. I've also noticed this laptop is pretty hard to find. I have found a few on eBay, all missing hard drives. If anyone has access to a restore CD, drivers or even the old HP FTP site, I would appreciate it. I have tried some tricks using the Wayback machine but have found nothing. I'm including some links that might help.

Thanks,

Old image of support page from 2008. The link to laptop is dead. - https://web.archive.org/web/20081231221138/ht … ist.jsp?lang=en
HP Pavilion ze1000 series manual - https://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/lpi05728.pdf

"Speed alone cannot win the race" - Coach Potter

Reply 1 of 4, by tauro

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You're doing well so far. See what devices don't install properly. Then check the device ID:
Device Manager > Details > Device Instance ID

Example:

The attachment device.png is no longer available

The four numbers next to VEN and DEV are the important ones. In this case 8086:2415
Then you'll be able to find the device information and the drivers.

Reply 2 of 4, by MercuryMaurader

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I was hoping someone might have some OEM drivers on a restore CD / link as the laptop doesn't like some of the drivers I install. Windows XP and some of the few drivers I have found work but installing 'non HP OEM' drivers causes the system to crash. I've reinstalled Windows XP at least three times on three different hard drives with the same results. Basically, the laptop doesn't like any drivers that are not approved by HP.

"Speed alone cannot win the race" - Coach Potter

Reply 4 of 4, by tauro

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MercuryMaurader wrote on 2024-09-14, 17:22:

I was hoping someone might have some OEM drivers on a restore CD / link as the laptop doesn't like some of the drivers I install. Windows XP and some of the few drivers I have found work but installing 'non HP OEM' drivers causes the system to crash. I've reinstalled Windows XP at least three times on three different hard drives with the same results. Basically, the laptop doesn't like any drivers that are not approved by HP.

There might be one device that's not compatible with your drivers and that's the one that crashes your system. Go one by one and test stability. Generally, HP doesn't create new chipsets/chips, so system-appropriate generic drivers work fine. The drivers you could download from their website are generic drivers within an exe installer, just that. Sometimes special buttons such as volume controls or other special keys need unique HP drivers. Avoid those for now if they exist and install all the rest.