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Posted

I've mentioned this in passing elsewhere, but I'm working on getting XP up and running on a MSI GT80S Laptop; trying to have the "ultimate Windows XP Laptop" so to speak. Picked this one specifically because of the dual GTX 980M video cards - last known working graphics with XP (unless some laptop is packing a Titan-X, lol).

I've had some success so far; I've been able to load the INF-edited 368.81 NVidia driver under XP x86.
(It's currently crashing under x64; "STOP: 0x00000050, PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA in nv4_mini.sys," more experimenting required there.)
The NVidia Control Panel also crashes when the desktop loads, but I believe this is a minor issue to address later.

I've got working audio using the last Realtek driver package for XP, and I've got working USB3 ports using the drivers @Dietmar provided.

However I'm hitting a brick wall with the LAN and WLAN drivers. Unfortunately this laptop uses "Killer" network hardware, which seems to be unfriendly to XP. I have read several places that it is possible to use Qualcomm Atheros drivers for these chips, as they are simply rebranded versions. But to this point none that I have tried have worked. Almost always result in a "Code 10" "Device Cannot Start" error.

Has anyone had success getting these Killer network chips to work under XP? Since it's a laptop, it's not absolutely essential for the wired network card to work, but I do need working WiFi. Worst case scenario I can try to change the WiFi card to a more compatible one...

LAN: VEN_1969&DEV_E0A1 = Killer e2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

WLAN: VEN_168C&DEV_003E = Qualcomm Atheros QCA61x4 Wireless Network Adapter

Note that I've been trying to get this done for months and I keep having to drop it and come back to it when real life permits. Too many RL responsibilities and not enough time for projects. :( So there may be extended periods of time between experiments. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

  • 1 month later...

Posted

Given the lack of responses it appears I'm flying solo and blind here for the most part...

Some updates.


Solved the crash in nv4_mini.sys under XP x64; see this page. I advise any other XP x64 + NVidia users out there to grab a copy of this patched file and archive it.

Many thanks to tal.aloni.il! :thumbup

NVidia Control Panel still crashes when the desktop loads; this is puzzling...

If the machine goes to sleep and then is woken up again I lose USB mouse connectivity. I assume this is a shortcoming of the particular modified USB3 drivers that I'm using. Need to test other stacks...

Unless someone with better Google-fu than myself can turn up some working drivers for these Killer Network devices under XP, I give up on these...
I replaced the Killer WiFi card with an XP-compatible one and now have working WiFi. The wired NIC is not absolutely necessary in this configuration.
The WiFi card in this laptop is very oddly placed, one must remove the narrow plastic cover on top behind the screen hinges in order to access it.

Now If I can only find the time to test this setup to see if any other annoyances are going to crop up...

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