My windows experience score has gone from 1 to 5.4.
I thought I'd solved the problems thrown up by the Vista reinstall by updating the device drivers from the utilities and drivers disc Dell sent me. It wasn't until I tried to watch the latest Harry Potter film that I discovered all was not well.
First - the utilities and drivers disc did not have my model (Vostro 1720) on the paper cover. I checked the devices listed in device manager and discovered that the graphics card was a generic one that wouldn't even run freecell. Not only that but the webcam device and DVD software were incorrect too.
A quick visit to the Dell Website and was able to download the correct drivers. I tried the DVD again - decoder missing. Another check online and I needed to buy a decoder set. I opted for Roxio (the cheapest) and, hey presto. The DVD will play in Windows Media Player and Real Player.
An update of the Windows Experience score declared that I was running a fast gaming machine once more.
If I didn't have such a heavy cold, I would have cracked open a bottle of champagne for sure. Now I feel very confident about tackling the 10 year old Dell Inspiron laptop (armed with the full set of installation discs that came with it) and seeing if a reinstall makes it run any faster.
