Well, that's sort of insulting, Mick. Let me ask the same question in
another way.

Given the same motherboard chipset and same audio chip, if Gateway hasn't
gotten around to putting out a driver and Dell has, would it be at least
worth trying to use the Dell driver?

SigmaTel doesn't post any reference drivers for its chip, its Web site says.

But I can use the Gateway drivers or the Intel drivers for things on my
computer like the SATA drive, and I've poached lots of drivers for the same
basic hardware over many years from lots of companies whose logos didn't
appear on the specific card or component in my computer -- Webcams, audio
board, video boards, modems, whatever.

Does anyone have any advice on whether this situation should be different?

Thanks.

Is there any reason
"Mick Murphy" <MickMurphy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D1467F73-CC9E-4565-9700-766AE5C74C8D@microsoft.com...[color=blue]
> You install the correct Driver, not ANY Driver.
>
> "hogyu" wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Thanks to help in this forum, I managed to locate the necessary drivers
>> for
>> XP running on my new laptop and figured out how to slipstream the SATA
>> driver into an installation disk. I haven't tried installing XP yet, but
>> I
>> got to the point in the installation where the install routine identified
>> my
>> drive and its partitions correctly.
>>
>> I overlooked one problem, though. I have been unable to find an Intel HD
>> Audio driver for an Intel 943GML motherboard for XP. Gateway has one for
>> Vista, which was preloaded on my computer. I can't find anything on the
>> Intel site.
>>
>> A few general questions:
>>
>> -- Would it be reasonable to at least try loading audio drivers for this
>> chip and motherboard from the Web sites of other manufacturers?
>>
>> -- Does Microsoft have any sort of a driver base that I can search for an
>> appropriate driver?
>>
>> -- Does Windows Update identify uninstalled hardware drivers and try to
>> download them? I think not, but I'm not sure. And in any case, I'm still
>> trying to decide whether to go through the hassle of installing a new OS
>> without any sort of audio support.
>>
>> I'm downgrading because several apps I need are either not yet available
>> for
>> Vista or require that I buy new versions -- not even discounted upgrades!
>> Some software makers have seized the opportunity to make a killing, I
>> think.
>> But without being able to use VoIP or use other audio apps, I'm not sure
>> I
>> want to go through with this. I might just pick up an older used laptop
>> and
>> wait for Vista to mature.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>[/color][/color]