Windows XP drivers for Asus M50Vn laptop

A while back, in October 2008, I bought the Asus M50Vn I’ve been using as my main PC since then. I chose it because of its good specs (Core 2 Duo P8600, 4 GiB of RAM, GeForce 9650M GT, 1440×900 display, 15.4″ screen, numpad…). But I was a bit worried about “downgrading” it to Windows XP: Asus made it very clear that they didn’t support this move, and indeed on their support site there is simply not a single download for Windows XP. So I tried to figure out what was inside the computer (that wasn’t too hard since I could use the info from the Windows Vista downloads on Asus support site) and then browsed the components manufacturer’s websites (and sometimes often other sources) to actually get the XP drivers.

First, here is the hardware analysis made just a few days ago using SIW: SIW_report-Asus_M50Vn-Hardware. I’m not sure if it will really be much useful for you, but at least it might be for me 😀 Also, note that the M50Vn seems to come in slightly different flavors (either that or some sites about it are inaccurate) so yours might have some slightly different components. But my guess is the drivers will work on it anyway.

Now, here are the drivers. You can notably use them to create a custom Windows XP installation CD/DVD, using nLite or some equivalent software. To include a driver on a Windows installation CD/DVD with nLite you need to uncompress the driver and point nLite to a specific driver file. Sometimes it’s trivial (only one file with the proper extension (.inf)), sometimes it’s much harder. I’ll try to indicate which INF file worked for me for each driver.

• not really a driver, but still a must have: the BIOS version 212
• Intel Chipset Device Software: I don’t remember exactly what this is for… but I think it was useful. 2 versions, the older one, which I used on my custom CD, and the newer one, which I’m using now. INF file: I included the whole “All” folder.
• Intel Matrix Storage Manager: I think that’s for dealing with the hard drive – thus a must have. Once again 2 versions, the one I used on my custom CD and the one I upgraded to later. Note that the second one seems trickier to bundle on a custom CD, so you may want to use the first for your CD and optionally upgrade to the second once all is set up. INF file: iaAHCI.inf.
• intel PRO Wireless 5100: this one I remember: it’s for the WiFi 😉 Only one version here, I guess I never tried to upgrade it further (I don’t really use the WiFi). INF file: NETw5x32.inf.
• ATK0100 driver: so that the keyboard special keys work. Without this, the computer might go crazy when you use some of the keys. For instance, I found out that I needed this driver when after a stand-by period the screen got stuck into the minimal luminosity level… INF file: I don’t know, but probably ATK0100.inf.
• Realtek audio drivers: to get some sound, obviously 😀 INF file: HDA.inf
• Realtek ethernet: for some wired connectivity. Version I used for my CD – version I later upgraded to. INF file: Netrtle.inf
• Synaptics touchpad driver: for the touchpad. Version I used for the CD (10.1.8), and a more recent version which I didn’t test. INF file: synpd.inf
• Bonus: NVIDIA drivers that can be bundled into the installation CD for a better comfort until an up-to-date installation can be made: NVIDIA graphics drivers version 179.13 from laptopvideo2go.com and the modded INF file (nvar.inf) so that it works with the GeForce 9650M GT. I also mirrored version 195.62, but it’s much bigger and I don’t know how to add it to an nLite CD.

That’s it. With all those drivers, you can make a Windows XP CD/DVD that should install successfully on your Asus M50Vn. Plus you won’t need to add further drivers, too (but it could be a good idea to at least upgrade the graphics drivers).

Update (2010-12-04): I sold this notebook a few weeks ago, in order to upgrade to an AMD quad core with a better graphics card too. So no more posts about this laptop, as a final update here is the megaupload folder where I uploaded all my drivers: http://www.megaupload.com/?f=4FACT76Z