Continuing story of reinstalling Win 7 on an old dv4-2164us Pavilion laptop. Drivers?

[DRNewcomb]

It seems that HP forgot that they ever made this old Pavilion dv4-2164us, which I have reinstalled Win 7 (The original OS) on to be able to use some peripherals that are no longer supported on current Windows versions. The OS installed from the OEM system disc I had but I'm lacking several drivers, most notably, the Ethernet and WiFi drivers. I've seen some other posts where people were pointed to ala-carte drivers located on HP's FTP server. Is there a way to know which packages apply to this laptop/OS combination? Thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You can download the drivers you need for your PC from the link below:

HP Pavilion dv4-2164us Entertainment Notebook PC Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Support

You need this driver for the Wi-Fi adapter since there is more than one listed on the support page.

Broadcom Wireless LAN Driver for Microsoft Windows 7

sp48591.exe

[DRNewcomb]

Thanks. The sp48591.exe file installs the WiFi driver but this alone is not adequate to set up a WiFi connection. In other words, it recognizes that there is a WiFi adapter but can't use it.

After I found the "select OS" link I was able to download a variety of files.

Would you happen to know which file is for the "Unknown Device" in the Device Manager listing?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Here's a newer driver for the BCM Wi-Fi card, see if this one gets the card to work properly.

Broadcom Wireless LAN driver

sp60504.exe

For the unknown device...there are many different devices Windows names as unknown  when the device needs a driver.

Please post the hardware ID for the unknown device so I can figure out what driver it needs.

Use this guide for how to find the hardware ID for a device:

How to Find Drivers for Unknown Devices in the Device Manager

[DRNewcomb]

The Unknown Device is an HPQ0004 DriveGuard. I don't find that on the list of drivers on the support site for this laptop but I could be missing something obvious.

The laptop is creeping back to life. It can access files on my desktop, so I don't have to sneaker-net everything between them. I can access Google (ping and https) but for some reason is unable to access the HP support site or Microsoft site, Windows update and HP automatic software diagnosis are not available. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You need this driver for the  HPQ0004 device.

HP 3D DriveGuard Software 

sp64144.exe

Since IE has been retired, you can't check for updates that way.

I would install MS Edge for W7 at the link below:  Select W7 from the dropdown.

Download Microsoft Edge: Windows, macOS, iOS & Android

You have to let Windows update automatically check for updates.

There are some things you need to make sure you have installed.

You must have W7 SP1 installed.

All my W7 installation disks have the original version of W7.

If you need SP1 you can download it from the link below:

You want the 1st file on the webpage.

Microsoft Update Catalog

Then read the info at the link below for the other KB's you have to install afterward.

You shouldn't need the advanced users discussion link, but it's there if necessary.

Windows 7 Update Problems? Read this first. - Microsoft Q&A

[DRNewcomb]

Thanks so much for your patience helping me down memory lane trying to reinstall this obsolete OS.

As it turns out the install disc already included SP1 but the kb2533552 update applied OK. I had to download an offline installer of Edge and then Edge constantly complained about invalid certificates. I downloaded and installed a new Microsoft Root CA list, but Edge still wouldn't let me connect to any secure site. I downloaded and installed Opera, which allowed me to visit secure sites but doesn't seem to support HP's automatic diagnostic tool. In fact the site complains that I need to download drivers on a PC. Then I Googled the Updater Error Code and it lead me to KB3138612 and a 2016 update, which I had to install twice but it seems to  have worked. At least Windows Updater doesn't throw errors now and it's now installing 169 updates. MS Edge still won't connect to any secure sites but this may change after the 169 updates are applied.

The only driver I still had missing is the PCI Simple Communications Controller  which I was able to resolve to and Intel driver pack and install. So all devices are satisfied.

I think this journey may be coming to its conclusion. 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

Sounds like you are making excellent progress.

Windows update may install some updated device drivers for you.

The PCI Simple Comms Controller is the Intel Management Engine Interface that was in need of a driver.