Windows 10 drivers are not available at hp.com

[AmateurBook]

I have a ProBook 4540s. I am pondering a switch to Windows 10, but most drivers are not available at hp.com: chipset, audio, Ethernet, wireless, media card, touchpad, and fingerprint sensor. Just to make it even more amusing, there is a listing for chipset driver, but the driver is for Intel's ME.

It seems there are three answers, with some overlap:

1) Windows 10 will provide generic drivers suitable for all uses.

2) I can find the chipset and Ethernet drivers at intel.com and realtek.com, and perhaps the other drivers at the appropriate sites, but I'm on my own.

3) Windows 10 will never be supported on this laptop and I should stay with 7/8/8.1 and Linux.

My experience with other PCs is that #1 is not always true, with some of Microsoft's drivers being substandard, i.e. they might work and they might not.

Should I take the fact that Windows 10 drivers are not available as a hint?

[lasvegaswireman]

Based on the the HP ProBook 4540s Notebook PC HP ProBook 4440s Notebook PC HP ProBook 4441s Notebook PC - Maintenance..., it appears that the ProBook 4540s contains 2nd or 3rd gen Intel Core CPUs.

I have two identical 2011 model year Gateway consumer laptops that shipped with Windows 7 64-bit and now run Windows 10. They are based on 2nd gen Intel Core i3 CPUs. One was upgraded from Windows 7 and the other was a clean install of Windows 10. Neither of these computers have any issue with Windows 10 and all drivers appear to function correctly. Both computers have been upgraded to build 1607 and have the latest updates installed.

I see no reason that this model would have any issues with Windows 10. HP has provided 10 hardware specific drivers for this model and also has a download for the HP SoftPaq Download Manager, which may be able to supply other drivers for this model. I would start by updating the BIOS to F.62 Rev.A(8 Nov 2016) sp77821.exe prior to upgrading to Windows 10. You can also use Windows 8.1 drivers for hardware that lacks a Windows 10 driver.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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[pepe999]

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@AmateurBook wrote:

I have a ProBook 4540s. I am pondering a switch to Windows 10, but most drivers are not available at hp.com: chipset, audio, Ethernet, wireless, media card, touchpad, and fingerprint sensor. Just to make it even more amusing, there is a listing for chipset driver, but the driver is for Intel's ME.

It seems there are three answers, with some overlap:

1) Windows 10 will provide generic drivers suitable for all uses.

2) I can find the chipset and Ethernet drivers at intel.com and realtek.com, and perhaps the other drivers at the appropriate sites, but I'm on my own.

3) Windows 10 will never be supported on this laptop and I should stay with 7/8/8.1 and Linux.

My experience with other PCs is that #1 is not always true, with some of Microsoft's drivers being substandard, i.e. they might work and they might not.

Should I take the fact that Windows 10 drivers are not available as a hint?

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Hi,

Stick with the original Windows or linux. Do not screw your laptop with some pointless upgrade..

[AmateurBook]

@lasvegaswireman

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is of Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge vintage, with my laptop containing the latter. Graphics drivers are problematic for Sandy Bridge because Intel never provided graphics drivers for it -- W-10 actually includes graphics drivers modified by Microsoft -- but Intel has provided graphics drivers for all subsequent generations, so that does not present a problem for me.

HP's official policy on W-10 (http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04730900) is as follows: "HP provides installation instructions, compatible software, and updated drivers for most computers sold after August 2013 ... If you purchased your computer prior to August 2013, HP has not tested or developed drivers for your computer model. Some features might not work, or the installation might not be successful." My laptop was purchased months before August 2013.

I found Intel graphics and chipset at intel.com, but W-10 and hp.com do not provide some drivers, as per Device Manager, including for media card reader. I will play around with drivers for 8/8.1.

[AmateurBook]

@pepe999

Yeah, I wonder if that isn't the best advice. Using 8/8.1 drivers implies that I had better test everything I will ever do.

[AmateurBook · Accepted solution]

I installed a few W-8/8.1 drivers and all but one of the yellow '!' warnings disappeared. I searched on the data contained in Device Manager -> Properties -- HPQ6001 -- which turns out to be a wireless button driver. I didn't understand at first because the W-7 driver set does not include one, but when I looked at the 8/8.1 set, I realized that it must have been included in another W-7 driver. After I installed it, Device Manager displayed no yellow '!' warnings. So maybe W-10 will work.