Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u

Before doing this – make sure to create your Gateway recovery DVDs using the built-in software that comes with the LT3101u. I needed two blank DVDs for a recovery image of the entire system and one black DVD for application and drivers. These discs will be useful in case you want to:

1. go back to Windows Vista Home Edition or

2. install other version of Windows such as Windows 7 32bit or 64 bit.

For now, we’re going to concentrate on installing Windows XP Professional SP2 on the LT3103u.

So..

Step 1: Boot from Windows XP install DVD:

Get your trusty external USB drive and connect it to the Gateway. For this experiment, I used a Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 installation DVD. Make sure your netbook will boot from the USB DVD drive first before checking the internal hard drive. You’ll need to change the boot order by going into the BIOS (Press F2). Move the USB drive to the top, save changes, and then boot from the DVD.

Step 2: Format the correct partition for Windows XP

The first major thing XP setup will ask you is to identify a partition to install the OS.

You’ll notice two partitions on your netbook – one small OEM partition (labeled PQSERVICE) and one large (200GB+) partition containing Windows Vista. Go ahead and wipe that large partition (do a quick NTFS format) – you’ll be installing Windows XP on that partition. You could of course wipe both partitions if you’ve already created your recovery DVDs – I like to just keep things around just in case.

Step 3: Install Windows

Once the appropriate partition has been formatted, the setup will copy all the necessary files to your netbook and proceed with the installation of the OS.

The entire installation process will take some time – the text portion took approximately 10 minutes. A quick reboot and up came the graphical portion of the setup process which took approximately 30+ minutes.

A reboot – a few more setup questions and we’re into the Windows XP desktop.

SO what’s missing?

Here’s a look at Device Manager:

Drivers missing for:

Ethernet Controller
Network Controller
PCI Device
SM Bus Controller
Video Controller

Step 4: Install the Network Drivers

Unfortunately Gateway doesn’t provide the Windows XP drivers for the missing components above. Luckily the Vista drivers Gateway does provide with the netbook helps us determine what XP drivers we do need to find from the web.

One of the first things we’d like to resolve is the missing network drivers – whether it’s the Ethernet or Wireless networking – it doesn’t really matter – as long as one of the network devices work.

Why get networking up and running first? Once you have networking working, you can download the necessary software updates/drivers directly to the netbook instead of using an external PC system.

For Wi-Fi, you’ll need to find the Windows XP driver for the Atheros Wi-Fi chipset (AR5B95 Wireless Network Adapter). I used the drivers found on this website here:

http://www.atheros.cz/download.php?atheros=AR5B95&system=2

Keep in mind this download apparently packages both 32 bit and 64 bit drivers – make sure to install the 32 bit driver (the 64 bit driver will fail to install)

The Ethernet controller is the Realtek LAN RTL8103EL. I found a driver courtesy of Dell via this website below:

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NETWORK-CARD/REALTEK/Dell-Inspiron-Mini-10V-Realtek-RTL8103EL-GR-LAN-Driver-A01.shtml

Both drivers were downloaded on a separate PC and then brought over to the Gateway LT3103u via a USB flash drive.

Step 5: Install the video drivers

To fix the video driver problem, I used the ATI Radeon X1200 Series driver located here:

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Legacy/Pages/integrated_mce-xp.aspx?type=2.7&product=2.7.5.3.2&lang=English

If you haven’t installed Microsoft .NET you’ll notice an error message appear when trying to install the ATI Catalyst software application. The app will install but it won’t be able to execute since it requires .NET 2.0 or higher. Make sure to install .NET afterwards.

A quick reboot and you’ll notice the screen resolution is at the appropriate levels.

Step 6: Install the SM Bus Controller driver

After the display driver is installed, go ahead and install the driver for the SM Bus Controller (The System Management Bus Controller). The driver can also be found at the AMD/ATI website here:

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Legacy/Pages/integrated_mce-xp.aspx?type=2.7&product=2.7.3.3.1.3.2&lang=English

In case the link fails to work – simply select graphics drivers for the ATI Radeon X1200 series and then scroll down to the bottom for the South Bridge Driver. Download and install the South Bridge Driver.

Step 7: Update to Service Pack 3 and perform Windows Update

Because I started with Service Pack 2, I decided to perform an update to Service Pack 3 and thanks to networking being enabled, I was able to do so directly on the LT3103u. Of course if you already started with SP3 – you’re fine at this point.

Once SP 3 is installed, Windows XP found the necessary Realtek HD audio drivers for the last device – which was the unidentified “PCI Device”

I ran Windows Update yet again and found a slew of additional updates to install including two hardware driver updates – One driver is for the AMD processor and the other driver is for the Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller.

Installed all the updates, rebooted, and looked into Device Manager to see the following:

Yup – everything working.

Is that the end of things? Technically from a driver standpoint it is – but you can always do more. We went ahead and installed the Synaptics driver that came with the Gateway application/driver recovery DVD (yup – it installed just fine under XP).

And there you have it – Windows XP running on the Gateway LT3103u. Enjoy!

Written by flung

July 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 am

18,502 views

Posted in Gateway, Netbook News, NetbookTech Guides, NetbookTech News, Netbooks, Windows XP

Tagged with Gateway LT3103u Windows XP installation

Viewing 56 Comments

purpleputerlady 6 months ago 1 point
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Found it! I downloaded the chipset driver from the Gateway site and I was able to get the SM Bus Manager driver. :-)

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purpleputerlady 6 months ago 1 point
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Hi All:

I'm late to the party but I hope someone will read this and give me a hand. I have been able to get this little cutie functional under Win XP between the excellent instructions here as well as some of the links below. However, I still can't get the SM bus manager driver. I don't know if it's me or if the page has changed but the link for the SM bus in this article takes me to the same page as the video drivers and the only link I see is the one that I downloaded and used for the video? What am I missing? Thanks for all of the great help!

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Kevin 9 months ago 1 point
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Can somebody please HELP me. I want to recover my system, but disk 2 got scratched. Can someone please upload it or host it for me please!!!

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lared0 11 months ago 1 point
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Hello,i've recently got a new gateway lt31.It's great but i can't stand windows vista.The problem is that it doesn;t have a optical drive.You showed how to install windows(i know how to do it)but what soft did you use to make a bootable flashdrive??I have found a soft ,used windows xp sp2 original,but when i restart the computer,go into bios and there i put the usb first(in the boot priority)save,and when the flash drive boots appears a error(hal.dll is missing or corupted).PLEASE HELP

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tony6659 1 year ago 1 point
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Everything went well except that it did not detect my sound driver. Anyone know which sound driver to install?

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begelin 1 year ago 1 point
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where did you get the .NET to install after the video card? and when you did this did everything work out good like the webcam still worked and everything?

what was the performance like compared to vista on this netbook and what was it like compared to the other netbooks currently running vista? would you recommend updating to windows 7? im worried about the drivers not working with windows 7.. :/

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thelibrarygeek 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks for this very detailed and useful "how-to" on downgrading to XP on the Gateway LT3103u. I bought this netbook a couple of weeks ago and I really like everything about it, but the processor struggles with VIsta. i am even seeing 100% processor use at times, so i might try this guide. Thanks again.

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victor 1 year ago 1 point
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great!!!! thank you so much for this guide, what a time saver. I know how frustrating can be to track down all those drivers. This worked flawlessly. I have now all my software running at a decent speed. again thank you.

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billyrh 1 year ago 1 point
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I have this netbook also and I love it... I have put Ubuntu on it and really the only problem I'm having is with the WiFi. Can't seem to get it to work. Other than that it works awesome. If anybody finds a way to get Ubuntu 64 bit with the wifi working please post it. I need help...

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barryoneill 11 months ago 1 point
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I'm stuck on the Wi-Fi too. I downloaded the file indicated in this article for the Wi-Fi stuff, unzipped the directory on my desktop and looked inside. There is no executable ?...May be a dumb question but how to I get the files installed exactly ?

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His_Star 1 year ago 1 point
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Thank you for this guide. We used it along with a few others to set up a dual boot, leaving Vista on and adding XP. I love this netbook!! But it was soooo sluggish with Vista, now it is sheer joy to use with XP. I am going to grad school and looked for months for the lap top to take and use. Due to an on-the-job injury I can no longer carry large laptops, but the options were too weak, 1 gig ram, 10 inch screens, etc. This machine is just perfect NOW . . . It took several days of reading, searching, then, as I said, using your guide and taking the plunge. After setting up the dual boot, we went back in using easeuas partition manager and assigned more space to the XP partition, leaving just enough to allow Vista to remain on the machine in case of emergency. Thank you again for taking the time to put this guide up.

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DB 1 year ago 1 point
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Hmmm... Last attempt to post didn't seem to work.

My goal was to install Windows XP Home on mine - I have an old copy I bought for a desktop that was scrapped a while ago.

First problem I ran into was my XP copy was original release - It didn't support the USB-DVD drive. Found an ISO image of the XP Home Installation Disk with SP3, and that booted.

Did everything in the article, but found several things weren't working properly...

Webcam (Skype couldn't find it)
Sound Card (No sounds)
Touchpad (Taps enabled, which I hate, but can't disable without a driver)

Went to Gateway's support site, and found that they actually DO have a bunch of XP drivers for this thing. Nice!

Downloaded the Chicony webcam driver and app, the Realtek sound card drivers, and the Synaptics Touchpad drivers. Et voila!

I love the ATI display drivers ability to do panning mode displays. So the display is set to 1600x1200, and now I can pan down to see the programs that create too big a window for the small display. Turned on Large Fonts, and I'm in heaven.

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DB 1 year ago 1 point
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I thought I screwed up the Netbook when I installed Office 2007. Turns out I hadn't, but by the time I figured it out I really had. So I wiped it again and installed XP Home SP3, plus all the XP drivers directly downloaded from the Gateway site.

o) The single graphics kit does the Southbridge, video driver, ATI Catalyst Center, and .NET all in one.
o) Not sure what added value the Cardreader driver added, other than fancy icons for specific media types
o) Launchmanager also doesn't do much - No programmable keys, but does add an On Screen Display for when you press some of the fn key combinations (Volume, Mute, Bluetooth, Touchpad)
o) Bluetooh and Broadcom drivers installed, but of course, they don't come with the base machine.

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Aaron Cavanaugh 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi,

Wow thank you this is excellent. How's it running? Faster?

I want to do this and with a network connected PC with a CD in the drive. I wonder if this is possible.

Thanks. God Bless.

Aaron.

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Aaron Cavanaugh 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi,

A good URL is http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/search.asp?param=LT31&st=kw

This will list some drivers that you may need for XP for the LT31 netbook.

Thanks. God Bless.

Aaron.

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Aaron Cavanaugh 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi,

So I did it. I bought the LT31 and am posting this comment with it.
I used all the drivers in the article. The INF file for the wireless was a bit tricky. Having to create a new file with the name INF and downloading the text. I had to wait for that zip file with the sys files to download it took a few seconds before it showed me it was available to download.
I also had to install the sound drivers KC recommended. I installed the synaptics touchpad driver because being able to change those settings was important to me. The Gateway links weren't working so I used the Acer AO751h drivers. I think there the same they are available here http://gd.panam.acer.com/home/ click on the Aspire One - AO751h link.

I didn't install the Chicony webcam drivers as they aren't important to me and the link wasn't working on the Gateway site.

Thanks. God Bless.

Aaron.

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asim0606 1 year ago 1 point
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Excellent instructions and links. I thank you very much. Really appreciate the details.

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prometeum 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi,

has anyone tried installing Ubuntu on it? I've been thinking about it but I guess that finding all the necessary drivers in their linux version wil be extremely difficult and i don't know if they can be found in any of the repositories.

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lt3103u 1 year ago 1 point
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Sorry but this question is not related to XP on this netbook, but does anyone know if there is a slot to install a bluetooth module. I have a bluetooth module stick I took from the MSI Wind and Toshiba NB205 and both those had internal slot for plugging in a bluetooth module, on this Gateway I opened all the panels and can only find memory, HDD, and WI-FI, any help would be approciated.

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lite2 1 year ago 1 point
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I can verify that there is NO extra pci slot(i want to do the same thing). The messed up part about the whole thing is that it has a half height wifi card installed and a spot for an additional full length card next to it that even has the stand offs for the screws BUT!!! theres NO socket, just the traces where one "could" go. Makes me sad,uh MAD, that they just wasted the space, would have cost them nothing to solder on the extra socket.

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NewGatewayFan 1 year ago 1 point
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THANKS!!!! I bought this netbook 2 days ago and I love it. My only issue is that the wifi tends to drop the connection. I noticed it on Vista and then again after installing XP. I'm not sure if I should return it? It works in some wifi areas, but having issues in others

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dare2go 1 year ago 1 point
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You ROCK!!!!!

Thanks very much, I will try this.

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alkivar 1 year ago 1 point
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can anyone confirm 802.11n functionality working/not working if using the Atheros AR5B95 driver in XP?

if you go into device manager, and go to properties for the atheros wireless, under advanced settings it shows N and MIMO settings, trying to figure out if wireless N does actually work, or if its just there because of this driver.

if it works, that would be a sweet overlooked feature.

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DB 1 year ago 1 point
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Looks like it *is* N capable, just not published, since the N is still a draft and there's no certification...

http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA7089

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lite2 12 months ago 1 point
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Although my router(dlink 665) doesn't support 5ghz it does show up as N at up to 150mbs, so no complaints there.
The only headache I have is when doing a large file transfer to the netbook via wifi my mouse(Logi MX Revolution,bluetooth) becomes all but useless.

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lite2 1 year ago 1 point
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I too was surprised at first (with Vista installed) that mine showed a 300mb link. But the actual throughput was more inline with a G link. But now that I have Win7 installed it shows a 150 link........Whatever!!! and FWIW I do have an N router.

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JamesT 1 year ago 1 point
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Guys, can someone confirm whether this netbook connects to your N router in "5 Ghz" mode?

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lite2 1 year ago 1 point
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My router (dir-655) dont support 5Ghz :(
I welcome any input on a compatible N card though. But for now I'll just plug in for large transfers.
Too bad there's no gigabit :(

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stowellt 1 year ago 1 point
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I get 150mbps in XP or Win 7 . I have a d-link DIR-655.

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sym 1 year ago 1 point
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thx very much! that all I need!

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Alan 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi again,

I understood from some research on my own that I need to go into the BIOS to set the SATA mode to IDE as part of the process for downgrading Win Vista Home to XP Pro; but I cant seems to find the settings in the BIOS.

Can the author of this article kindly advice me on how to get around this troubled spot.
Thanks!

Regards
Alan

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Alan 1 year ago 1 point
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Hi,

I have got this error message when I was booting up from the Windows XP DVD.

"A PROBLEM HAS BEEN DETECTED AND WINDOWS HAS BEEN SUT DOWN TO PREVENT
DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER
IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE SEEN THIS ERROR SCREEN RESTART YOUR
COMPUTER. IF THIS SCREEN APPEARS AGAIN FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
CHECK FOR VIRUSES ON YOUR COMPUTER. REMOVE ANY NEWLY INSTALLED HARD
DRIVES OR HARD DRIVE CONTROLLERS. CHECK YOUR HARD DRIVE TO MAKES SURE IT
IS PROPERLY CONFIGURED AND TERMINATED.
RUN CHKDISK /F TO CHECK FOR HARDDRIVE CORRUPTION, AND THEN RESTART YOUR
COMPUTER.
***STOP: 0x0000007B (0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0X00000000) "

Have you encountered this error when you are doing the Windows XP upgrade?
Are there any workaround method or HDD drivers that I might need on hand?

Any advice will be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

Alan

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misfitflt 1 year ago 1 point
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@Alan - I ran into this too. Before I realized I was loading a version of XP that pre-dated the SP2. I used a CD with XP Pro SP2 and it came right up. What had me stumped was how to get the wireless driver installed. I gave up and am running Vista, but with this guide, I think I may try it again.

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ZorrosBlade 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks for that info on Windows 7 I opted for the 32 bit version for now. I installed as if it was an upgrade. IT actually was pretty good it kept all my applicationa dn data intacted . I was connected via the wireless during the upgrade. It installed all the updated drivers except the ethernet card which is the only driver i can not install for some reason it cant find the ethernet card. the only application that there was a compatibility issue was norton security 2009 which was an eval software that came with the netbook. After the install there were 11 undates that ran.. and so far everything looks good. I think i will keep Windows 7 installed and try to find the problem with the ethernet card and driver. And suggestions on this would be welcome..thanks.......

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ZorrosBlade 1 year ago 1 point
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Seems everything is working perfectly now the Ethernet driver as well as the others were on the Applications and Driver recovery DVD created during the Recovery Management of Vista before upgrading to Windows 7 RC 32 So far i like it !!!!

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ron williams 1 year ago 1 point
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i really would like to install the Windows 7RC x64 on my gateway LT3103u but any idea what drivers and wear to get them will complete the install correctly? ie enternet,wireless, video,touch pad, etc.? OR give us a rundown on the 64 bit Windows 7 Install and what you did for the drivers to mnake this netbook sing withe new OS

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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@ron - I'll try and come up with a guide for installing Windows 7 RC 64 bit this weekend. I finally finished my review of the netbook so I should have a little time to do this guide for ya. However, if you want to go ahead and try - it's pretty straightforward. If I remember correctly the only additional drivers you'll need that Win 7 RC X64 doesn't take care of is Wi-Fi, and graphics. I believe Ethernet was detected just fine.
The most important thing you can do is create the recovery application/driver dvd via the Gateway Recovery Management application. You'll need an external USB burner for this tho - but once you have that up and running, you're golden because this DVD will contain the drivers needed for 64 bit Windows. Since most if not all Vista drivers will work under Windows 7 - this worked just fine. I did however end up installing ATI's latest Radeon drivers for the X1200 series I believe.

In any case, I'll try and come up with something this weekend. No promises tho because I need to start working on the Toshiba netbook review too :)

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Mark 1 year ago 1 point
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Please post about how your benchmark scores differ on Windows XP versus Vista.

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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Currently running benchmarks on XP Pro - will hopefully run the same benchmarks later on Vista Home Basic. The early results show this system to be on par or just a little below in performance compared to our first gen Acer Aspire One with Atom N270 processor.

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Jerry 1 year ago 1 point
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I am loading XP but can not get the sound card to work or my PCI device / network controller...how can I get this please?

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arangopar 8 months ago 1 point
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Hi everyone, butthis machine runs wonderful in xp i am stuck with the same issue, no sound. i've tried everything, but no luck any other advice? thanx in advance

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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There are a couple of ways of getting sound to work.
1. Upgrade to service pack 3 and Windows XP should automatically detect the sound device (it did for me).
or
2. Try the Realtek HD driver here - http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsCheck.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false#High%20Definition%20Audio%20Codecs

One of these two options should work for you.

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KC 1 year ago 1 point
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Thanks for this blog. Here are two links I used for drivers:

Wireless: http://station-drivers.com/telechargement/atheros/wifi/atheros_5xxx-9xxx_7.7.0.329-xp(www.station-drivers.com).exe

Audio: http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/ExpressFTPSite.aspx?DownTypeID=3&DownID=11&PFid=24&Conn=3

Both work fine.

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Bohh 1 year ago 1 point
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I am seriously on the verge of purchasing this "netbook"

However, I have read on a few forums that it struggles to play flash videos from youtube and hulu, even in standard format.

Can you confirm or deny this please? It is the only thing holding me back.

Thank you!

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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@bohh - sorry it's taking me so long to get the review going. So much to do these days. However, I did want to answer your immediate questions about Adobe Flash playback. On my Windows XP install, I had no problems playing back standard resolution flash videos on both YouTube and Hulu WHEN inside a browser window.
However, viewing these videos in fullscreen was problematic at best. Playback was choppy and the CPU was pegged at 100 percent.

With that said.. 720p playback varied - depending of course whether hardware acceleration was available for video playback. WMV playback at 720p was OK - it was slightly jerky here and there but otherwise acceptable. 1080p? Forget about it. MKV 720p playback has been laughable at best thus far but I need to do more testing.

It should be said all of this was done on Windows XP. I'll be going back to Windows Vista Home Basic shortly and redoing all the tests again.

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lolsers 10 months ago 1 point
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If you want to make it so that the RAM isn't constantly pegged to 100% on that 2GB RAM, buy yourself a single 4GB RAM chip, it'll definitely solve all those problems.

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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OK - FINALLY GOT THE REVIEW DONE. I'm sure I'm missing some things here and there but feel free to read the review here:
http://www.netbooktech.com/2009/07/10/gateway-lt3103u-review/

Enjoy folks!

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peal 1 year ago 1 point
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I'd really like to know this too.

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chris 1 year ago 1 point
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This really helped me out a lot. Props for taking the time to create this user-friendly guide! The only issue im stuck on, is installing the wireless..ive downloaded the drivers you posted but windows says it can't install the drivers..its the only driver left!

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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@chris - I managed to install the Wi-Fi drivers by opting for the manual install of the drivers (choose from a list option) as opposed to letting Windows automatically find the right drivers. When I went the auto route, it always failed. Let me know if that works for you.

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kolrone 1 year ago 1 point
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I have the same issue. I haven't been able to find a way around this either. I may just go ahead and take xp off, even though I wanted to tri-boot with Windows 7 and Linux.

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DT 1 year ago 1 point
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You will need the key for XP.

The key labeled on the machine is for Vista Home Basic

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MKR 1 year ago 1 point
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Will XP install with the Vista setup codes in the sticker on the net book? Or do I need to get an oem XP install disk and the setup code?

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aaronwt 1 year ago 1 point
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Why would I want to put XP on this? One of the best features of this Netbook is that it comes with VISTA.

I pretty much hate XP. I've never had any problems with six VISTA installs I currently use.

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krunker 1 year ago 1 point
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Ha. You don't have to put XP on the system of course. This guide is for anyone who MIGHT be interested in doing so. I for one did it simply to run performance benchmarks since nearly all other netbooks run Windows XP and I want to make sure the benchmarks are run on an apples to apples comparison as best as possible.

And as far as Vista is concerned, I'm certainly not a hater of Vista but there's no doubt that Vista is far more bloated than Windows XP. For netbook systems where processor performance is limited, it's often a far more enjoyable experience to run a lighter weight OS such as XP than Vista.

With that said, I'd choose Windows 7 RC over Vista any day simply because its 1) faster, 2) leaner, 3) has far more useful UI enhancements

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lite2 1 year ago 1 point
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I totaly agree!!!!
I have Win7rc1 on mine and it's great! Peppier than Vista was, Love it.
I do have an order in for the $50 upgrade for 7 so for me this pc is where it's going(like i'd ever go back to Vista).
I am looking into the possibilities of OSX on this beast though. Just for fun.

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Trackbacks

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Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | NetbookTech | Tech Talk
July 2, 2009 at 3:10 pm

[...] Read more here: Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | NetbookTech [...]
Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | Adobe Tutorials
July 3, 2009 at 10:33 am

[...] Before doing this – make sure to create your Gateway recovery DVDs using the built-in software that comes with ...

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[...] Read more here: Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | NetbookTech [...]
Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | NetbookTech | Tech Talk — July 2, 2009 @ 3:10 pm
[...] Before doing this – make sure to create your Gateway recovery DVDs using the built-in software that comes with the LT3101u. I needed two blank DVDs for a recovery image of the entire system and one black DVD for application and drivers. Originally posted here: Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u [...]
Installing Windows XP Professional on Gateway LT3103u | Adobe Tutorials — July 3, 2009 @ 10:33 am

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