Inspiron 6400 – Windows 7 and 10

System Upgrades

Service Manual

Ensure you reference your service manual before carrying out upgrades:

The most recommended upgrade for this system is a Solid State Drive, here is my affiliate link to Crucial here. If purchasing a SSD or Memory Upgrade please use these links as I will get a tiny bit of commission which will help fund my guides.

SSD Drive Upgrade

Memory Upgrade:

This system supports 2 GB of RAM (2×1 GB Modules) unofficially 4 GB of RAM (2×2 GB) modules work in this system but the system maxes out at 3.25 GB of RAM. This can also be purchased using the affiliate link above.

Media Direct

Media Direct should be installed before the Operating System in order for the Media Direct Button to function correctly.

Operating System

Not all of these systems are 64 Bit capable. A 64 Bit Processor such as an Intel T7200, T7400 or T7600 is required for 64 Bit Windows 7. Note the system maxes out at 3.25 GB of RAM so there is in any case little advantage of installing 64 Bit Windows 0n this model. This configuration works with 64 Bit Windows 10 but it is on the edge of the system requirements, should Microsoft slightly up the system requirements for 64 Bit Windows 10 later down the line, this system will likely fail to meet the minimum system requirements and therefore 32 Bit Windows 10 is recommended on this model.

It is recommended to install Windows 10 on this system see Windows OEM FAQs and Downloads. The Windows Vista OEM or Windows XP Product Key won't be compatible with Windows 10 Installation Media however you can run Windows 10 Unlicensed. Windows 10 will have most of the system drivers required inbuilt however you can install the Windows 7 Drivers if you have any unknown Devices in the Device Manager.

Drivers and Downloads for Windows 7

Legacy BIOS

System Utilities (Windows 7 Only)

Chipset (Windows 7)

Card Reader

Video (Windows 7 Only)

There are three video variants on this system:

Input

Dell Wireless Cards

Audio (Windows 7 Only)

Install the Registry Edit and then the Audio Driver.

Registry Edit

HTML

Open up Notepad or Notepad++, copy and paste the above and save the file (as all types) ending with the extension .reg. Once done right click the reg file and run.

Add the entries to your registry before installing the Audio Driver.

Application

MediaDirect Updates

Requires installation of the Media Direct Program

10 thoughts on “Inspiron 6400 – Windows 7 and 10

  1. Hello,

    I am trying to install the video driver for the ATI X1300 on Windows 8.1, however when I try to browse for the cab file, Windows is telling me that the default driver is the best driver. How do i force an update?

    1. Try the AMD legacy driver using the options above. Unfortunately if I like to the legacy driver it will redirect you to the AMD home page. They don't have the X1300 listed but it should be the same driver as the X1150…

  2. Installed Windows 10 Preview 64bit mode on 2GB system. Everything worked, runs well considering it's on my old 5400rpm drive, not the SSD

    1. I installed it in a Latitude D820 which is the business version of the Inspiron 9400 and has much the same drivers. It also works well. I've not tried it on the Inspiron 6400 yet but I expect the same results.

      With Windows 8.1 on the Inspiron 6400 I experienced consistently 100 % disk usage with a mechanical drive. I think it was a Windows 8.1 problem however which should be resolved in Windows 10.

      For the Latitude D820 I needed only the Video Driver. I got this by going to the device manager and telling it to get the driver from Windows Update. I updated the touchpad driver via the device manager using the Dell driver and I installed Dell Quickset.

    1. It depends on the processor installed. There are a few processors which support the 64 Bit OS but even then the RAM is still limited to 3.25 GB making little point in a 64 Bit install.

  3. Upgrade to Windows 10 from XP on this Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop went great following your directions! Afterwards, installing the Vista drivers for the display (Dell calls them video) and Synaptics touchpad enhanced the system even more. Display looks gorgeous and system runs fast. Thanks for all your helpful resources!

  4. Does anyone have a copy of the chipset drivers (32 bit)? The link on here no longer works.

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