Can't get Win XP Pro SP3 to use new PC's LAN hardware

Check out which chipsets are used in the network adapters and see if you can find generic ones on makers sites.

In specific case I had to dismantle an unbranded USB ethernet adapter to identify the chipset. I then Googled and found a driver on the chip maker's site pretty easily.

The Linux community have databases of adapter/chipset listings because they are frequently in the situation you have.

I tried to do this a couple weeks ago and best I could come up with were the driver details in Vista and Win7.

For the wired LAN, Win7 yields - and Vista is almost the same:

Intel(R) 82566DC-2 Gigabit Network Connection
Driver File Details - Intel Corporation v.9.13.16.0 built by: WinDDK
C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\e1e6232e.sys
C:\Windows\system32\e1000msg.dll
C:\Windows\system32\NicCo36.dll
C:\Windows\system32\NiclnE6.dll
Hardware lds:
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&SUBSYS_302E17AA&REV_02
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&SUBSYS_302E17AA
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&CC_020000
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&CC_0200
Driver Node Strong Name:
oem2.inf:Intel.NTamd64.6..1:E294C:9.13.16.0 ci\ven_8086&dev_294c&subsys_302e17aa

For the wireless card, Win7 shows:

Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter
Driver File Details - Broadcom Corporation v.5.30.21.0
C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\BCMWL664.SYS
C:\Windows\system32\drivers\vwifibus.sys
Hardware lds:
PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_4315&SUBSYS_04B514E4&REV_01
PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_4315&SUBSYS_04B514E4
PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_4315&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_4315&CC_0280
Service:
BCM43XX
Driver Node Strong name:
oem1.inf:BROADCOM.NTamd64.6.1:BCM43XG_NT61:5.30.21.0 ci\ven_14e4&dev_4315

So I did searches combining the terms "XP" and (1) "Intel 82566DC-2" and (2), "Broadcom BCMWL664", but didn't find a match (although Broadcom had so many configurations I may have overlooked the correct one).
Do you know of any such "community" for WinXP users looking for drivers?

Thanks!

BTW, I got Win7 to print through our Netgear PS110 print server by unchecking the NetBEUI protocol from the PS110 administration utility. It appears that is no longer an issue, at least.

"Do you know of any such "community" for WinXP users looking for drivers?"

No, but the idea is that they'e done the legwork of identifying which components use which chipsets.

Update:

Windows 7: I was able to get the LaserJet printing through the PS110 print server in Win7 by disabling the NetBEIU protocol on the PS110. That was a nice surprise. But on the flipside, it turns out that getting the LaserJet printing through the print server wasn't the most challenging hurdle for us running Win7 after all. I was surprised to learn that Keyspan has been acquired by Tripp-Lite, who apparently has no interest in making a Win7 driver (let alone 64-bit) for our US-4A USB server. This little server provides bi-directional communication (for things like scanning and ink levels) between our USB Epson RX620 all-in-one and all the PC's on our home network. As long as that's part of the deal I guess we'll really need to keep all our PC's running on WinXP for a while yet.

Windows XP: I found a chipset driver for WinXP on the Intel support site for the "Intel(R) 82566DC-2 Gigabit Network Connection". I thought I was going to be home free after that, but not so fast! Trying to find the WinXP chipset software for the multi-function motherboard has been another matter entirely. Intel has a nice new utility to identify your hardware and confirm whether or not the right drivers are installed. They even give some direction for finding uninstalled drivers, but one of the necessary steps entails identifying the BIOS version of the motherboard. On this PC, all that information has been overwritten by Lenovo, essentially leaving me at the mercy of whether or not Lenovo wants to tell me what it was.

I called Lenovo's 24-hour support and some 30 minutes later was told there are no WinXP driver discs for this computer. The only thing I learned after all this is that the HD audio chip on the Intel motherboard was not a Realtek chip (like most Intel motherboards seem to use) but an ADI SoundMAX - a very helpful clue. Just as I was explaining that I needed to know the BIOS version, the phone connection was broken and I had to start over with somebody else. The second person was much more helpful in telling me that the BIOS of this motherboard was an "Intel 5 Series - 3400 Series to be more exact". I'll give that a try tonight and hope that that'll take care of most of the remaining yellow question marks in Device Manager.

Observation: Moving from WinXP to Win7 is not going to be easy for many small businesses, yet if they want newer and faster computers, driver support (or lack thereof) will likely cost them unanticipated time and money trying to resolve.