Downgrading the Toshiba Satellite U305-S5077 to XP

2Jan/09107

Downgrading the Toshiba Satellite U305-S5077 to XP

I had to assist in the downgrading of a Toshiba Satellite U305-S5077 to Windows XP from Windows Vista last night, and it turns out that Toshiba does not make this convenient or easy, despite it being totally in their power to do so.

Here are the drivers you need, with handy links (in most cases, to Toshiba's own site, which should have this information, but does not.)

Update:Some users have reported these drivers to be non-working for their systems. I don't know if this means that some U305's are using new devices since I created this post, or if it's user error (I suspect a little of both.) So, please do take all due precautions when using these drivers, even though the majority of respondents here have reported them as operational.

Update, March 20, 2011: I appreciate all the folks taking time to thank me for this couple hours' worth of work. It really has been interesting to hear from some of the 9,329 people who --to date-- have been helped by this post.

But, that said, please DO NOT expect "custom support"; I have no particular interest in Toshiba laptops, nor am I regularly engaged in technical support, and so I DO NOT know how to help you with your specific model. I just figured I'd put this post up, and help others as a side benefit of the time I invested working on this machine for my cousin. In short, beyond helping point you to these drivers, and in the one case, actually hosting it, I cannot help you.

Many of these drivers have been reported to work for other "U305" models, but I do not and can not make any particular claim or warranty as to their suitability for use in models different from the actual Toshiba U305-S5077 that I actually personally put my hands on back in January 2009.

So, without further ado, here's the drivers:

Display Adapter:

win2k_xp14311.exe [link] (Note: downloaded from driverguide.com and personally verified.)

Audio adapter:

driver_audio_realtek_26359B.exe [link]

SM Bus (motherboard):

driver_chipset_intel_25916A.exe [link]

Card Reader:

driver_card_reader_26016C.exe [link]

util_sd_memory_26023A.exe [link]

Network Adapter:

driver_lan_realtek_26360A.exe [link]

Wi-Fi Adapter:

driver_wifi_atheros_26288A.exe [link]

Modem:

driver_modem_25766B.exe [link]

Touchpad:

Synaptics_Driver_v10_1_8_XP32.exe [link]

Camera:

util_camera_26013D.exe [link]

Tagged as: drivers, satellite, toshiba, windows xp Leave a comment

Comments (107) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

trevor
January 4th, 2009 - 20:52

You are amazing and so is this blog post! You saved my computer.
Mike Doyle
January 9th, 2009 - 23:53

Brandon,
Thanks a ton for doing stuff like this. It makes the world just a little bit better place.
(I’m looking at buying a Satellite L355 and would like to “downgrade” to XP but am a little intimidated by the difficulty in finding the right drivers…these links might point me to the places for the L355…at least that’s my hope.)
-Mike
TJ
January 14th, 2009 - 12:11

Thanks a million Brandon!!
Nebu
January 17th, 2009 - 16:10

i have download audio driver from the link but still doesn’t work … still no sound after i install it on my notebook, is there any solution bout ma problem ? i appreciate if u could help fix ma problem … thx
Carlos Martius
January 17th, 2009 - 21:45

Muito boa essa atitude de disponibilizar os drivers, muito obrigado.
Tenha um bom ano!
Abraço Amigo
Carlos Martius
bugtea
January 25th, 2009 - 22:57

thanks’ 1000x a lot
bugtea
January 26th, 2009 - 10:29

it’s so great
hilman
February 3rd, 2009 - 23:03

thank’s very very a lot Brandon
AGUSTIN LEGASSA
February 6th, 2009 - 13:57

Thanks…a lot.
Can you tell me please, how to know now the battery level?.
Every thing seems to be ok, but this thing is not there.

Thanks again
WindyMan
February 8th, 2009 - 01:41

This is fantastic info. I found a few of the drivers on my own but it’s nice to know there’s a page out there that sums up everything at once. I did run into a few issues with the self-extractors not working but unzipping them and running them off the file directly seemed to do the trick. Thanks a ton!
Brandon Dawson
February 12th, 2009 - 15:32

@AGUSTIN LEGASSA:

The power management settings, unless I’m very mistaken, should be built into Windows. Thus, you just need to tweak the setting that makes the tray icon display. Here’s some links:

http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/65465-win-xp-power-options-icon.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310578

@WindyMan:
Which ones are not working? I’d be happy to hunt down another copy of the display adapter driver (the only one that I’m personally hosting) if it’s problematic.

@All:

Thanks for the kudos.

As of now, there’s at least 450 people who’ve snagged the drivers via this page. I’m glad to have helped.
John
February 15th, 2009 - 11:10

Thanks Alot!! Saved me tons of time! Have a great year!
John E Burns
February 19th, 2009 - 10:02

You solved some issues, but my main one is that somebody else flashed the bios with a 5.0 flash for something, and it would not load Vista, or XP .
I flashed it back to 3.10 ( from Toshiba), and it still won’t go past “Windows Setup, Loading Windows ” , did the F6 thing at prompt, loaded the raid drivers for XP from Intel for Xp sp2, even loaded the front end of XP from 6 floppys , just gets to the same point, and freezes.
??????
Any Ideas ,
Thanks, John
Brandon Dawson
February 19th, 2009 - 12:38

@ John Burns

Is it an actual Toshiba BIOS, and not a third-party one? I’d check their support sites.

Beyond that, I’m not sure. I’ve not personally run into this one.
John E Burns
February 19th, 2009 - 13:43

Went to Intels site and downloaded SATA raid drivers and installed the one for XP SP2 , Installed at F6 Prompt via A: ( USB Floppy)- Left it in during the rest of install, it was accessed several times during install .
XP with SP2 installed , using your drivers everything but the network card is up and running, will deal with that later.
The reason that Vista would not re install is that it is installed on the disk, and was not available as a restore feature ( the bloatware probably would not fit on the restore DVD’s).
Thanks , More than you Know!!!
John
PS I went into the bios and turned on both sides of the processors before i did the install.
michael
February 22nd, 2009 - 09:16

Thanks man, u’re a life saver.
Zamper
February 24th, 2009 - 00:54

Muchisimas gracias por el link…
Estuve buscando por mucho tiempo hasta que di con esta pagina…
Muchos saludos a Brandon Dawson!
AGUSTIN LEGASSA
February 24th, 2009 - 14:39

Everything is working fine now. Thanks a lot.
Now my computer is fast enough.

I had to use a different audio driver, but it was easy to find.
Stones Jr.
March 1st, 2009 - 12:18

Brandon, thanks a lot !!
Manaus, Brazil
Henry
March 10th, 2009 - 01:35

thanks brandon, you’ve help me a lot, but there’s still one driver that i can’t find (ethernet controller) hope you could help me with this one. Again thanks
Brandon Dawson
March 10th, 2009 - 02:33

Try this one:

http://209.167.114.38/support/Download/files_downloads/psu30c/xp/Network%20Driver%20-%20Realtek-5.664.205.2007.zip

But beyond that, see if you can get any diagnostic info from the BIOS as to who exactly the ethernet controller manufacturer is.
RRC
March 17th, 2009 - 15:49

from Costa Rica, Muchas gracias, “thanks a lot”
Msun
March 31st, 2009 - 04:34

thank u brandon
u r amazing!
indra
April 4th, 2009 - 07:23

thank u brandondawson….
/\/[+]\/-\
April 4th, 2009 - 13:33

THANK YOU SOO MUCH SAVED MY COMP!
JC
April 6th, 2009 - 19:36

Thanks a lot!

from Monterrey, Mexico.
Mike
April 10th, 2009 - 05:08

Hi!

Your collection of drivers helped me a lot. I got to spend some time downgrading my satellite u305 as well and it was by sheer luck I stumbled upon your blog.

Although Id like to mention that you didnt include the video drivers. That it is easy enough to find!
Jared Edelson
April 18th, 2009 - 01:19

The audio driver does not work. Any suggestions?
Brandon Dawson
April 19th, 2009 - 19:51

Jared, I’d start by checking your product code or service tag against Toshiba’s site to make sure you actually have this specific model.

Sometimes, you’ll see limited-run sub-models that aren’t actually reflected on the service tag, but which come up as a different model when you actually check the OEM’s site.

Beyond that, you’re stuck in driver hell: sometimes, you have to get utilities that tell you the hardware ID of the hardware in question, and then start looking on that basis. Other times, you have to resort to the FCC ID.

It can be a pain.
lexall
April 21st, 2009 - 08:14

thank so much save my comp
shams
April 29th, 2009 - 02:23

thank you all but i have problems with my toshiba l355 laptop i installed windows xp sp2 alien spirit but everything is not working someone please please please help me help any kind one help me hey guys everyone who knows the site of the drivers for windows xp it will be very very kind of u to help me. thank you again every body and somebody please help me i am in danger with this laptop.
Toni Wicaksono
May 6th, 2009 - 03:26

Brandon, thanks a lot !!
Toni, Indonesia.
Thank you! Thank you!
May 13th, 2009 - 14:02

Thank you so so so very much. You saved me!!!
Greg
May 22nd, 2009 - 15:46

Thanks, but only three out of ten work, I get Error 0 running command install.exe. My laptop is dead in the water. I’ve loaded XP, but now I can’t get on the internet, no ethernet card, nothing. Let me know, thanks.
harry
May 24th, 2009 - 06:16

so simple but very good

thanks you so much
arpan karki
May 26th, 2009 - 00:50

i have a toshiba satellite U305-S5077. actually these days iam having a problem with sound, i need to install audio driver everyday. so if anyone can help me then i will be very grateful. thanx
azur
May 28th, 2009 - 09:39

thanx…VERY MUCHHHH
Joish
May 31st, 2009 - 13:32

Thanks, man!
soa
May 31st, 2009 - 14:05

THANKS YOU’RE THE GREATEST!!
Larry
June 2nd, 2009 - 22:32

Yes……yes yes yes….omg it works I have sound again thank you so muck just posting this sight was such a great public service. The Karma gods will be smiling down on you for sure
Bhanu
June 6th, 2009 - 23:59

Thanks a lot…. you ROCK..!!!!
D Hook
June 13th, 2009 - 14:26

When loading XP on a previous Vista L355, I couldn’t get past the BSOD when booting from the XP cd. Read somewhere else that you have to change the bios to “compatibility” under the RAID settings. This took me right on in and I got XP loaded.

Then went to the intel site and downloaded the series 4 chipset drivers and that gave me the video and sound. Then went to Realtek for the RTL8102e family for the ethernet. So far, it’s all good but now have to do it again because I screwed up the partitions and loaded XP on a small partition instead of where the original OS was. I’m a novice at laptops, to state the obvious.
Hardijanto
June 17th, 2009 - 05:28

Thanks for a lot for your shared………
Mustafa
July 21st, 2009 - 16:08

Thanks Brandon, you are the man.

Please check this page if you try alternate versions of some drivers.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=156311&page=3
mo
July 29th, 2009 - 15:53

HELP ME PLEASE!!!
I have a toshiba u305 s5077. It was working great until one day windows update prompted me to install updates and restart. When I restarted the laptop it would say needs recovery. Long story short I have installed the recovery 4 times and tried putting WIN XP SP@ on it but it taqkes about 10 hours to load and then doesn’twork again. PLease any help would work.. MEMORY and Harddrive have been replaced and still same issue
Freddy Garcia
August 23rd, 2009 - 23:13

You are great man!, Thanks a lot!!!!
Lawrence Yamikani Mtalika II
August 27th, 2009 - 01:55

Thanks a million. The drivers worked for my Satelitte U305-S5087 without any problems
candra
August 29th, 2009 - 09:49

thanx, it’s really help ….
Iqbal Leo
September 1st, 2009 - 09:49

Dear Brandon,

My U305-S5097 now back to normal.
Thank you very much. You have helped me so much..
Again, thank you!!
Aldrie
September 3rd, 2009 - 13:05

I have a problem with U305-S5087…
I cant find my audio device..
I have Installed correctly with the driver,, but it keeps doesnt work with the audio device…

Can someone tell me how to resolve this problem ???

please email me to dry_crushader@yahoo.com