DavidplHinds wrote:
> hello all, i have a question or 2 , i have both a desktop with Xp (
> 1.9ghz amd proccessor,1 gig ram ) and a brand new laptop with vista
> (1.67 ghz, 2 gigs ram ), and my xp boots up a lot faster then the
> laptop, i dont have any of the bells and whistles runnin on the vista
> OS, i have ran a few diagnostics and they all say vista is running
> ok, but i know better, , i also have a genuine copy of XP which is
> installed on the desktop,
>
> question # 1, can i install the genuine XP OS that i have on the
> laptop, or do i have to buy another genuine XP OS,
>
> question #2 if i re format the HD ( 160 GIGS) on the laptop how much
> trouble will i have gettin XP to install , i have read that there are
> some issues if one installs XP over a Vista HD
>
> thanks for you help in advance
Well in theory you can use the XP CD to do this but will have to "Buy" a
license, this is likely to be more hassle than just going to a store and
buying a CD, if you can find one that sells it.
Also in theory your CD key will eventually fall foul of WGA / WPA if you
try installing it on both machines, but then that also happens to people
who have perfectly legal installations (Like me) so it's a bit
indeterminate whether you should try buying a key, try buying another CD
or just install it and wait for activation to force you to call
Microsoft and buy a key

I really am beginning to wonder if MS have
opted for a kind of "Nigerian Scam" scenario whereby they "Spam" every
legal system periodically in the hopes that lots of people fall for it
and just pay
If you format the drive no trouble, boot from the CD and just format it,
of course you cannot save files / settings etc.
The issues will be finding drivers that may not be included with XP, so
you need to check the laptop maker's website for XP compatible drivers
now, before you even start, get them onto a CD because you may not get
networking back without them.
You probably WILL invalidate your warranty, if you care about that then
you have to be prepared to put Vista back and therefore need a copy of
the original media or disk Partition it is on.
What do you use the laptop for and does anything specifically have to me
compatible with existing software you use? You could use another OS for
most things except games which would basically cost you nothing at all
except a download and a blank CD-R.