Can WinXP be installed on a pre-loaded Vista PC?

[Ram]

My new Desktop PC (Compaq Presario SR2109UK) came pre-loaded with Windows
Vista Home Premium. Can I remove Vista and install Windows XP? Will I have
to install special hardware (graphics, audio, etc.) drivers for XP? The PC
did not come with any installation CDs and the Vista Operating System had a
backup on a separate partition in the Hard Disk. I checked on the internet
for motherboard drivers; there are none available for Windows XP. Does this
mean I have no way of installing Windows XP? So I am told by the PCWorld
Technician who sold me the PC but I wish to get confirmation from more
knowledgeable experts on the newsgroup. Can someone out there kindly
enlighten me?

 

[Richard Urban]

You must have the requisite drivers available for the O/S you plan to
install. If your M/B is new the chance is good that drivers for it are NOT
included in Windows XP, which is 5-6 years old. Even if Windows XP install
you may be running at a reduced functionality due to the lack of specialized
drivers.

Are you certain that there are no M/B drivers for WinXP for the M/B you have
purchased? Have you checked their support web site?

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

 

[Mac]

Yes, but why would you want to?

 

[NotMe]

Believe it or not, not everyone likes Vista.
I have it on only one of the many machines that I use regularly.
I have used Vista in BETA, RC and RTM versions for over a year.
It hasn't grown on me a bit.
I use it because I have to support it, not because I have found any
redeeming qualities in it.
Know how to use it, Yes; like to use it, NO!

Opinions are like rectums, everyone has one, and I have yet to find one that
doesn't stink...

 

[Mac]

Why not reply to the OP with helpful advice? Because you can't.

The OP can't get XP drivers for the new machine.

My conclusion is that the OP should take the machine back for a full refund.
Or learn to live with it.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

HP (www.hp.com) lists only Vista drivers for this product.

However, they also list the mainboard as an Asus A8M2N-LA.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...31&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3344579&lang=en

That doesn't match any of the retail products that I see from Asus. (Omit
the A8 to see some similar products for Socket AM2.) It appears to be a
design specific to HP/Compaq.

You can download XP drivers for the 430 chipset and the 6150LE graphics from
www.nvidia.com. The LAN controller is supposed to be Marvell; I think that
you want the Yukon drivers from www.marvell.com. The audio drivers are the
HD Audio ones from www.realtek.com.

I presume that any other drivers that you need are available for download,
once you've identified the hardware.

My question is: do you really need to go through all this? Vista is still
having some teething problems, but I imagine that Microsoft and the
third-party vendors will have it sorted reasonably soon. XP was far from
trouble free, six years ago.

HTH.

Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn to reply.

 

[will_s]

My new Desktop PC () came pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium. Can
I remove Vista and install Windows XP? Will I have to install special
hardware (graphics, audio, etc.) drivers for XP? The PC did not come with
any installation CDs and the Vista Operating System had a backup on a
separate partition in the Hard Disk. I checked on the internet for
motherboard drivers; there are none available for Windows XP. Does this
mean I have no way of installing Windows XP? So I am told by the PCWorld
Technician who sold me the PC but I wish to get confirmation from more
knowledgeable experts on the newsgroup. Can someone out there kindly
enlighten me?

First thing I would do is to clone the current drive.................then
you can play around.

I would then get something like Everest ( its free for home users ) to find
out what exactly I have in my Desktop. Then I would do a search for
drivers for each component............and then you can try and install XP
but you will have a clone available if things go wrong.
In any case even if you decide to keep Vista I would still do a clone of the
hard drive

 

[Mac]

Why?

First thing I would do is to clone the current drive.................then
you can play around.

I would then get something like Everest ( its free for home users ) to
find out what exactly I have in my Desktop. Then I would do a search for
drivers for each component............and then you can try and install XP
but you will have a clone available if things go wrong.
In any case even if you decide to keep Vista I would still do a clone of
the hard drive

 

[will_s]

why what ? be specific or kindly go and annoy someone else

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My new Desktop PC (Compaq Presario SR2109UK) came pre-loaded with
Windows Vista Home Premium. Can I remove Vista and install Windows XP?

If you don't mind voiding your warranty and support agreements, perhaps.

Will I have to install special hardware (graphics, audio, etc.) drivers
for XP?

Most definitely. And, if the PC was designed solely with Vista in
mind, there may well not be any WinXP-specific drivers.





--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[NotMe]

And your smart alec reply was helpful?
Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black...
--
A Professional Amateur...If anyone knew it all, none of would be here!
(e-mail address removed)
Change Alpha to Numeric to reply

Why not reply to the OP with helpful advice? Because you can't.

The OP can't get XP drivers for the new machine.

My conclusion is that the OP should take the machine back for a full
refund. Or learn to live with it.

<snip>

 

[hogyu]

Forgive me for sounding a bit skeptical, but I wonder if a motherboard
manufacturer is really willing to give up the market for people using recent
but not current operating systems (or Linux, for that matter) by not
providing drivers for XP. I wonder if the OP has gone to the motherboard
manufacturer's site or just to Dell's?

If your answer is indeed correct -- the chances are good that the maker has
orphaned XP and earlier OSs -- I will be surprised and saddened but wiser.

 

[Rock]

Forgive me for sounding a bit skeptical, but I wonder if a motherboard
manufacturer is really willing to give up the market for people using
recent but not current operating systems (or Linux, for that matter) by
not providing drivers for XP. I wonder if the OP has gone to the
motherboard manufacturer's site or just to Dell's?

If your answer is indeed correct -- the chances are good that the maker
has orphaned XP and earlier OSs -- I will be surprised and saddened but
wiser.

Yes, many if not most of the big OEMs are producing new models for which
they do not provide XP drivers. Some models will support both, and some
OEMs still have models that come with XP.

 

[Ram]

I am indeed thankful for all the replies/comments that have been posted in
response to my query. Let me first explain why I posted such a query. I
wished to remove Vista and install XP as a first step to installing a dual
system. I understand you can add Vista to XP but not the other way round. I
still need XP to run some of my software for which Vista upgrades are either
just not available or cost far too much in proportion to the benefits
offered. Now that it is becoming increasingly clear that modern PCs with
pre-installed Vista cannot accommodate XP since drivers for XP are not
available, I wished I had not disposed of my old (XP compatible) PC. Now, I
guess I will have to live with Vista and do a few more software upgrades.

 

[Rock]

I am indeed thankful for all the replies/comments that have been posted in
response to my query. Let me first explain why I posted such a query. I
wished to remove Vista and install XP as a first step to installing a dual
system. I understand you can add Vista to XP but not the other way round. I
still need XP to run some of my software for which Vista upgrades are
either just not available or cost far too much in proportion to the
benefits offered. Now that it is becoming increasingly clear that modern
PCs with pre-installed Vista cannot accommodate XP since drivers for XP are
not available, I wished I had not disposed of my old (XP compatible) PC.
Now, I guess I will have to live with Vista and do a few more software
upgrades.

<snip>

Yes you can install XP after Vista. It is recommended to install the older
OS first but it still can be done the other way around. See these links to
get you started:

Install Windows XP in a Dual Boot with Pre-installed Windows Vista
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/about88231.html

Install Windows XP On A Machine Already Running Windows Vista
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install_windows_xp_on_machine_running_vista.htm

Know that there is an issue when dual booting Vista and XP. If the XP
installation can see the Vista partition, then whenever booting into XP the
Vista restore points, shadow copies and some of the backups created in Vista
are deleted. See this link for info on how to prevent this.

System Restore points and other recovery features in Windows Vista are
affected when you dual-boot with Windows XP
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/dualboot.html

 

[Ram]

I am indeed thankful for all the replies/comments that have been posted in
response to my query. Let me first explain why I posted such a query. I
wished to remove Vista and install XP as a first step to installing a dual
system. I understand you can add Vista to XP but not the other way round. I
still need XP to run some of my software for which Vista upgrades are either
just not available or cost far too much in proportion to the benefits
offered. Now that it is becoming increasingly clear that modern PCs with
pre-installed Vista cannot accommodate XP since drivers for XP are not
available, I wished I had not disposed of my old (XP compatible) PC. Now, I
guess I will have to live with Vista and do a few more software upgrades.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I am indeed thankful for all the replies/comments that have been posted in
response to my query. Let me first explain why I posted such a query. I
wished to remove Vista and install XP as a first step to installing a dual
system. I understand you can add Vista to XP but not the other way round. I
still need XP to run some of my software for which Vista upgrades are
either
just not available or cost far too much in proportion to the benefits
offered. Now that it is becoming increasingly clear that modern PCs with
pre-installed Vista cannot accommodate XP since drivers for XP are not
available, I wished I had not disposed of my old (XP compatible) PC. Now, I
guess I will have to live with Vista and do a few more software upgrades.

Dual-booting is no longer necessary in such situations.

Why not download a Virtual Machine, such as Microsoft's VirtualPC 2007
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...02-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6&DisplayLang=en)
or Innotek's VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) and run WinXP and
your legacy applications within a virtual computer. Both are free and
work with Vista.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ram]

Thanks, Bruce, for your advice about Virtual Machine. I looked up both the
references you have quoted and confess that a lot of it went over my head at
first reading. I will study them again but just a quick question here. Am I
right in thinking that with Virtual Machine I can install Windows XP on my
Vista PC, despite the problem of XP not recognizing the motherboard drivers?

 

[Ram]

Thank you for your detailed note. I shall now sit back and take in all the
positive suggestions and then decide on the line of action to be taken. This
has been very educational and once again my gratitude to all writers on this
posting.

 

[Bill]

Dual-booting is no longer necessary in such situations.

Why not download a Virtual Machine, such as Microsoft's VirtualPC 2007
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...02-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6&DisplayLang=en)
or Innotek's VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) and run WinXP and
your legacy applications within a virtual computer. Both are free and
work with Vista.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand
Russell

Bruce

I was interested in your suggestion re virtual PC 2007, but my initial
reading of the link seems to indicate it is not suitable for Vista Home
Premium.

I upgraded my XP Home machine (no windows.old visable) and was thinking of
reverting to XP Home, and Virtual PC sounds like a better option.

Is my reading of the system requirements correct?

Bill