Downgrade from Vista to XP help

[funboy1975]

Hi,

After a while of tearing my hair out trying to get Vista to work
properly, I have come to the decision that maybe installing XP may be
the best solution. I have never had any issues with XP and feel safer
knowing my software won't bomb out on me halfway through a design job.

My laptop is 2 years old and came brand new from a high street retailer
with Vista Home Premium pre-installed on it (hence I do not have the
original vista install discs)

I wish to do a complete clean install wiping the whole machine to just
run XP.

Is this a pretty straight forward procedure? Or is downgrading from
this particular Vista-fitted laptop a bad idea?

My reasons for giving up on Vista are that i no longer get windows
updates installed correctly, Service Pack 1 won't even install on here,
I get blue screens constantly, the machine is really slow plus many more
annoying things. I've tried all the downloads possible to fix this via
the Microsoft website plus Microsoft Tech Support are about as reliable
as..well, need I say more.

My laptop details are:

Advent 7204 17"
Windows Vista Home Premium
1.73Ghz
2GB RAM

Any help as to whether this is a pretty straight forward procedure is
appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Malke]

Hi,

After a while of tearing my hair out trying to get Vista to work
properly, I have come to the decision that maybe installing XP may be
the best solution. I have never had any issues with XP and feel safer
knowing my software won't bomb out on me halfway through a design job.

My laptop is 2 years old and came brand new from a high street retailer
with Vista Home Premium pre-installed on it (hence I do not have the
original vista install discs)

I wish to do a complete clean install wiping the whole machine to just
run XP.

First step is to create the recovery disks so you can restore your computer
to factory condition. You should do this no matter what, unless you are
going to return the computer to where you bought it.

General information about replacing Vista with XP:

On an OEM (HP, Sony, etc.) computer:

1. Go to the OEM's website and look for XP drivers for your specific model
computer. If there are no XP drivers, then you can't install XP. End of
story. If there are drivers, download them and store on a CD-R or USB
thumbdrive; you'll need them after you install XP.

2. Check with the OEM - either from their tech support website or by calling
them - to see if you will void your warranty if you do this. If you will
void the warranty, you make the decision.

3. If the OEM does support XP on the machine, call them and see if you can
have downgrade rights and have them send you an XP restore disk. This will
be far the easiest and best way of getting XP on the machine.

4. If XP is supported on the machine but the OEM doesn't have an XP restore
disk for you, understand that you'll need to purchase a retail copy of XP
from your favorite online or brick/mortar store.

5. Also understand that you will need to do a clean install of XP so if you
have any data you want, back it up first.

6. If none of the above is applicable to you because you can't run XP on
that machine (see Item #1 above), return the computer and purchase one
running XP instead.

Malke

 

[DL]

The only way to install winxp is via a clean installation. However before
doing so you should check with the manufacturer of the Laptop as to whether
winxp drivers are avilable.
If you have had that many problems with Vista, that would tend to indicate
that you either have some other problems with your laptop or that you are
constantly 'fidling' with the files / setup and causing issues
Maybe think abour resetting your Laptop to factory settings, then allow
Vista to install critical updates only! *before you install anything* Once
done go to the manufacturers web site for your model to check whether there
are any driver critical updates required.
Only when the Laptop is functioning correctly install any of your programs

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

After a while of tearing my hair out trying to get Vista to work
properly, I have come to the decision that maybe installing XP may be
the best solution. I have never had any issues with XP and feel safer
knowing my software won't bomb out on me halfway through a design job.

My laptop is 2 years old and came brand new from a high street retailer
with Vista Home Premium pre-installed on it (hence I do not have the
original vista install discs)

Any particular reason you haven't sought redress from the OEM who
created all of your problems by either (a) installing Vista on
inadequate/incompatible hardware, (b) customized their implementation of
the OS so far as to render it unstable, or (c) provided incompatible
device drivers and/or applications? (I ask this because, when installed
on the proper hardware and when all device drivers and applications are
Vista-compatible, Vista is rock solid.)

I wish to do a complete clean install wiping the whole machine to just
run XP.

Is this a pretty straight forward procedure? Or is downgrading from
this particular Vista-fitted laptop a bad idea?

There could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of which you
should be aware. First and foremost, if the specific computer model in
question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no
WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse
components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the
availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an OEM-installed
operating system and replacing it with another will almost invariably
void any and all support agreements and, in rare cases, possibly even
the warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista
before getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the
computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there will be the
additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new
computer.

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part
of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific
device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the
backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are
WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.

--

Bruce Chambers

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