Downgrade question to XP x64

[Earle Horton]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 that came with Vista Home Premium Version 6.0
(Build 6000) installed. It has the AMD Athlon(t) 64 X2 Dual-Core Precessor
TK-55. I also have a copy of XP x64 that I haven't installed on anything
yet. I looked at the Dell support page on downgrading this machine, and
there are a number of steps listed plus some drivers that I will need. Now
my question is whether these drivers are compatible with the 64 bit version
of XP? I don't see any mention of 32-bit XP versus 64-bit XP on the Dell
page devoted to downgrading. I used to work for Microsoft, in NT system
development in fact, but that was a long time ago and I don't know anything
about the 64-bit system architecture. I assume that my copy of XP x64 is
compatible with the Athlon in my Dell because both have "x64" in the name,
but even that could be wrong.

Thanks for any comments.

Saludos cordiales,

Earle

 

[MowGreen [MVP]]

Earle,

Just checked Dell's support page for the Inspiron 1501. First driver
checked for XP x64 was for the SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio.

Release Title: Audio: SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio, Driver, Windows 2000,
Windows XP, Windows XP x64, Multi Language, Multi System, v.5.10.0.5515_RC22-WHQL, A11

Suggest you go over all of the drivers needed to confirm that they list
XP x64.
And yes, the system *should* be suitable for installing XP x64.
Would you please post the link to where Dell lists the steps/drivers
needed to install XP ?


MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============

 

[Earle Horton]

If the drivers you want to use don't specifically mention x64
compatibility then you must assume that they are not. You'll be better
off sticking with Vista x86 or switching to Vista x64 anyway, as Windows
XP x64 never really did get a lot of support from hardware
manufacturers. And you can't use Vista x64 drivers for XP x64 - they use
different drivers models and are incompatible with one another.

If you still intend to go back to XP (why?????), then stay with the
32-Bit version.

Vista is annoying because of the learning curve. They moved everything
around for no good reason, and I don't actually see any new "features" that
I am interested in. I'd also like to maintain compatibility or at least
similarity between my laptop and my various desktops. I was game to learn
the new interface until one day I turned it on and "The log on service was
unable to log you on." The user profile had mysteriously entered a "backup
state". The KB "workaround" was to delete the user profile and create a new
one. This system is a porquería.

It looks as if XP x64 might not be useful either, but I got it cheap enough.
Thanks.

Saludos cordiales,

Earle

 

[Earle Horton]

Earle,

Just checked Dell's support page for the Inspiron 1501. First driver
checked for XP x64 was for the SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio.


Suggest you go over all of the drivers needed to confirm that they list XP
x64.
And yes, the system *should* be suitable for installing XP x64.
Would you please post the link to where Dell lists the steps/drivers
needed to install XP ?

Thanks, I would probably have to find a driver for this Targus docking
station/port extender I use too.

Go to -- http://support.dell.com/
Click on -- See more Windows XP support from Dell
Click on -- How Do I Prepare My Dell Computer for a Clean Installation of
Microsoft® Windows XP?
Finally -- Downgrade the Operating System - Microsoft® Windows Vista® to
Windows® XP

There are errors on this page and some of the links don't work for IE 7, but
it tells you what you need to know. The URL for the page is

http://support.dell.com/support/top...d=9D823E71E54E4A63ACBEB0160A103C1B&l=en&s=gen

The same page also tells you how to find drivers.

Cheers,

Earle

 

[Bob Knowlden]

It looks like Dell did not offer the system with XP X64, and does not offer
Vista X64 drivers for download either.

I assume that if XP X64 isn't explicitly mentioned, all drivers are for the
32 bit OS.

That doesn't prove that the hardware cannot support a 64 bit OS, but it
probably means that you'd be completely on your own. (No support from Dell.
You'd need to hunt down compatible drivers for everything in the machine.)

Unless you need 64 bit features (like > 4 GB memory support), a downgrade to
plain old XP Pro would be recommended, although it'd cost you.

Return address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[P. Jayant]

I am doubtful if an earlier copy of XP could be used for downgrading from
Vista. I downgraded to XP just yesterday. But the Vista system refused to
read the files from the old XP installation CD and I had to use a fresh XP
installation disk which I had kept on pay-only-if-used basis ready with me.
The new XP CD of course did instant formatting of the HD.

Luckily all my documents, e-mails, videos, graphics were on a separate drive
and could be used after the downgrade.

P. Jayant