Windows XP Pro downgrades from vista

[Kemptonian]

Hi I have one or two clients which prefer windows XP.
They have laptops and the machines are downgraded using recovery disks to XP
Pro.
I have had many problems with these machines and am wondering if others have
had problems as well. Even after getting the manufacturers out to "Update
the software" things still don't work properly. Do you think this is a
Microsoft problem or a Manufacturer software problem I suspect the later
however would like to know from anyone interested what, if any, problems they
have experienced in this matter.

 

[SC Tom]

Hi I have one or two clients which prefer windows XP.
They have laptops and the machines are downgraded using recovery disks to
XP
Pro.
I have had many problems with these machines and am wondering if others
have
had problems as well. Even after getting the manufacturers out to "Update
the software" things still don't work properly. Do you think this is a
Microsoft problem or a Manufacturer software problem I suspect the later
however would like to know from anyone interested what, if any, problems
they
have experienced in this matter.

As philo said, "many problems" and "things still don't work properly" is too
vague to be specific about a fix. A few things to consider, though:
1- Are the recovery disks specifically for these particular laptops and not
from a different model?
2- Have they ever had XP on them before?
3- After the downgrade, did you use the driver disk or the manufacturer's
web site to install/update the XP drivers?
4- Was this a clean install of XP, or did you try to do a non-destructive
downgrade to XP without wiping the disk?

SC Tom

 

[Bob I]

Does the manufacturer of the laptops support Windows XP on those
laptops. If so, then it is their task to straighten it out. If on the
other hand they don't support that configuration, you have a mess.

 

[Mark Adams]

Hi I have one or two clients which prefer windows XP.
They have laptops and the machines are downgraded using recovery disks to XP
Pro.
I have had many problems with these machines and am wondering if others have
had problems as well. Even after getting the manufacturers out to "Update
the software" things still don't work properly. Do you think this is a
Microsoft problem or a Manufacturer software problem I suspect the later
however would like to know from anyone interested what, if any, problems they
have experienced in this matter.

I would think that XP should install on just about any modern hardware.
Whether or not you can use that install depends on the availability of proper
drivers.

Go to the website of the manufacturer of the laptops and download the XP
drivers for those machines. Save them to a flash drive or burn to CD. Replace
the hard drive with a new one and install XP on it with a genuine Microsoft
unbranded XP install CD (doesn't matter if OEM, Upgrade, or Full Retail).
Install the drivers and SP3. Turn on the Windows firewall and connect to the
internet; play the games included with XP; do whatever you can do with XP
without any applications installed to test stability. If it hangs, freezes,
or balks; there is a hardware or driver problem.

Put on some applications that are used on the problem machines. If they run
fine, I'd say there might be a problem with the recovery disks. If the
applications still don't work properly, I'd say there is conflict between
them and the operating system or between each other (more likely, I think)

 

[Kemptonian]

Thanks Mark

I agree XP should run on most modern machines however trying to get drivers
from manufacturers without all the funny utilities and other software they
are punting is like pulling teeth on a hen. LOL

Thanks again.

 

[Mark Adams]

Thanks Mark

I agree XP should run on most modern machines however trying to get drivers
from manufacturers without all the funny utilities and other software they
are punting is like pulling teeth on a hen. LOL

Thanks again.

If the manufacturers support XP on those machines, then they should have
drivers available separate from the utilities. Sometimes it is a little
difficult to figure out what are drivers and what are utilities due to poor
wording on the website descriptions.
Nevertheless, XP should install because you must have an operating system
first in order to install drivers for it. If XP hangs during the install;
there is likely a hardware failure.
If there aren't any drivers available for the machine; what's the point?

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I wouldn't even think of downgrading a Vista laptop to WinXP unless the
manufacturer included the downgrade.

PS: What "recovery disks" did you use anyway?