Can someone please help me downgrade Vista to XP!??!??!

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Can someone please help me downgrade Vista to XP!??!??!

Tahnee

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#21424 26-Apr-2008 09:39

I have read forums, called M.S. and tried everything that I could think of to downgrade vista to xp. I am pretty sure that vista was installed on this computer when my aunt got it, it is a fairly new compaq with vista home basic. I have xp home edition. I would reallllly appreciate it if someone could please explain to me how to do this.

Thank you,
Tahnee

freitasm

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#126433 26-Apr-2008 09:43

If you have a Windows install disc and the proper Windows key then you can just install it over the current partition.

However you will need all the drivers for this machine - you can download drivers from the manufacturer's site, but if the machine is really new then those may not be available for Windows XP - making it actually impossible to install it successfuly.

You need to have those drivers on another disc - CD, external HDD, so that you can use them after installing Windows XP - the machine may not recognise the network adapters without the correct drivers, making it impossible to connect and download anything until you install the driver.

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CYaBro

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#126434 26-Apr-2008 09:45

The problem you will have, since it came with Vista Home Basic, is that there may not be drivers available for Windows XP.
What is the model number of the Compaq?
You may be able to find an equivalent model that comes with Vista Business, which usually means that there will be drivers for XP.

Another problem will be that Windows XP disc won't have the drivers for the SATA controller so the install won't even see the hard drive.
You would need to create your own XP disc with the SATA drivers "slipstreamed" onto it.
I have done this for my own Acer laptop using nLite.

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grant_k

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#126448 26-Apr-2008 10:47

CYaBro: Another problem will be that Windows XP disc won't have the drivers for the SATA controller so the install won't even see the hard drive.
You would need to create your own XP disc with the SATA drivers "slipstreamed" onto it.

I tried creating a Slipstreamed XP disc, very carefully followed the instructions, but just ended up with a frisbee

In the end, just set the SATA controller to IDE emulation in the BIOS, and away we went. If your HDD has previously been formatted using native SATA mode, you will lose all the data on it, but that's a small price to pay for having XP working again

CYaBro

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#126458 26-Apr-2008 11:22

grant_k:
CYaBro: Another problem will be that Windows XP disc won't have the drivers for the SATA controller so the install won't even see the hard drive.
You would need to create your own XP disc with the SATA drivers "slipstreamed" onto it.

I tried creating a Slipstreamed XP disc, very carefully followed the instructions, but just ended up with a frisbee

In the end, just set the SATA controller to IDE emulation in the BIOS, and away we went. If your HDD has previously been formatted using native SATA mode, you will lose all the data on it, but that's a small price to pay for having XP working again

Yea you can do that too but I've found that a lot of laptops don't always have that option in the BIOS.

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freitasm

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#126466 26-Apr-2008 11:41

Windows XP SP2 install disks have standard SATA drivers already built-in.

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CYaBro

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#126480 26-Apr-2008 13:12

freitasm: Windows XP SP2 install disks have standard SATA drivers already built-in.

Standard being the operative word there.
My Acer laptop has an Intel chipset and I used a Windows XP SP2 CD but it would not detect the HDD until I slipstreamed in the Intel SATA drivers on a new CD.

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Tahnee

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#126552 27-Apr-2008 11:46

Congrats to me!!

I downgraded it and now the local area connection is missing and I called HP and they said that there isn't any drivers for xp that can be used on my computer, so I really have absolutely no idea what I am gonna do..

johnr

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#126554 27-Apr-2008 11:52

Go back to vista

manhinli

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#126556 27-Apr-2008 11:54

What is the LAN device named in Device Manager?

What's the laptop model? - need it to find the specifications

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