vista to xp

Clarifications

If this XP disk is a restore disk supplied by the manufacturer, it must be one that came with that particular computer and no other.

Many computer vendors will provide a [i]downgrade[/i] OS (XP Pro) to purchasers who are fed up with Vista. If that is what you obtained, it should work for your machine.

Personally, I prefer to use an installation/recovery CD/DVD for operating system repair, and not a [i]recovery partition[/i] on the hard drive. What good is a [i]recovery partition[/i] if the hard drive croaks?

So I would echo ThumbsUp2 (she said it all in far fewer words)

1) Verify that you have the correct XP installation CD for that machine.

2) Consider [i]wiping[/i] the hard drive to eradicate all traces of Vista code, and to eliminate the recovery partition. An excellent free utility for this purpose is Darik's Nuke & Boot:

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

Create a bootable CD from the [i]iso[/i] file download with the free utility CDBurnerXP:

http://cdburnerxp.se/

Follow these instructions to create a bootable CD from the [i]iso[/i] file:

http://tinyurl.com/4f3coa

Good luck.

Rick/Portland, OR

Is that all the required drivers are not on the Install Disc so you need to either use a M$ Branded Install Disc and then install the required Drivers or th Restore Disc that came with that computer.

As you want to move from Vista to XP and Upgrade Windows to something suitable for the business you need a M$ Branded Install Disc as this has Default Drivers for all hardware. System Restore Disc's do not have this option or the required drivers for all the available hardware.

At this point you would be better off performing a Wipe of the HDD and then if you have the correct Install Media start from Scratch with XP.

You can get a copy of Boot & Nuke free here to wipe the HDD.

http://tinyurl.com/4rfur

Just make sure to get the version that supports the hardware you are using. So if you have a Floppy Drive available the Floppy version will be what you want but you'll need a Install Disc as well and if you only have a Optical Drive available you'll need the CD Version. If your hardware supports Booting from a USB Stick then the USB Version will be what you require.

When you have wiped the drive you will need to obtain the SATA Driver for the M'Board and XP so this will have to be downloaded as XP doesn't Natively Support SATA Drives if the M'Board that comes with the computer needs this.

But as you have not provided much to work with it would probably be a better idea to wipe the HDD and then with the Restore Disc that came with the computer reload Vista. When you have Vista installed open the Control Panel and make a List of all the Hardware that you have in this particular computer and try to find the XP Drivers for this Hardware. The Computers Makers Web Site may have this if it is a System from the Big Suppliers like HP, Dell and so on. They may even have a XP Restore Disc for this model that you can buy from them for a few $.

If you didn't make any Restore or Recovery Disc's from the Vista install you will be in a bit of a problem as you really need to know what hardware you need to find drivers for though looking at the System Makers Web Site could help as they will list Vista Drivers that you will them need to list and look for XP Drivers for the same Hardware.

If you don't have a M$ Install Disc of XP don't try to use that as it will not work. So if you cannot return the system to Vista you will have to source a M$ Branded XP Pro Install Disc as I'm assuming that this will have to be connected to a domain when at work so Home is out of the question and start again with a clean install without an existing OS in place. If you have a M$ Branded Install Disc you will need to wipe the HDD and start again.

If you post back with the full details of the Computer and the type of XP Install Disc you have we will try to help you but we need this information so we can tell you how to proceed.

OH another difference between MAC and PC is that there is a mass of different Hardware involved with a PC where as the MAC being a Propriety System is very limited in the different Hardware involved so the Same Install Disc can work on all of the Apple Products.

Col

First, did you find and download all the XP version device drivers for the system?

Some new hardware does not have XP compatible drivers.

Second, did you format the hard drive?
Personally, I would install a new hard drive and start over with a fresh load of XP.

What you may also need to do, is hit the F6 key and load the IDE or SATA driver for this system. The default XP storage drivers may not be able to work with the hardware on this board.

Chas

1)Check all your hardware installations to insure they are compatible to XP,

To delete the partition Windows XP may be referencing an invalid entry in your boot.ini file. Log on to the operating system that allows you to boot to Windows. At start (lower left corner of the desktop screen), click run and type msconfig. At the boot.ini tab, click check all boot paths. If all are ok, Windows will state that and prompt you to restart. If not, you will be asked to remove the invalid entry. Check the spelling of the os name, delete the invalid entry when prompted and restart the computer.