Vista Home Basic back to Xp Pro

[MERCILESSPIT]

No other threads satisfied this issue.

I'm sick of trying to work with Vista. It sucks. I disabled all of the necessary stuff (UAC, Defender, etc.) to try to gain control over my computer so that I don't ever have to see a "You need permission to...(fill in the blank)" dialog box again. Windows apparently thinks that I need protection from myself which is a crock of crap. Not to mention theres so many issues with Windows mail and live mail that I can't wait on it, I need my mail program to work properly as it's a part of my business. I want my Outlook Express back and I can't install it on this computer as long as Vista is running on it which also sucks (I'm rather frustrated as you can tell, I've dealt with this severely handicapped Vista OS for 4 months now).

What I need to know is what issues do I have to look out for when I format this hard drive and install XP Pro onto it?

I've read issues with drivers, what would be the best way of determining exactly what drivers I need to procure before I start? This computer is a stock Acer Aspire T180.

MERCILESSPIT wrote:

(snippage)

> What I need to know is what issues do I have to look out for when I
> format this hard drive and install XP Pro onto it?
>
> I've read issues with drivers, what would be the best way of
> determining exactly what drivers I need to procure before I start? This
> computer is a stock Acer Aspire T180.

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.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...alling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[MERCILESSPIT]

Thank you for the concise answer, I appreciate it. Best answer of all that I've had with my Vista problems.

"MERCILESSPIT" <MERCILESSPIT.3h1b3e@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:MERCILESSPIT.3h1b3e@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> No other threads satisfied this issue.
>
> I'm sick of trying to work with Vista. It sucks. I disabled all of
> the necessary stuff (UAC, Defender, etc.) to try to gain control over my
> computer so that I don't ever have to see a "You need permission
> to...(fill in the blank)" dialog box again. Windows apparently thinks
> that I need protection from myself which is a crock of crap. Not to
> mention theres so many issues with Windows mail and live mail that I
> can't wait on it, I need my mail program to work properly as it's a part
> of my business. I want my Outlook Express back and I can't install it
> on this computer as long as Vista is running on it which also sucks (I'm
> rather frustrated as you can tell, I've dealt with this severely
> handicapped Vista OS for 4 months now).
>
> What I need to know is what issues do I have to look out for when I
> format this hard drive and install XP Pro onto it?
>
> I've read issues with drivers, what would be the best way of
> determining exactly what drivers I need to procure before I start? This
> computer is a stock Acer Aspire T180.
>
>
> --
> MERCILESSPIT
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> MERCILESSPIT's Profile:
> http://forums.techarena.in/members/mercilesspit.htm
> View this thread:
> Vista Home Basic back to Xp Pro
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

In addition to Malke's excellent advice, the drivers at a minimum that you
will need are: Motherboard chipset, audio, video, scsi (if your hard drive
is that type), touchpad, special keyboard drivers (if you have specific keys
other than a standard layout), network adapter (both internal and wireless
as equipped.) Miss any of these and XP won't run properly.

Also, make sure you image your Vista hard drive before you dump it. Makes
it easier to rebuild the system with Vista exactly as you have it in case XP
doesn't work our.