Has anyone here switched from Vista back to XP?

[paulk]

I use my computers to make music. My main computer, which is seven years old, had been acting very strangly, refusing to run certain programs properly and generally had become unusable - so I reluctantly decided I needed a new computer. I was willing to go with a new OS, even though I've heard plenty of bad things about Vista.

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to use my soundcard in the new computer, but EMU had Vista drivers for it, and it seems to work just fine.

What doesn't work is the sequencer/DAW. I use Steinberg Cubase SX3 - and it doesn't work with Vista. Vista is not supported - and it doesn't look like Steinberg is going to put out a newer version that will support it. I have years of work done on that platform, not to mention two projects that are both 90% done and which are now completely dead in the water.

I don't have a choice - I need a computer that runs XP.

--------------------------------

The obvious thing to do is install XP on the new computer - the question is - how? What pitfalls can I expect? How much of my hair will I pull out?

So I was wondering if there was anyone on this forum who has done a Vista back to XP install or who could point me to an article or website that tells one how to go about this. Any help would be appreciated!

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. The trickiest part is finding the correct device drivers

If a driver install cd was not included with the computer, you will need to identify the motherboard model and the make and model of any add-on hardware (your sound card, for example). Once that is known it will be easier to locate the drivers you need to successfully install XP and get everything working.

A good freeware utility that can be used to get the mobo info can be downloaded at http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Another good utility to identify and track down drivers for all your related hardware can be found at http://driver-genius.en.softonic.com/

Locate and download all of your drivers before you begin. Put them onto a cd or flash drive and then have fun.

Don't forget to do all the XP updates after it's installed- it's best to take care of this before installing your other software.

One last bit of advice: DO NOT FORGET TO BACK UP YOUR FILES BEFORE REFORMATTING YOUR HARD DRIVE. I'm talking documents, photos, mp3s, and project files, along with anything else you don't want to lose.

[progressoid]

2. I feel your pain

I'm going through this with an HP at the moment. My first attempt at an XP install wasn't too successful. I finally found a business forum on HP's site that had some tips and links to drivers. I'm about to give it another try.

BTW, I just found out that only XP pro will work on my new HP because it has dual processors. Luckily I have a legit copy of xp pro.

And this site: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040318 says that I can't "downgrade" to XP if I have Vista Home installed. We shall see. :)

Good luck!

[paulk]

3. I wimped out.

The HP I was looking at - apparently the chipset won't work with Vista - no drivers. Or at least that's what I understood. Maybe it would have worked with pro instead of premium (which is what I have). I wasn't willing to find out...

So microcenter had a big sale on dell inspirons loaded with XP. Two extra gigs of RAM and I've got a new computer for less than $500. No driver or software issues and it's easily twice as fast as my old one.


The new set up should be good for another 5 years or so - by then maybe steinberg will have a vista version of SX and microsoft will have fixed the bugs in Vista. Of course by then they'll have an even newer and buggier OS out...

[progressoid]

4. I crapped out.

Driver issues etc. :grr: Now I'm wondering if I can do a dual boot thing. I really dislike vista!

Sounds like you got a better deal than I did for your $500.

[JPettus]

9. I dual-booted mine

Between Vista and Ubuntu 7.10. Works great. I seldom need or use Vista but there are somethings it's easier to do in that than in Ubuntu, such as writing to dual layer DVDs. It was taking forever to figure out in Ubuntu but I booted to Vista and it found and formatted the DVD and allowed me to write a very large file to it. Both Brasero and Gnomebaker were seeing the DVD as a regular single layer with only 4.7 GB of space available.

[MyNameGoesHere]

7. I have not heard of 1 instance

of vista not working on a particular modern chip set (within 2-3 years). Please give some more info?

[paulk]

8. sorry, that was a typo

I meant the chipset in the new HP won't work with XP.

[CK_John]

5. I would suggest you get a new HD before you start. It will insure a current backup and

the cost is only about 50-80 dollars. The HD should match the type SATA or ATA and only needs to be as large as the current used area plus 50% most 40 to 80 gigs would be enough. I just got used 40g sata for $27 plus 8 dollars shipping on eBay.

You can check current usage by right clicking on the c drive and click on proprieties. A chart of used and free space will show.

If you do not have a second HD be sure you can reinstall Vista as is, or at worst factory reinstall. You need Recovery CD/DVD if they came with your machine or contact the support web site for the make and model of your machine or call their support number.

I know of at least 3 laptops in working order with no working OP systems.

Useful links for an adapter and clone software(large download).

Adapter Link
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812156102>

Acronis Link
<http://www.download.com/Acronis-True-Image-Home/3000-2242_4-10168093.html>

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

6. Thats what I did

When I was looking for a laptop, I found one that had two hard drives (HP Pavilion DV9500). It came with Vista and no DVDs.. Vista is "alright" but too many things are different in this OS, I put that hard drive on the shelf and installed Windows XP SP2 on the remaining one. Got every thing working.

Later on I'll put in another drive for stuff, right now I have an USB sticking out of the side.