Question for computer gurus...

[Lady Effingbroke]

I recently purchased a laptop. Unfortunately it came with Vista, and I would like to upgrade to XP.

Will the drivers for Vista work with XP, or am I stuck with Vista?

Thanks for any & all replies!

[mwooldri]

1. "upgrade" to XP :) *grin*

I know what you mean, I know what you mean...

No you're not stuck with Vista. Depends on how "homegrown" your XP install has got to be. If you're being forced to buy your own copy of XP and install that way then before you even attempt the process, go to your manufacturers' website and download what XP drivers they have to offer, burn them to CD/DVD and then go with the install. XP is good at auto-detecting most hardware but if the laptop is brand spanking new XP won't auto-detect the latest hardware and will either detect it as an earlier version and get partial functionality or none at all.

Your worst case scenario for a XP install is that none of the hardware is recognized - no video, no audio, no network, maybe in rare circumstances no CD/DVD or interface devices. If your install goes through and you get to see a picture albeit crappy and you have keyboard, mouse/pointer device and CD working then as long as you've downloaded your drivers first then you can get everything else installed and working. If your pointer device on the laptop doesn't work then if you have a PS/2 mouse and the laptop has a PS/2 connection then that'll get things going (usually) until you get the pointer drivers installed. If the CD/DVD drive quits working then it gets harder. Chances are good though that your XP install will go relatively smoothly if you have to home grow it on a newer machine, but video, sound and wireless networking drivers will probably need to be updated/installed.

Another option is to call the manufacturer and see what downgrade options they can sell you. If they can get you a disk that you can slot in and do an auto-downgrade then that would be the easiest way of all.

Of course you could screw Microsoft altogether. Ubuntu's looking pretty good these days, and if all you're doing on the laptop is surfing the 'net, and using office applications then Ubuntu's able to cope with this. However given this, Microsoft software for all its bugs and nuisances is pretty ubiquitous and sticking with it can be safe and somewhat easy.

Mark.

[Droopy]

3. Jesus. I think I'd learn to like Vista.

:crazy:

[JCMach1]

4. Do a dual boot with Ubuntu...

[Lady Effingbroke]

8. That is what I would like to do.

Ideally, it will be a dual-boot with Ubuntu (or some similar flavor of Linux) and XP, but if I can't get that to work, then I suppose it must be Vista+Ubuntu.

[hobbit709]

5. Shouldn't be any problem as long as you can find the drivers.

I've done this for several people and the only hassle was Toshiba-they only list vista drivers. It took about 2 hours of searching the web but I finally found drivers that worked. Hp-Compaq, Dell, and Gatway were no problem.

[ikojo]

2. Put the laptop and everything it came

with into the box.
Go back to where you bought it from

Get a Mac

[Redstone]

7. That's the best option. Then buy Parallels and Win XP if she really needs Windows,

and she's all set.

I've been running Virtual PC on my Macs for years (which isn't even as fast as Parallels in a Intel-based Mac), and Windows folks are always surprised to the that XP runs faster in emulation on my Mac than it does on native Wid=ndows computers.

Redstone

[Redstone]

6. Hey, where you been? Haven't seen you for a while. As to your question, from what I

understand, there's no "drivers" issue, because what you'll need to do is wipe Vista completely off the computer and do a fresh install of XP.

I'm not a Windows expert, but I read a lot of computer trade magazines, and it sems like lots of people are doing just that.

Redstone

[Lady Effingbroke]

9. Hi Redstone!

I've been very busy with work (and soon to become even more busy).

I looked at Macs, and seriously considered buying one. They are very beautiful. Sadly, they are also very expensive.

For myself, a dual-boot of XP+Linux would be most practical, but if that doesn't work, I suppose it will be Vista+Linux.

So how have you been?

:hi:

[Redstone]

11. I've been doing well, thanks for asking. Hey, have you considered a used Mac? They're not

too expensive, and can be damn reliable. For example, I have a PowerBook that I bought in 1998 (!) and still use all the time.

I've found Mega Macs (www.megamacs.com) to be a great source for used Macs. (I buy a dozen or so of the REAL CHEAP old ones from them once a year or so, load them up with games, and send them to my friend who runs a network of battered women's shelters. I figure it's good for the kids to have something to do when they move to the shelter with Mom.)

Redstone

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Go back to where you bought and ask them if...

they will install XP for you, or if you can exchange the thing for an XP laptop.

XP is NOT dead, and Microsoft has allowed vendors to install it in new computers until at least this December.

One thing, though-- make sure it's XP Pro they give you. It's more stable and more useful than Home.