Dell Inspiron 1501 Windows XP compatibility

Dell supports Windows XP (has drivers) for this model.  HERE is the drivers downloads.

When you install, the correct and required install sequence is (1) Install Windows (2) Install Dell Laptop System Software (3) Install motherboard chipset drivers (4) Install Device drivers including video, Dell sound, Ethernet, etc.

Installing XP will corrupt the Dell recovery partition on the hard drive you will not be able to reinstall Vista, if you wanted to, unless you have discs.  Many users that want to install a different operating system install a new hard drive and install on that, and keep the Dell disc in case they want to go back to the original OS or want to sell the PC with the original Dell hard drive installed.

BTW, edit your post and remove the service tag number, that is considered personal data and forbidden on the forum.

Thank you for your reply, I removed the tag number, I had wrote it just for the info :emotion-15:

The laptop did not come with Vista installed on it... Someone installed Vista for me and at that time, he told me that it only works best with Vista

I read somewhere that I could have some problems with the SATA hardware

"Note that if you get an error message indicating Windows was unable to detect any hard drives on your system, it's because XP lacks the necessary drivers for newer SATA hardware. Unfortunately, there's no easy workaround. Although your PC vendor should have the drivers you need, you may have to attach a floppy drive to load them during XP installation. You boot from the XP CD, hit F6 when prompted, and hope the system is able to pull the drivers off the attached floppy drive. This can be a hit-or-miss affair. If you run into trouble, hit Google — or sweet-talk your local PC guru —for additional help" 

Here's the link to that article

http://www.informationweek.com/news/205101355?pgno=2

Does this apply to Dell Inspiron too?

Yes, ANY SATA drive can have issues with XP.    See if the info in THIS will help.

BTW, we are users helping users on here, not Dell employees.

Hi

The 1501 does not have sata drivers it is stuck on {ata mode} in the bios so no need for sata drivers !!

XP will install just fine !!

Good Luck