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Gil Manwaring
2 Posts
0
2004
May 21st, 2007 13:00
REMOVING VISTA
I received my new DELL inspiron laptop with VISTA installed and noticed that many of my older programs will install correctly due to compatibility issues. I would like to remove VISTA and put XP PRO back on it until the software manufacturer has resolved these issues. These software packages are expensive and I need to get them up and running as soon as possible.
How easy is this to do?
Is there a written procedure available from DELL to do this?
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks..
Gil
Tim_MacDonald
37 Posts
384
0
Posted May 21st, 2007 17:00
You can just boot from the XP CD, delete the Vista partition in the setup process, and away you go. It's really quite straightforward.The only thing that I had to do with my Dimension E520 was turn off RAID in the bios. If I didn't, I would get a STOP error. I suppose I could have left it turned on but I was too lazy to search for the driver.Tim_MacDonald
37 Posts
384
0
Posted May 21st, 2007 19:00
If your computer has a recovery partition, you may want to leave that intact. In case you decide to sell, or otherwise dispose of your PC down the road, restoring it to the factory image can be quite easy using the restore partition.Just something to consider.Abel Guerrero
9 Posts
384
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Posted May 21st, 2007 19:00
As previous logs say, there is no third party software needed in order to install XP back, just boot with the XP cd, by presing F12 and select your cdrom, then follow the instructions on the screen, when you get the partitions, delete all of them except the 31mb partition. the continue installation.Also you can find usefull information in support.dell.com, this is the link you can follow.When you get the part for the pcrestore select: PC Restore was unable to restore the operating system. and continue with the installation.Remember that you can always call tech support for any doubt you have.Have a nice day.Gil Manwaring
2 Posts
384
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Posted May 22nd, 2007 12:00
Hi all...Thanks very much.. I followed your suggestions and it does appear to have done the trick.The only issue is that I seem to have perhaps lost some of the drivers? When I navigate to SYSTEM and use the hardware manager I notice that there are a lot of yellow ? marks over the network card, audio card etc.I do have a disk that came with my DELL that I believe I can reload these drivers with.Does this sound like what might be expected when you load a new OS into a computer?Thanks..GilTim_MacDonald
37 Posts
384
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Posted May 22nd, 2007 17:00
Yes, that is usually the case.You need to download XP drivers for your network, sound, video, etc. This may involve using another computer to download the files and transfer them via a USB memory key to the laptop.The disc that came with the computer might only have Vista drivers on it. In a worst case scenario, you might be able to use a generic driver for the network card so you can connect to the net and download the proper drivers.
keithg2
2 Intern
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935 Posts
384
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Posted May 21st, 2007 13:00
Message Edited by keithg2 on 05-21-2007 09:15 AM