so i got a new pc, it has vista on it how do i go about removing vista and put xp on it? i have the disc from when i upgraded my old computer but i hear it wont be that easy as up grading my old one. pls help i hate this thing!! thanks!!!
Put the old disc in the drive and reboot the computer. Press any key when the screen says "Press any key to..." The Windows XP installer should start unless you have a brand-specific XP disc. From there on out it should be as simple as deleting the Vista partition and creating a new NTFS partition. The installer is nearly self-explanatory. If the Windows XP installer doesn't start, you either didn't reboot your computer or you need to go into the BIOS and set it to boot from CD-ROM first.
thanks adderall! i was hopeing it was that easy! some peeps were saying i might not have the right drivers and or they might not be available so you think i just go ahead and install xp like normal then deleat vista? i dont realy understand what you mean by partition? or partition in genral? i had no problems upgrading my old pc from me to xp but folks got me worried about this down grade! i geuss what worries me is about the drivers! and if i remember windows said if i want to use 2 os, i should use the dl32? instead of the ntsf, im wanting to put iether firefox or linux with it. does that change how i have to approch this? thanks again!!
Uh... To my knowledge Vista doesn't let you install earlier version of Windows. I've done it twice, and both times I had to use a disc I have that completely erases the hard drive and THEN put in the XP operating system disc. So you might have to buy a formatting disc somewhere that will erase your hard drive. Also it so happens that Microsoft made XP so that you can only install it a certain number of times on computers other than the one it came with. So if you install it on a new computer, you'd better keep that computer running smoothly, or you'll lose XP and have to go with Vista again unless you go out and buy the XP operating system. And afterwards, yeah, you will need to go to your computer manufacturer's website and download the drivers and chipset. And then you'll also probably have to find the specs and go to the specific hardware-in-your-computer's sites and download drivers from there. It can be a bitch, but is kind of a fun challenge IMO.
i agree. last time i formatted my thinkpad and put xp back on it, it was a good 16 hour process of getting drivers back, and the programs the way i wanted them. its a long, tedious, challenging process.
The whole point is to erase Vista. Erase it and be done. Use NTFS for Windows no matter what the situation. There really isn't all that much to lose. Install some drivers, whoopty do it takes 5-10 minutes. Install Firefox for web browsing: www.firefox.com : And use it for any and every visited web page. Do not install any other filesharing application except: www.utorrent.com/ :Limewire, bearshare, Kazaa, etc will all harm Windows. You can install Windows XP as many times as you like. You can only use a Product Key on a certain number of computers that activate via Microsoft. So if you have never used that Key but once, go ahead and use it on the new computer while you still can.
hey! sorry it took so long for me to thank you! the folks i bought th pc, from are going to help me out and do it for me, i give them the license for the vista they do the work and pay me! not a bad deal i figure plus they will test my old pc, and let me know wether its just the power supply or my mother, and put my old drive in as a slave if i want them to!! but thanks for all your help!! ill let you know how it all works out!! thanks again!! peace!
You can get a Sunbeam 500+ watt PSU for $15-$20. Sunbeam's are the only inexpensive PSU that doesn't fail or have voltage fluctuations. As for the MB, price depends on the hardware.
