Planning on downgrading from Vista Basic to XP Home

dragoon419 · #1 02-13-2008, 04:11 PM

Hey, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

I have a laptop that came with Windows Vista. The thing is, it's slow as a tortoise. I figured it could run on 1 gig, but it turns out it runs slower than my old used laptop with less than a gig. I know that if I install XP Home I'll get far more use out of it.

I'm wondering about two things:

Will I have to wipe my computer in order to install XP?

Will Microsoft Office 2007 work with XP?

Or would it be more worth while to bite the bullet and have an extra gig or 2 installed. Cause you know it's a laptop, and the bloody hardware is layered!

Thanks.

santucci218 · #2 02-13-2008, 04:19 PM

if i were you i would just upgrade the ram. You have to think of the longevity of the computer + ever-changing technology.

Jazz Ad · #3 02-13-2008, 04:33 PM

If it's a recent computer, it's likely to have a SATA DVD drive, in which case installing XP will be impossible.

meev992 · #4 02-13-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by santucci218

if i were you i would just upgrade the ram. You have to think of the longevity of the computer + ever-changing technology.

+1, Santucci218 is right. You're better off just getting your PC in top form with more RAM. I hear it's cheap these days.

Geoff St. Germaine · #5 02-13-2008, 05:22 PM

It's not impossible. If you do a google search lots of people have installed XP onto computers that came with Vista and have SATA DVD drives. In most cases it's a matter of getting a driver as it seems XP doesn't have the driver on the install disk.

speedkills · #6 02-13-2008, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragoon419

Will I have to wipe my computer in order to install XP?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragoon419

Will Microsoft Office 2007 work with XP?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragoon419

Or would it be more worth while to bite the bullet and have an extra gig or 2 installed. Cause you know it's a laptop, and the bloody hardware is layered!

You don't have to add more RAM fpr XP, but if you can it would always be a plus.

Speed aside, Vista is horrible, and XP is by far the better OS.

SATA drives will not make this impossible.
It will add a step or two.
See HERE for an example.

I have only SATA drives in my machine and I have had NO issues when installing XP.

Having said that I would at least be prepared in case you do.

santucci218 · #7 02-13-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedkills

Speed aside, Vista is horrible, and XP is by far the better OS.

...For now...

iamlowsound · #8 02-13-2008, 07:47 PM

Run Linux or buy a mac. Much faster and more stable.

lowsound

santucci218 · #9 02-13-2008, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Run Linux or buy a mac. Much faster and more stable.

lowsound

noob question justin..(did i get it right this time!?)

what exactly is linux? can you run it on windows computers? whats the advantages? disadvantages?

thank you.

iamlowsound · #10 02-13-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by santucci218

noob question justin..(did i get it right this time!?)

what exactly is linux? can you run it on windows computers? whats the advantages? disadvantages?

thank you.

You got it right this time. Linux is a shareware Operating System (aka free) that you can download and put on any computer, no license needed. It runs faster than windows and it more secure. You can dual boot (run two operating systems) and have both windows and Linux on the samw machine. Google it if you want more info, I don't actually know much about it, I have a mac, but if I didn't, I would be running Linux.

lowsound

dragoon419 · #11 02-13-2008, 08:58 PM

Yeah, I'm just gonna get the RAM increased. It'll be far less of a hassle than downgrading.

Thanks for all the response.

santucci218 · #12 02-13-2008, 08:59 PM

welcome man

fookgub · #13 02-13-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

You got it right this time. Linux is a shareware Operating System (aka free) that you can download and put on any computer, no license needed.

Nope. It's licensed under the GNU, and you agree to the terms by installing it. It is free however.

On the subject of "downgrading" to XP, I say go for it. One caveat, though, is that a lot of manufacturers don't seem to be supplying XP drivers for their latest systems anymore. This can be a real annoyance with a laptop. I spent hours hunting for drivers on various manufacturers websites when I installed XP on my Dad's new Compaq laptop.

One other thing: don't listen to these guys telling you to stick with an operating system you don't like because "it's the future." Maybe it is, but you can always upgrade when, and if, the future arrives.

santucci218 · #14 02-14-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fookgub

One other thing: don't listen to these guys telling you to stick with an operating system you don't like because "it's the future." Maybe it is, but you can always upgrade when, and if, the future arrives.

i dont think they will be recalling or canceling vista any time soon man..

Rattman · #15 02-14-2008, 12:10 AM

Yeah... you can still do it with the SATA issue. But thats not the only issue you will have. You have other hardware that may or may not be compatible with XP drivers. I expect you'll be doing some scrambling for about an entire day until all your Vista-weaned devices work with XP Home Edition drivers.

mactac · #16 02-14-2008, 12:18 AM

all you need to do is remove all the graphics addons in the performance section. also disable search optimizaion. it'll make a hige difference. you should be able to get vista almost the same speed as xp. do some googling

Hawaii Islander · #17 02-14-2008, 12:27 AM

I wouldn't go near XP Home edition. If you want to switch to XP, switch to XP Professional. XP Home is a watered down OS with minimal features.

PerkinElmer (biotech company) warned me not to go to Windows Vista because they haven't got around to beta testing their software for potential compatibility issues.

One of my collegues got a laptop with Vista on it for grad school, and she said all but one of the features worked fine. It too was a little slower and she planned to get additional RAM.

Either additional RAM or changing to XP Pro would probably work fine.