Greetings,
I purchased the following system from Costco and was glad I was able to purchase the system complete without having to add components after the sale. I have tried and tried to get used to Vista (6 months) but as I am disabled and my brain doesn't always compute efficiently, I've had difficulties. Mostly with getting things recognized on the small network in my home. My other computers run XP and I wonder if there is not some conflict with the different operating systems trying to access the same files and printers? Finally I just decided to go back to XP.

Anyway, I purchased a retail copy of Windows XP Professional 64 bit back in June and had planned on either taking the Vista off the system, or dual booting with the XP Pro. I tried to install it myself, but became completely overwhelmed and confused with after following the instructions for an add-on product called VistaBootPro as was outlined here on this site, step by step how to install XP after vista.

This was not a judgment on the directions given, but rather to express how my disability does interfere with things that take steps to complete. But not to worry...

I called FogDog to come and install the XP on my system.
The young man comes out and refuses to put the XP on my computer stating that HP doesn't guarantee all the drivers will be available for XP Pro.
I had never heard of this. Of course I realize that I would need to locate and download the correct drivers probably from the manufacturers web sites and I had already completed that compiling of all necessary drivers. I tried to explain that I had the necessary drivers, but he counter-explained that I most assuredly probably did not have all the drivers as some would be hidden files. He was just not going to do it. Period.

does anyone have any suggestions for me? Possibly you might know of another company that would be agreeable to installing the xp on my new computer or dual booting the two OS? I appreciate any help you can offer. The whole MBR has really thrown me for a loop.
Thank you
Pipsywiggins


Configuration Summary


Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q9450 (2.66GHz)

8GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (4x2048)

750GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive

1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT, 2 DVI, HDMI adapter

15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless LAN card

LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive


6 USB (2 front, 4 back), 2 IEEE 1394 (1 front, 1 back), 2 PS/2

Front headphone, mic (7.1 speaker capable using front ports)

1 PCI Express (x16) graphics slot, graphics card included

4 PCI Express (x1), 2 PCI

460 watt power supply

Actually, he is correct... in some cases, new PCs with Vista don't have XP drivers available... at least not from the manufacturer's website. You were fortunate to be able to find all the necessary drivers for your hardware.

As for your networking issues... it has absolutely nothing to do with Vista / XP. You can network Windows, Mac and Linux PCs together and be able to share files and printers among them all. With Vista, it's easier if you disable password-protected sharing. You also have to configure permissions on the Vista computer... I don't believe Vista supports simple file sharing for security reasons. There should be many guides on how to accomplish this around the net... just do a quick search.

Do you have another hard drive or partition to install XP? If not, you won't be able to dual-boot. If you do install XP, you'll need to do a startup repair on your Vista installation in order to access it.

Vista isn't vastly different in the way you use it than XP. You can even set it's visual style to more closely resemble XP. The networking is set up for greater security than simple file sharing in XP and previous versions of Windows. It does take a little getting used to... but once you're used to it, you'll find yourself liking it more and more.

I just typed this long reply and then proceeded to click the submit button. Oops, I received a response saying that I could not post a reply until I had registered. Which was an obvious error on the part of the website but it just dawned on me that I had forgotten to write my post in an external editor. I guess this site doesn't support the opportunity of staying signed in. So I had to hit the back button, but I little did I realize that my longgggggggg reply was history & had been wiped off the editor.
So, I'm sitting here, kicking myself for not typing it in evernote or some other editor. I know better to have at least copied it . But that is such a perfect example of the neurological problems these days.
Plus....as hard as I strain, I can't remember what I said in that longgggggggggg reply. But it was something about thanking you for your time. I know that it is rewarding to feel that you are helping others, I remember the feeling still.
I do understand what you are saying about maybe I should just suck it up and push onward with vista. And that is a possibility. But in recent years I have had to address this time constraint of deciding if the hassle is worth the benefit if by the time I am able to conquer it, there isn't much time left?
Kind of like rewriting this post, though certainly your kindness deserves recognition.

I'm sure I'm in the minority here and I failed to explain clearly that I've a few programs and appliances that still do not have vista drivers. I found a terrific keyboard add on for shortcuts called ergodex which at last check still did not work with Vista. I also have a networked usb extension from blekin that supposedly can work with vista but whenever I try, it kindly reminds me that it is not made for my operating system.
There are also a few programs that I especially liked that refuses to work with Vista, Dragon Naturally Speaking is one that refuses to play nice and it could make a considerable impact upon my life. So while there isn't a huge volume of issues, the ones that are giving me difficulties were ones I came to rely upon.

I was so hoping that my new computer could have utilized windows XP pro initially. I was going to put vista on the computer I was upgrading up from and had planned on using it as some might use a virtual computer to try and practice with the vista program as I got my feet wet. I tend to have a difficult time with too many new things being thrown at me at once. I do realize that I am in a unique position here and thankfully not one which there is a great demand for.
And to think I used to build my own systems since the days of that huge floppy when floppy was a literal term. But now upgrading a cd writer can initiate a serious setback, so I am more motivated by how much i'm willing to give up rather than how much I'm desiring to gain.

So I'm between returning this computer back to Costco which I actually liked. I could get one from Dell because they will put XP on it. Or...........I can just cut my losses (of time spent figuring this out) and throw myself into vista and as with most things in life, pull myself up by my bootstraps and .............
Much regards, I do appreciate your help.
pipsywiggins

Vista has it's own speech recognition... so Dragon Naturally Speaking may just be unncessary. As for the other programs, I'm not so sure about Vista-compatible alternatives or if Vista has it's own built in. As for the Belkin, check for updated drivers... any vendors worth their salt should release Vista drivers for any hardware that is less than 5 years old.

However, if Vista is going to be too difficult for you to adjust to, then XP might be the better way to go. You're not going to be able to find a lot of alternatives the longer you wait... soon enough vendors will go exclusively with Vista... and then software and drivers that work with XP will be more difficult to find. (Of course if your computer came with XP, then finding drivers won't be an issue).

Is your question how to install XP on your system? If so you just need a XP CD which you can pop into your optical drive set your boot order to optical first and follow the onscreen options. Once windows is installed just install the drivers and you'll be all set. You might want to make an image of Vista before doing this so you can go back to Vista if you ever decide to.