Installing XP over vista.

Well I had my XP disk with me, and i recently bought a gateway computer
that had vista preinstalled on it, Vista is working fine, but i still
prefer XP. Now yesterday, I created a partition (my first time doing it,
and I think I messed it up) because when i installed XP Pro on it, my
computer would just not boot into vista. When XP was installed, i went
into My computer and saw that my Primary drive still had all the vista
files on it, but my computer just wouldnt boot into it no matter how
hard i tried.

So Now i have XP on my computer, and it doesnt recognize a whole bunch
of drivers, like Ethernet controller and my display driver VGA. So
finally i got sick of it and did a full factory recovery, but i noticed
that XP was working fine except all the drivers, now I want to keep xp
on there, but its pointless if it doesnt install some of the drivers.
Like i cant get on the internet because it couldnt install the ethernet
controller [ I dont know where these drivers are available] , so how can
i get those drivers and have XP work on my computer?


--
Helix

You would need to check with Gateway to see if they have made Windows XP
drivers available for that computer. If not it might still be possible to
discover and find all the drivers you need but not something that the faint
of heart would want to try.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Desktop]
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/


"Helix" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> Well I had my XP disk with me, and i recently bought a gateway computer
> that had vista preinstalled on it, Vista is working fine, but i still
> prefer XP. Now yesterday, I created a partition (my first time doing it,
> and I think I messed it up) because when i installed XP Pro on it, my
> computer would just not boot into vista. When XP was installed, i went
> into My computer and saw that my Primary drive still had all the vista
> files on it, but my computer just wouldnt boot into it no matter how
> hard i tried.
>
> So Now i have XP on my computer, and it doesnt recognize a whole bunch
> of drivers, like Ethernet controller and my display driver VGA. So
> finally i got sick of it and did a full factory recovery, but i noticed
> that XP was working fine except all the drivers, now I want to keep xp
> on there, but its pointless if it doesnt install some of the drivers.
> Like i cant get on the internet because it couldnt install the ethernet
> controller [ I dont know where these drivers are available] , so how can
> i get those drivers and have XP work on my computer?
>
>
> --
> Helix

Helix wrote:

>
> Well I had my XP disk with me, and i recently bought a gateway computer
> that had vista preinstalled on it, Vista is working fine, but i still
> prefer XP. Now yesterday, I created a partition (my first time doing it,
> and I think I messed it up) because when i installed XP Pro on it, my
> computer would just not boot into vista. When XP was installed, i went
> into My computer and saw that my Primary drive still had all the vista
> files on it, but my computer just wouldnt boot into it no matter how
> hard i tried.
>
> So Now i have XP on my computer, and it doesnt recognize a whole bunch
> of drivers, like Ethernet controller and my display driver VGA. So
> finally i got sick of it and did a full factory recovery, but i noticed
> that XP was working fine except all the drivers, now I want to keep xp
> on there, but its pointless if it doesnt install some of the drivers.
> Like i cant get on the internet because it couldnt install the ethernet
> controller [ I dont know where these drivers are available] , so how can
> i get those drivers and have XP work on my computer?

You should do a clean install of XP after making sure drivers exist for it.
If no drivers exist, restore you computer to factory condition (Vista). See
below for details.

General information about replacing Vista with XP:

A. On an OEM (HP, Sony, etc.) computer:

1. Go to the OEM's website and look for XP drivers for your specific model
computer. If there are no XP drivers, then you can't install XP. End of
story. If there are drivers, download them and store on a CD-R or USB
thumbdrive; you'll need them after you install XP.

2. Check with the OEM - either from their tech support website or by calling
them - to see if you will void your warranty if you do this. If you will
void the warranty, you make the decision.

3. If the OEM does support XP on the machine, call them and see if you can
have downgrade rights and have them send you an XP restore disk. This will
be far the easiest and best way of getting XP on the machine.

4. If XP is supported on the machine but the OEM doesn't have an XP restore
disk for you, understand that you'll need to purchase a retail copy of XP
from your favorite online or brick/mortar store.

5. Also understand that you will need to do a clean install of XP so if you
have any data you want, back it up first.

6. If none of the above is applicable to you because you can't run XP on
that machine (see Item #1 above), return the computer and purchase one
running XP instead.

B. On a generic/home-built computer (from non-OEM company) - You will need
drivers for all your hardware. See the second link below for more details:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...alling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

If it is booting to both; boot to Vista, find out the make/model of the
hardware you need drivers for and look for XP drivers. Not all hardware has
XP drivers from the OEM, but they may be available elsewhere (as many OEMs
don't keep the manufacturer's drivers on their site for hardware they didn't
sell on XP machines).
Save the XP drivers to a folder that you can find while booted to XP.
Boot to XP and install the drivers you just downloaded.

"Helix" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> Well I had my XP disk with me, and i recently bought a gateway computer
> that had vista preinstalled on it, Vista is working fine, but i still
> prefer XP. Now yesterday, I created a partition (my first time doing it,
> and I think I messed it up) because when i installed XP Pro on it, my
> computer would just not boot into vista. When XP was installed, i went
> into My computer and saw that my Primary drive still had all the vista
> files on it, but my computer just wouldnt boot into it no matter how
> hard i tried.
>
> So Now i have XP on my computer, and it doesnt recognize a whole bunch
> of drivers, like Ethernet controller and my display driver VGA. So
> finally i got sick of it and did a full factory recovery, but i noticed
> that XP was working fine except all the drivers, now I want to keep xp
> on there, but its pointless if it doesnt install some of the drivers.
> Like i cant get on the internet because it couldnt install the ethernet
> controller [ I dont know where these drivers are available] , so how can
> i get those drivers and have XP work on my computer?
>
>
> --
> Helix

Helix wrote:
> Well I had my XP disk with me, and i recently bought a gateway computer
> that had vista preinstalled on it, Vista is working fine, but i still
> prefer XP. Now yesterday, I created a partition (my first time doing it,
> and I think I messed it up) because when i installed XP Pro on it, my
> computer would just not boot into vista. When XP was installed, i went
> into My computer and saw that my Primary drive still had all the vista
> files on it, but my computer just wouldnt boot into it no matter how
> hard i tried.
>

Yes, that's exactly what is to be expected, given your description of
events.

Normally, the older OS must be installed first unless you wish to
acquire and use some 3rd-party partition and boot management utility.
(In which case you have to follow the instructions provided by whatever
3rd party solution you select.) However, this KB Article (not for the
faint of heart or technically-challenged) explains how to repair the
Vista boot process after installing WinXP:

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of
the Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

MS-MVP John Barnett's Guide is considerably more user-friendly:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install...ning_vista.htm



> So Now i have XP on my computer, and it doesnt recognize a whole bunch
> of drivers, like Ethernet controller and my display driver VGA. So
> finally i got sick of it and did a full factory recovery, but i noticed
> that XP was working fine except all the drivers, now I want to keep xp
> on there, but its pointless if it doesnt install some of the drivers.


Again, this is exactly as expected. If the specific computer model in
question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no
WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse
components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the
availability of WinXP-specific device drivers.


> Like i cant get on the internet because it couldnt install the ethernet
> controller [ I dont know where these drivers are available] , so how can
> i get those drivers and have XP work on my computer?
>
>


Normally, and assuming WinXP drivers are even available, you would have
gotten them from the computer manufacturer and burnt them to a CD
*before* attempting to install WinXP. Now, you'll obviously need to use
another computer to do so.


--

Bruce Chambers

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