Reformat hard drive to get rid of Vista

I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for over
6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here on
this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).

My questions to people here:
Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in advance
of the hard drive reformat?

I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)

thanks,
weary

"weary" <> wrote in message
news0EF8B77-3AAB-4A08-80D7-...
>I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for
>over
> 6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here
> on
> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>
> My questions to people here:
> Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in
> advance
> of the hard drive reformat?
>
> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
> have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)
>
> thanks,
> weary

I've done it a couple of times. No big deal. Backup your data if you have
anything to save. Wipe partition clean, then XP will take care of the rest.
IE6 comes with XP. You'll have lots of service patches to install.

"Bill Yanaire" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "weary" <> wrote in message
> news0EF8B77-3AAB-4A08-80D7-...
>>I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for
>>over
>> 6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here
>> on
>> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>>
>> My questions to people here:
>> Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in
>> advance
>> of the hard drive reformat?
>>
>> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
>> have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)
>>
>> thanks,
>> weary
>
> I've done it a couple of times. No big deal. Backup your data if you
> have anything to save. Wipe partition clean, then XP will take care of
> the rest. IE6 comes with XP. You'll have lots of service patches to
> install.

Be careful about installing the patches.. one of them is IE7. IE7 is better
than IE6 btw.

There is nothing eventful about it, you are just formatting the system and
preparing it to install a different version of the Windows Operating System.

Please see the following link:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
"weary" <> wrote in message
news0EF8B77-3AAB-4A08-80D7-...
>I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for
>over
> 6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here
> on
> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>
> My questions to people here:
> Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in
> advance
> of the hard drive reformat?
>
> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
> have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)
>
> thanks,
> weary

I'd first download XP patches for things like Blaster Worm and install those
before you go on line to install the rest.

> "weary" wrote:
> I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for over
> 6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here on
> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>
> My questions to people here:
> Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in advance
> of the hard drive reformat?
>
> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
> have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)

If you have a retail version of the OS, just perform a clean install wiping
the current partitions. You will have heartburn in following counts -

1. You need to collect all the drivers for your laptop devices and install
them yourself. That may be messy if you ever get it right.
2. Lots of patches and IE7 is part of one patch. Also, IE7 is much nore
secure browser with a lot of nice conveniences.
3. Windows XP will not look as pretty.
4. Nice Vista features for home use will be gone.
5. Finally, welcome to the stone age

Cheers!

"weary" <> wrote in message
news0EF8B77-3AAB-4A08-80D7-...
>I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for
>over
> 6 months. I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here
> on
> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>
> My questions to people here:
> Has anybody else done this? If so, what advice could you give me in
> advance
> of the hard drive reformat?
>
> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that? Maybe I will
> have to copy off older computer (one that works - has no Vista on it.)
>
> thanks,
> weary

Judgeing from your original posting you had better get someone that has
a real understanding of computers in order to avoid real problems. IE6
for example is built into XP by default. Statements like that give away
you real prowse when it comes to basic understanding of computers.

Get someone to do it for you.


--
joel406

Question for Debasis - you said -> You need to collect all the drivers for
your laptop devices and install them yourself.

Drivers for what? What is a laptop "device"?

weary wrote:
> I made a decision. My brand new laptop is worthless, and has been so for over
> 6 months.


Then why haven't you contacted the manufacturer for warranty support?
A new computer should have no problems, unless you're deliberately
installing incompatible applications or device drivers.


> I will reformat the hard drive(shread every single thing here on
> this laptop) and install XP(luckily I own a copy on CD Rom).
>


It's your computer, so the choice is, ultimately, yours.

However, there could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of
which you should be aware. First and foremost, 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 device drivers. Secondly, removing an
OEM-installed operating system and replacing it with another will almost
invariably void any and all support agreements and, sometimes, even the
warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before
getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the
computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there will be the
additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new
computer.



> My questions to people here:
> Has anybody else done this?


Many people have done it, quite a few of them to find out the hard way
that WinXP simply cannot be made to work properly, due to a lack of
device drivers. For others, it wasn't so traumatic.


If so, what advice could you give me in advance
> of the hard drive reformat?
>


Consult the computer's manufacturer about the availability of device
drivers. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the affect this
action will have on your warranty and service agreements.

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part
of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...B;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then the backed up data can be restored and applications (Those
that are WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.


> I know I will want IE6, and any advice on how to get that?


IE6 is built into WinXP. Just never allow Windows Update to run
automatically.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

weary wrote:
> Question for Debasis - you said -> You need to collect all the drivers for
> your laptop devices and install them yourself.
>
> Drivers for what? What is a laptop "device"?


You'll need device drivers for all of the laptop's hardware components.
At the very least:

Motherboard chipset*
Mass Storage Controllers*
Video Controller*
Audio Controller*
Network Adapter*
Modem
Pointing Device (i.e., Touchpad, Eraser head)
USB Controller*
IR Controller


* If the laptop's manufacturer doesn't provide WinXP-specific drivers
for these devices, you'll never get WinXP to work properly.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot