Windows Vista is a piece of crap!

[AdamL]

This isn't a bootcamp problem, I just couldn't find the forum for just Windows stuff, so this seemed like the appropriate place. My friend bought a laptop with Vista on it and I'm trying to put XP on it. It won't let me install it because it's a earlier version of the OS. How stupid is that. I'm trying to boot into the disk but it isn't working. I went into BIOS and change the boot order but it's a copy of a XP disc so I don't think it's bootable. All I know is Vista sucks. It shouldn't be this difficult to work with it.

Again, sorry if this is the wrong section. I needed to let people know about this because it's really pissing me off.

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Downgrades are rarely supported. Most XP discs would be bootable, less the upgrade variety. Depending on which flavour of XP you have, it should be easy to boot it up and install over Windows Vista. Notice: install over, meaning format and start again.

 

[sushi]

If for some reason, you cannot get XP to install by doing a full install, and if you have a full version of XP, then you might try KillDisk and wipe the HD first, then do an install of XP.

 

[contoursvt]

So Vista is crap because you can boot with the pirated version of XP and do a full install? Just trying to understand your logic.

This isn't a bootcamp problem, I just couldn't find the forum for just Windows stuff, so this seemed like the appropriate place. My friend bought a laptop with Vista on it and I'm trying to put XP on it. It won't let me install it because it's a earlier version of the OS. How stupid is that. I'm trying to boot into the disk but it isn't working. I went into BIOS and change the boot order but it's a copy of a XP disc so I don't think it's bootable. All I know is Vista sucks. It shouldn't be this difficult to work with it.

Again, sorry if this is the wrong section. I needed to let people know about this because it's really pissing me off.

 

[mark-itguy]

If your copy of XP is an upgrade, forget it, as someone already said.

If your copy of XP is the full product, then the problem may be stemmed from the fact that Vista uses a new style boot loader, which is not compatible with the old style. I know, arghhh, but that's the deal. You have do to the modern day version of fdisk /mbr. Easiest would be use a PE CD to boot, run diskpart and nuke the old partition, setup a new one, & mark active.

This can be complicated to one that's never done it, but I wanted to point you in the right direction at least.

Of course, this is only one possibility, there are others. Some manufacturers create a small hidden partition at the beginning of the drive. Something like that could be part of the issue too.

 

[sushi]

^^^ That's why I recommended using KillDisk to wipe the HD, then install Windows XP. Simple solution if you have an original XP install CD.

 

[liketom]

Welcome to Windows this sort of thing keeps me in a job

yep as long as you have a XP install disk - wipe the HDD and install away

BTW my company has flatout said that they will not be touching Vista until at least service pack 2

 

[clevin]

LOL, if u just want to bash windows, make sure u have evidence.

NO windows will do downgrade inside the OS, but an original bootable disk (u can buy everywhere) will allow you to install even win 98 on a vista machine (of course, u might have trouble support large disk, wireless, etc).

Hopefully u would do some simple research before putting up statements.

 

[mags631]

If the disc isn't bootable you can't install it. Whether it's Vista, XP, or Linux you need to be able to boot the CD/DVD from your laptop.

Suggestion: get a real copy of XP and install it. You are going to need a valid XP product key to install and later to activate it once it has installed. Otherwise, you are not going to get very far into the install process and you will not be able to activate, leaving your friend with an unusable laptop.

Are you replacing Vista because it won't run programs, or just because? You can dumb down the interface to make it more XP like and turn off various features to make it more XP-like. You may want to explore that route instead.

 

[liketom]

unusable laptop.

Are you replacing Vista because it won't run programs, or just because? You can dumb down the interface to make it more XP like and turn off various features to make it more XP-like. You may want to explore that route instead.

can you turn off the silly ask a question pop up boxes ?


they are doing my head in

 

[quicksilver77]

Simply turn off UAC (Universal Access Control) in the control panel under User Accounts.

Vista actually runs quite well with a few minor tweaks. Doing a few simple google searches will help u with this.