Can this be done?

Fandyien

So I'm helping my friend by reformatting his computer for him, and he wants me to switch his OS install over to XP from Vista. I was planning on wiping the harddrive and using my Dell Windows XP reinstall disk to install XP on his C: drive - my question is two parts. Will that work? Can I boot from a reinstall disk after reformatting from Vista? And is there any way to reformat without a Vista reinstall CD? Does that work the same way as XP, where you boot from the reinstall disk to the recovery console?

Thanks. I'm hoping this will be nice and easy, but I suspect it might not be.

Jasconius

Not sure about that part specifically but in some newer computers there's a BIOS setting that will make the drive invisible to the XP installer, so be wary, it will have to be disabled if it is present.

Just don't flip out of the XP installer says it cannot find your HD.

MushroomStick

If I recall correctly, if your friend's computer is not a Dell it wont work.

Fandyien

It's a dell inspiron.

Jimmy King

Jasconius wrote: »

Not sure about that part specifically but in some newer computers there's a BIOS setting that will make the drive invisible to the XP installer, so be wary, it will have to be disabled if it is present.

Just don't flip out of the XP installer says it cannot find your HD.

Probably the SATA settings you're thinking of. The specific toggle is usually called "compatibility mode" in the sata settings.

Also, as has been stated, the disc may not work. It's been a long, long, long time since I worried about this stuff but back when I was doing pc repair stuff in the late 90's the restore discs started coming with a check to make sure that it was the correct pc model. Even a pc from the same manufacturer but a different model would not work. I assume this was based on something in the bios.

Basar

These should help:

1. http://www.khanh.net/blog/archives/27-Installing-Windows-XP-on-a-Dell-Inspiron-1525-downgrading-from-Windows-Vista.html

2. http://www.laptops-drivers.com/dell-laptop/how-to-install-windows-xp-on-dell-inspiron-1525-or-downgrading-vista.html

AlwaysAngryGuy

Jimmy King wrote: »

Jasconius wrote: »

Not sure about that part specifically but in some newer computers there's a BIOS setting that will make the drive invisible to the XP installer, so be wary, it will have to be disabled if it is present.

Just don't flip out of the XP installer says it cannot find your HD.

Probably the SATA settings you're thinking of. The specific toggle is usually called "compatibility mode" in the sata settings.

Also, as has been stated, the disc may not work. It's been a long, long, long time since I worried about this stuff but back when I was doing pc repair stuff in the late 90's the restore discs started coming with a check to make sure that it was the correct pc model. Even a pc from the same manufacturer but a different model would not work. I assume this was based on something in the bios.

While this is true for most manufacturers, Dell's XP discs do not run any sort of check on the computer and will work on for ANY computer as they are just rebranded XP discs. They come with separate discs for the drivers that are specific to the model. If the XP disc does not detect any hard drives, then you will need the SATA drivers specific to his model on a floppy disk in order to get it working.

What you need to make sure of before you put XP on this computer is that the drivers for XP exist somehwere. Otherwise your friend may be stuck with no sound, video, or network drivers.

rewind22x

AlwaysAngryGuy wrote: »

Jimmy King wrote: »

Jasconius wrote: »

Not sure about that part specifically but in some newer computers there's a BIOS setting that will make the drive invisible to the XP installer, so be wary, it will have to be disabled if it is present.

Just don't flip out of the XP installer says it cannot find your HD.

Probably the SATA settings you're thinking of. The specific toggle is usually called "compatibility mode" in the sata settings.

Also, as has been stated, the disc may not work. It's been a long, long, long time since I worried about this stuff but back when I was doing pc repair stuff in the late 90's the restore discs started coming with a check to make sure that it was the correct pc model. Even a pc from the same manufacturer but a different model would not work. I assume this was based on something in the bios.

While this is true for most manufacturers, Dell's XP discs do not run any sort of check on the computer and will work on for ANY computer as they are just rebranded XP discs. They come with separate discs for the drivers that are specific to the model. If the XP disc does not detect any hard drives, then you will need the SATA drivers specific to his model on a floppy disk in order to get it working.

What you need to make sure of before you put XP on this computer is that the drivers for XP exist somehwere. Otherwise your friend may be stuck with no sound, video, or network drivers.

i can second that DELL OEM discs work fine on other systems, as long as you boot from them. They install a legit key but it won't activate unless it's a legit Dell system. Since you are installing to a Dell Inspiron, I see no reason (other than drivers) why this wouldn't work. good luck.