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Will it be a good idea uninstalling windows vista and installing XP, as i have many applications that have come up to be installed in my new projects which does not support vista.

I have a dell inspiron which came up with vista home premium edition, i read couple of articles that installing xp after uninstalling a vista is a nightmare, please can any one post thier comments whether to go ahead with xp or just leave vista and look for any other alternative

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Before considering trashing Vista...

  • Depending on what you need from the software, you may want to install XP into a virtual machine. VirtualBox and an XP CD can get you up and running quickly. Simply transfer the files created in XP to a USB device or over a network share to Vista.

  • Try running the applications in XP compatibility mode. This has saved me from headache countless times.

If none of the above will work for you, back up your data from Vista, then you can try dual booting XP and Vista.

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  • Thanks for the dual booting article, i have gone through it. seems bit tough process, sure it will go without any problem while going through the process
    – bobby521
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 4:01
  • Assuming you follow the steps in detail, and have a valid XP license key, you should have no problems.
    – user1931
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 5:54
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Before anything else, go to the Dell Support site. Look to see if they have the XP drivers for your computer - otherwise you will have a much tougher time. If there isn't driver support, you will need to get the info from Vista as to what devices you have and you will need to check with the manufacturer's website to see if they have XP drivers.

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If your applications don't support Vista, you don't seem to have a lot of choice.

You could consider running XP under a virtual machine, if your machine can support and run it adequetly.

Frankly however, in your situation i would backup your data and do a clean install of xp, this should work absolutely fine.

I've never had a problem with vista however, especially with the "run in XP mode" option i doubt you'll run into any real problems.

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  • I have tried the option of installing XP in a virtual box and then installing the applications i need in XP...when i start to run the applications its taking a lot of time even to open the applications. I have 2 GB of RAM and i have allocated 1 GB for the Virtual Box
    – bobby521
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 3:59
  • Hm, though your system doesn't seem to be a fantastically performing one, i'm surprised virtualbox has such a problem. Oh well. I'm going to absolutely point to John T's answer, specifically the dual booting option. (Remember to back up everything before implementing this please!)
    – Dmatig
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 4:43
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Downgrading from Vista to XP on a Dell computer couldn't be easier. Unlike some manufacturers (cough couch HP) that do not provide Windows XP drivers for their Vista computers, Dell has continued to provide XP drivers for all of their equipment.

Please visit this website: http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Click on "Choose a Model" and select your computer from the list. Then select the Windows XP drop down box when the page loads. I suggest downloading ALL of these drivers and putting them on a flash drive or CD before installing Windows XP. You may want to consider renaming the downloads to things you will recognize, such as chipset.exe, videocard.exe, network.exe, etc.

I have done this many times with Dell computers without a problem. Make sure to install the chipset drivers first, reboot the computer, and then proceed to install the rest of the drivers. If this is an AMD based computer, make sure to install the drivers for your processor. (You may have to check amd.com for drivers as Dell may not provide them.) This is required for certain x64 AMD processors, otherwise the cores get screwed up with XP systems and your computer bogs down. (Note: I know I just said x64 processors - that doesn't mean you have to be running an x64 operating system. The problem exists on x32 Windows XP).

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Will it be a good idea uninstalling windows vista and installing XP

in my humble opinion, this would be an excellent idea indeed (unless you intend to run applications that specifically require Windows Vista or you love Aero so much that you can't do without, that is).

i read couple of articles that installing xp after uninstalling a vista is a nightmare

there is nothing nightmarish about installing XP, your BIOS will allow you to change the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE (if necessary), Dell support offers all Windows XP drivers you need for the Dell Inspiron 1520.

make sure to backup your data first and download all the drivers from the Dell support website. insert you Windows XP CDROM, press F12 during the post screen (Dell Logo), boot from Onboard CD (if you receive a BSOD, go into the BIOS first and change the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE). in Windows setup, delete ALL existing partitions, setup the drive to your likings (i recommend at least 2 partitions, the first for the operating system and software, the second for storage) and install windows XP.

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  • My Model is DELL INSPIRON 1520, all i am worried about is the Drivers, how to know which drivers should be installed to get back a perfect one
    – bobby521
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 3:48
  • nothing to worry about, Bobby. ALL the drivers you need for XP are available from Dell. i edited my answer accordingly.
    – Molly7244
    Commented Dec 24, 2009 at 10:50

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