I plan to change my laptop's OS from Vista Home Edition to XP. How can I go about it? More details inside.

For lack of space, here are the rest of the details. I have an HP Pavillion laptop, 17'; monitor, Altec-Lansing integrated speakers, Integrated WebCam and Microphone (HP branded), full keyboard (with the keypad), and it has a mouse (Synaptics TouchPad, I believe), AMD Athlon 64x2, Windows Vista Home Edition (Microsoft's Biggest Mistake since Windows 2000), nVIDIA GeForce GO... 6500 I think, and also 1 GB of RAM. It also has HP QuickPlay buttons (those that you touch for volume and such). How do I go about changing the OS to XP Home/Professional (I know how, but with all these things...) without the laptop losing its functionality? I've had it with Vista. Thank you!



PS: People with rants and useless suggestions WILL be reported. Thank you for your understanding.I plan to change my laptop's OS from Vista Home Edition to XP. How can I go about it? More details inside.
If the computer came with vista then the only way to accomplish the change is to go out and buy a copy of XP. Most stores still carry the retail version and will run you about $199.00. Some people will suggest ebay but I will recommend against it. Simply put that if its on ebay then you dont truely know if the prodect key has been used or not. The only way to know and be safe is to buy it from a store so you can see it for yourself. The functionality of your computer should not be lost. You might need to go the HP web site and download the software (for free) for the specific functions like the touch volume controls. But most everything else should function as normal.I plan to change my laptop's OS from Vista Home Edition to XP. How can I go about it? More details inside.
First of all, Windows 2000 was a VERY good operating system. Prior to XP it was Mircosoft's most reliable and stable ever.



As for your question. What you need to do is a clean install. You'll first want to backup all you files - burn to cd or dvd, or transfer to an external HDD.



Most importantly, make sure you have a Windows XP complete install disk. And a valid XP license code.



After backing up your files, put the XP disk in your cd/dvd drive and reboot the computer. When given the option, you'll want to book from the CD. Then follow the steps to reformat your HDD and install Windows XP.
Maaaan that sucks. I dont think u can downgrade your windows to XP. But u can format c:\ and installing a fresh copy of XP on it. But youll lose functionality.
oh no, report me? lol

do you have an xp disk?

you can get xp-home-upgrade, but you need a win98 or ME disk.

you can wipe the disk clean and install xp.

just insert xp-cd, look for delete partition, and start clean.

then go to hp-website and get new drivers.

MIKE
To downgrade from Vista what is needed is a copy of Windows XP disc(version you want). You need to format the hard drive completely before you can install XP. First thing I would do is look for XP drivers for all the hardware you have, hardest thing would most likely be finding the drivers for the HP QuickPlay Buttons. Sometimes they could still work but not have any onscreen effect like my Logitech keyboard without the drivers installed for it. Of course the first place I would search would be HP's website. I am sure that the same laptop had been sold with XP installed on it and most likely will have all drivers needed there. Try using the ';Start detection'; for a driver search but doubt that will work unless you installed XP first. Having your computers exact model would have helped me, I may have been able to look for all the drivers needed for you.
First, you get your Vista backup disk ready in case you want it back. If you can identify all of the drivers for your hardware from your hardware list, get them ready on a media. The XP full installation will take a while, but after all those hard drive work, you have to install the hardware through XP. First make sure the network card is working and you have Internet connection after the installation. Then install hardware one by one if the XP installation miss any. Once you get all of the hardware and drivers in synch, you have a pretty fast computer in hand. It is a long and not so fast work, good luck!
why are you changing from vista to xp man???????????????

its good try it for some time................



if you still want to change than.........take xp cd and boot form it rest of the tasks would be shown by the set up .............

follow the instruction and install new xp