installing xp on acer aspire 5741, can it be done ?

hi,
just got the acer aspire 5741 (i350,3g ram,win7 64bit), and despite a web search i can not find any info/drivers for installing xp (acer.co.uk have no xp drivers).

has anyone managed to get xp on the 5741 ?

win7 64bit wont run any of my fav progs and even my recently purchased tevion dvd creator does not support this os.

i am sick of microsoft forcing us to stick with its uncompatible new os, xp was great and i want it back, i have a full retail disk version of xp and i should be able to install it till the day i die.

any info much appreciated

cheers

 

I don`t see any reason why it should not work, I mean install XP...

 

You'll probably have to go to the website of all of your devices in order to get the XP drivers - Realtek sound, Intel wifi, AMD/Nvidia/Intel for graphics, etc.

Although I don't know why you'd bother with an almost-10-year-old operating system, it's your computer. Best of luck!

 

Then return it. Windows 7 is out for a year. It is unacceptable that brand new hardware does not have drivers for that.

Michael

 

agreed.
i contacted tevion support and they say they have no plans to release win7 drivers, ever

this is not an uncommon situation with many hardware vendors re win7, and this is one of the reasons why im desperate to get xp on the 5741.

how can i ascertain the exact hardware in the 5741a so as to get the right drivers ?, im only really stumped on the intel? inbuilt graphics and the hdmi port.
also, does the new i3 350 cpu operate ok with xp ?
also, the acer trackpad, will only acer provide the xp drivers (they dont?)

cheers

 

Wait wait wait, Windows 7 can take Windows Vista drivers just fine; at worst, they need to be installed in Compatibility Mode. It's not like the XP to Vista transition when all the drivers needed to be rewritten. (just remember, 32-bit drivers won't work on 64-bit Windows, and vice versa)
Have you tried the Vista drivers for the Tevion?

Use Acer's Vista/7 drivers downloads page as a guide for what you'll need, then go to the Device Manager to clear up any conflicts (i.e. Atheros vs. Broadcom wireless card). For the Intel GMA HD, get the drivers from Intel directly. The trackpad might actually be detected automatically, but you should figure out whether you have an ALPS, Elantech, or Synaptics touchpad and get the driver from them.

The Core i3 should work fine with XP - you don't even need the Turbo Boost driver because the i3 doesn't use it.

 

cheers,
some usefull guidelines there.

the tevion drivers are 32bit vista, i think.i will check.

thanks

 

Well, if you've got Windows 7 32-bit, you'll probably be able to use them!

 

Also, there is Virtual PC ( http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=958559 plus http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977206 for systems without hardware virtualization) which also works on the home versions of Windows 7.

Your old software could reside in that virtual machine, and perhaps that Medion crap works there also. So you'd have the best of two worlds.

Michael

 

prob is, the 5741a is running win7 64bit home premium.

re the virtualization thing, is only win7 pro and win7 ultimate capable (allowed) to do that ?

micosoft have it all sown up, they are determined to make people run with the latest incompatible os.

its a ridiculous situation where i can run barely owt i want on my 5741a, and installing xp is such a no no as far as acer and microsoft are concerned.

if i can not get xp on this rig then acer can stick it up their arse (or provide xp drivers), and i will have to make do with my trusty old donkeys pc, at least it runs all my fav stuff ive built up over the last few years.

 

Then buy an XP license, track down all the drivers, and make with the install!
Acer is under no obligation to have its newest notebooks support a nine-year-old operating system.

Virtual PC can be installed on any OS, but Microsoft only provides the XP Mode functionality with Pro and Ultimate. You can still install XP on the Virtual PC, but it won't have as much integration with regular Windows 7 as it would under XP Mode.

 

Microsoft offers Virtual PC for all flavours of Windows 7 - simply check the links I posted.
What is limited to users of Win7 Pro and Ultimate is the "XP mode". Doesn't matter since you already have a spare Windows XP license.
Install Virtual PC, set up your virtualized XP (with SP3) and see what is possible.

Michael

 

Whoops! Forgot that doggyplop already has an XP license.
And keep in mind that the XP virtual machine will be running in 32-bit mode.

 

thanks,
but would i still need xp drivers for the gubbins in the 5741a (im pretty sure they dont exist) to run stuff in a virtual partition correctly, makes sense ?
cheers

 

Nope - the Virtual PC virtualizes hardware like your GPU, your wireless card, your sound card, etc., and those don't need extra drivers. The only hardware it shares is your CPU which doesn't need a driver anyway.

 

visited the links provided and i get the following message on the microsoft virtual pc site--

'You are not eligible to download Windows XP Mode. You must have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate to run Windows XP Mode'

so as i hinted at earlier, my win7 home premium 64bit will not allow this 'feature' (microsoft realise people wanna run xp so decide to exploit them, for what should be a right of those with an xp licence)

so im back to my original quest, getting xp on my 5741a, but i can not find any xp drivers, can someone with more experience point me in the right direction ?, that would be terrific !

cheers

 

And like we said before, you only need the Windows Virtual PC, which is supported by Windows 7 Home Premium, in order to use your XP license.

"XP Mode" is simply a pre-made virtual machine with its own XP license provided to those running Win7 Pro or Ultimate.

If you're not comfortable Googling around and finding all the drivers yourself, I can do the legwork.

 

Whatever you choose in the way of an Operating sytem, make sure that you make your restore DVD/CDs before you format your drive...should you ever want to go back to Win7, then you will have the restore disks....if you dont make them and want to go back...you will be SOL unless you buy a full copy of Win7

 

sos, when i said more experience i specifically meant someone who had actually maybe already put xp on the 5741a, i did not mean to imply that those already posted were not experienced users, obviously they are, and i have never doubted that in the slightest.

the replys other than xp drivers for 5741a i was angling for, have been very usefull and appreciated, and im still exploring the advice offered, like the virtual pc thingy.

cheers

 

It's ok, doggyplop. Next time, just ask if anyone's done the same thing; same meaning, different wording so I don't misunderstand.

I'll still try to track down those drivers for you later tonight.

EDIT: OK, here are the results of my looking. No link doesn't mean no driver, it just means it's not readily available.

Chipset - Intel
3G - Ericsson
SATA Hard Drive - Intel; you'll need to slipstream these drivers into your Windows XP install CD in order to have it detect your SATA hard drive, one of the downsides of using a 9-year-old OS.
AMT - Intel; not sure why this is listed, though. Probably optional.
Audio - Realtek
Bluetooth - Atheros / Broadcom
Card Reader - Realtek; not sure if it's USB or PCI, but Device Manager should tell you
LAN - Broadcom
Touchpad - ALPS / Elantech / Synaptics; possibly optional depending on XP's native support
Turbo Boost - Intel; as far as I know, it's just a widget on the Windows 7 desktop. And if you're running a Core i3, you don't have Turbo Boost on your CPU to begin with!
Graphics - ATI (not sure if these'll install) / Intel / Nvidia; install ONLY the ones that are on your system.
Wireless - Atheros / Broadcom

 

Definitely try virtualizing XP first before proceeding with a clean install over Win7.

XP Mode works really well as a guest OS in VirtualPC on a Windows 7 Ultimate host, even without VT:



But, as you know you will not be able to download XP Mode without the Ultimate, Professional or Enterprise editions of Win7... however, you can install your own copy of XP in an older version of VirtualPC, or, preferably, you can use VirtualBox to do the same. The ULTIMATE guide to virtualization: XP, Vista, Linux, Mac OS X -- step-by-step

 

Microsoft released the standalone Version of Virtual PC for Windows7 which does work with all flavours of Win7.

Michael

 

Unfortunately, the link "How to obtain" in MS KB958559 directs to the XP Mode website

Here is the direct download of Virtual PC (without XP Mode):
Download details: Windows Virtual PC

Works with:

Update package to disable the Hardware Virtualization requirement: Error message about hardware-assisted virtualization for Windows XP Mode in Windows Virtual PC on a computer that is running Windows 7 (MS KB977206)

Michael

 

Wouldnt hurt before your reformat the drive to make your Win7 recovery disks in case you have to go back from whatever OS you choose

 

Excellent point, GeneS. Better to have some OS than none.

 

thanks all, some really great info.

i may give the virtual pc thingy a crack, but it looks complicated, and i assume it makes some extra cpu demands on the host pc ?,
so for example, if i have a game that can get 50fps out of 60fps on my rig with a clean full xp install, then under a virtual xp pc hosted by win7 i could expect a lower framerate ?

very gratefull to tehsuigi for the xp drivers links, im gonna have a look tonight, although i will have to research how to do the slipstreaming thingy, thats like mud to me !,

although i do recall that when i installed xp on my msi x410, now gone, i had no prob with the sata hd, my disk is xp home sp2, so i assume it has sata support built in ?, or maybe the acer sata hd needs something extra ?

ill also use device manager to see what exact hardware ive got, the main ones are the graphics card/chipset and the all important hdmi,
i dont use lan/wireless/bluetooth so they are not a problem.

i will certainly post my results, either i will have a lovely clean xp install or i will have to use the recovery cds to put win7 back (boo !)

cheers

 

Doggyplop,

The Intel Core i3 has this neat thing called "hardware virtualization." It means that for the CPU, it'll be able to switch between the host PC and the virtual PC with barely any performance loss.

However, Windows Virtual PC does not do well with gaming (I tried) because it doesn't use your actual GPU - it uses a virtual S3 Trio, which is a piece a' garbage. If you want to game on a Virtual PC, use VMWare Player. It too is free, and will happily use your actual GPU.

Slipstreaming can be very easily done using a tool called nLite; you can even slip Service Pack 3 onto your XP install CD!
Your disk might have the SATA drivers, but they might be for a different chipset; did the MSI X410 use an Intel chipset?
Give it a spin anyway w/o the slipstreaming; if it detects the hard drive and installs, no worries!

HDMI should be covered by the graphics card - otherwise, I don't believe it needs any additional drivers. Oh, and I don't believe XP is compatible with Blu-ray; it lacks the Protected Video Path that BDs need.

You don't use LAN/Wireless/Bluetooth? Then how on earth are you connecting to the Internet on your Aspire?!

 

thanks for that info tehsuigi, the blu ray thingy has made me rethink my plans, i may stick with win7, not sure now !

ps, i use a dongle to get online, provided by mobile phone company.

cheers

 

In that case, why not consider switching over to a 32-bit version of Windows 7? That way, you can use the 32-bit Vista drivers from Tevion AND use Blu-ray. It'll also let you make a clean install on your system, getting rid of all the cruft on it.
The only downside is that you won't be able to use all 4GB of RAM your system is supplied with - a limitation of the 32-bit system - but then again, can you honestly say you've used that much RAM? I'm a power user, and I've yet to scrape past 3GB of RAM usage as far as I know.

(word of warning: burn the drivers & applications disc from eRecovery before making the switch, since Acer Arcade Deluxe and its Blu-ray functionality isn't available from Acer directly)

 

It can be done. I bought my 5741 a week ago and now have Windows 7, XP and Ubuntu happily running. I followed this thread from the beginning and I was able to find all the drivers on Russian site._ Äðàéâåðà äëÿ Acer Aspire 5741G » AcerFans.Ru - íîóòáóêè acer aspire travelmate extensa emachines packard bell äðàéâåðà ñêà÷àòü. You might need to translate the pages, but all the drivers work. I will not come to this site again. I just registered to help you!

 

Quite the impressive first post, kiza!
I hope you stick around and contribute more to the community.

 

I can put all the files on Rapidshare if you would like me to. Also to install XP, copy has to have all the latest Sata drivers slipstreamed, as Acer uses AHCI mode

 

yes please kiza !

AHCI mode ?

any ideas how the 5741a (one i have) differs from the 5741g, and are the drivers on the russian site compatible with the former ?

ive decided to deffo install xp, my acer 5741a keeps freezing for a couple of seconds at random intervals and then puts the screen brightness at maximum !, what the hell, must be some win7 64bit process or anomaly

im now gagging for the simplicity and steady performance of xp, and i dont want the bloatware of win7 (vista) keep causing issues when im just trying to run unsophisticated software without the stutters and hard disk spinning on/off of the millions of processes and services that win7/acer crapware is stuffed with.

cheers

 

kiza, putting on rapidshare would be much appreciated thanks.

ive tried to download the drivers from the russian site (translated via babelfish), but the letitbit links wont let me download (the image verification picture does not show).

cheers

 

Here is the Rapidshare link: _http://rapidshare.com/files/420776290/XP_Acer.rar.
My suggestion will be to first visit Windows Seven forums and read how to install dual boot XP. Once you can successfully dual boot, install all the drivers for 5741-A. My Acer is the same model as yours 5741-A. My Ethernet and wireless card are Broadcom and if you need other drivers go to the Russian site and get them. The only thing not working is Acer Crystal Eye Webcam in HD quality, but low resolution is fine. The zip file also includes programmes needed to set-up dual boot as per Windows Seven site. If you can not dual boot you might have the problem with XP Sata drivers on your install CD and Windows Seven is the place for all the answers.As I mentioned before, my triple boot is Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, XP Professional 32 bit and Ubuntu 32 bit.

 

I found it a hassle finding the correct graphics driver for my 5251, took me a couple of hours of digging, before i found the right one. You going to be looking for the WQHL drivers For ATI based Acers, if you are planning to go to XP

 

thanks everyone for hints and tips.

i will post my results of the xp install, when i manage it,

but in the meantime im struggling to 'slipstream' the sata drivers into the xp disk, im wondering what actual sata driver do i need to slipstream for the 5741a ?

cheers