Downgrading from Vista to WinXP

Gave up on Vista, so I decided to install WinXP on my e1505. I used a generic store bought version of WinXP so it doesn't come with everything that you really need for an e1505.

I called Dell tech support and he lined out for me what else I needed to install after installing WinXP to complete the installation. Below is what he provided me to get everything right. One of the things you will notice after installing WinXP is that there are some "base system devices" that do not have drivers installed. This will fix this as well. Hoping this might save someone else the trouble I went through... The URLs to the correct downloads is included.

Please note the sequence of drivers.
Make sure you install them in this sequence!

Dell Notebook System Software: Dell Notebook System Software Utility
File name: R120775.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=1&vercnt=2&formatcnt=1&libid=7&fileid=160873

Intel Mobile Chipset: Intel(R) Chipset Software Installation Utility
File name: R114079.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...1&vercnt=2&formatcnt=1&libid=27&fileid=149851

Ricoh 1394/SD Card/MMC/Memory Stick/xD Card Driver
File name: R105921.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...1&vercnt=1&formatcnt=1&libid=27&fileid=136800

Video: ATI Radeon Mobility X1400
File name: R128573.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=1&vercnt=4&formatcnt=1&libid=6&fileid=171079

Network drivers: Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
File name: R113310.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=2&vercnt=1&formatcnt=1&libid=5&fileid=148694

Wireless card drivers: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN MiniCard
File name: R140747.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=1&vercnt=6&formatcnt=1&libid=5&fileid=187881

Audio drivers: Sigmatel STAC92XX C-Major HD Audio Driver
File name: R122161.EXE
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=1&vercnt=2&formatcnt=1&libid=3&fileid=162467

Microsoft Net Framework 1.1: Fixes cli.exe error on startup problem with ATI Control Panel
File name: DOTNETFX.EXE
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FamilyID=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3

 

Gave up on Vista, eh? If you want to continue using Windows, then getting used to Vista is probably a good idea. But we would love to have you jump aboard on Linux, and the people on the Linux forum here at NBR would be glad to help you make the transition.

 

why did u decide to give up on Vista?

 

That is a great idea. You should consider switching to Ubuntu Linux. It is the second easiest to use Unix OS (behind Mac OS X in my opinion). You can set us a duel boot and still have XP. Ubuntu is free and easy to find help.

 

Is linux like Dos or is it Gui based?

 

Linux is like Windows 3.1 was. It's a commandline operating system with a GUI interface if you want to run one.

 

I got tired of "Cancel" or "Allow"... Blanking out of the screen any time one of these idiotic dialogs comes up... Sssllllooowwww... Doesn't do anything I can't do with XP and a piece of shareware... Costs too much... Did I mention that it was slow?... I don't know who the retard was that designed it but they ought to flog him.

As for Unix variants... I'd thought about it several times and maybe someday I will. I'm just very comfortable with the software I have... not to mention the $400 bones I shelled out for MS Office... Plus a lot of other stuff. Plus I have to provide tech support for my 75 year old mother and her XP box.

 

I don't have Vista but I heard about the infamous UAC (User Access Control). Isn't it possible to turn it off so you don't have to deal with it?

 

yes it is.

 

the screen prompts for when programs are getting executed (usually unknown programs. Installed programs are usualy recognized, but for instance winrar is not and prompts me every time) is the best thing that has ever happened. Finally, I KNOW whats running on my pc! never before have I had this much power!

I've tried a whole bunch of the GUI distros of linux, and while it has come a long way, its no good even as a winxp replacement. Some problems I kept encountering...
- ram hog, linux UIs eat way more memory then xp.
- While the unified package install system is nice, it still has unexplainable bugs that prevent things from installing right. Also way to many packages rely on other packages. You end up installing huge packages just because a small part of it is needed in another application. Also hope that all the dependencies are available for download.
- long startup makes it bad for laptops. XP and vista logon times are quite nice, especially using hibernate.
- media players and acceleration. I found it much easier and smoother to play high res content on pc. Linux players are hard to configure, and use non optimal video modes and basic acceleration.
- linux has way to many **** directories. I'm a file manager junkie, and linux just has so much crap littered around.

I only play guild wars on it, and I wouldn't recommend vista for a game machine, but it runs great on my 1505 with a gig of ram. There does seem to be a bit more disk access then XP, but speed wise it still seems fast.

 

Linux is security based. Everything is sorted out based on what it is for.

/var has stuff like the pid and lock files. Very few config files here
/usr has user level installed stuff. Anything that can be accessed by a user can go here
/home is the home folder. User profiles and such (same as C:\Documents and Settings in xp or C:\Users in Vista)
/etc is for the config files
/tmp is for temp files (duh)
/root is the root user login. You should never be here normally

Oh I forgot a few more

/dev is for device nodes (hardware devices like sound, usb, keyboard, modem, etc)
/mnt is typically where a user will mount devices at

 

You do know that the Dell supplied Windows XP CD does not include the drivers either.

So your list is not a first time thing for anyone, everyone has had to go through this when they reformatted their notebook.

 

Those would be on the drivers disk CD... which I failed to get Dell to part with, I might add.

True enough. You're basically starting from scratch with a notebook without an operating system. Just a basic XP install. Of course there is also the obligatory trip to Windows Update as well, lest we forget.

 

The dell driver disc is useless, the one I got for my E1505 didnt even support that model, even if it did, your still much better off getting them straight from the website everytime due to updates.

 

Please don't EVER compare those two again. It gives people the wrong impression as to it's usefulness. It's much more comparable to Windows XP now in terms of reliance in the command line.

 

So Scheeb,

Now that you've installed XP and dumped Vista, how do you like the performance you're getting? Does it seems faster? more stable? What can you tell us?

 

I never really put Vists thru it's paces. It's definitely more "sluggish" than XP. I was even using a 1 Gb 200X flash drive for the cache drive or whatever Vista calls it. My issue was with just how it worked and software that I already had that I didn't want to hassle with in Vista. Some of it's on the iincompatible list. I just didn't see anything that it did that would compel me to change OSs. About all I can say is it looks nice... but I'm a guy that runs XP in Classic mode so I don't really care about the "look". I just want performance and functionality. I don't think I ever had it crash that I remember...

 

thats odd... for most people vista is much more smoother than xp.... only start up is slower. the pre cashing really helps my computer. Everything is instantanous. Its SO SMOOTH AND PRETTY. I love it...

 

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!!!

 

Nope. I also like Vista (Ultimate that is ). Smooth as butter. Only thing I dislike is a lack of Nvidia drivers and my wireless kinda screws up on startup but other than that... smooth as a baby's bottom.

Mike.

 

For me, none of my video editing softwares work properly. Constant error messages. Freezes. incompatibility issues. Only the most basic functions like surfing and word documents seem to work without hiccup.

 

I'm taking the plunge and will attempt to reboot with XP. If I'm never heard from again I hope one of you guys will feed my dog.

 

I decided against dell laptop only because morons do not supply windows xp with inspiron 9400. most of my software including stock softwares just don't work with vista yet.

 

Good move, Vista totally blows. Worst OS I've ever used.

 

I went from Vista to XP aswell. I'll instal it in 6months or so.

 

schleeb thanks alot.

I've been a lurker of this forum for a couple of years while I waited for my Vaio to give out. I bought the E1505 with x1400 and SXGA+ recently for $750. I hate Vista home basic. The search function and windows explorer are watered down junk. I'm also going with a Ubuntu dual boot.

 

I just made a Acronis image of my Vista system & will be reinstalling XP very shortly!

 

This thread's title is wrong, it's not downgrade... It's an upgrade.

IMO, vista is a very good os, but it's just that people can't write software for it as fast.

 

Is it worth reinstalling that quickset program?

Im not quite sure what it does