Windows Vista / XP question

Recquently I upgraded to Windows Vista and have been having a problem with games freezing up on me. I'm guessing its the GPU driver - Dell has not released a 7900GS driver. Nvidia's drivers won't install. I thought I had a solution to the problem through laptopvideo2go, but it still freezes. Anyway, I am thinking of going back to XP. I'm planning to get a new 100Gb 7200 rpm hard drive and do a fresh install of XP. I have a couple of questions:

1.) Is there anything I need to know about a fresh install of my Dell Windows XP?

2.) Will the Bios revert back to XP settings when I install XP?

3.) Can I leave my old hard-drive with Vista on it and interchange the hard-drives if needed? Or do the BIOS have to change every time I switch out the hard-drives?

Thanks for any responses.

 

The nVidia driver issue is a major deal. The only driver I have found to be 100% stable is the default Microsoft driver.

Reverting to XP shouldn't be a big deal. May take some time, but it's going to be more stable in the end. If you can tolerate the vid hangups - stay with Vista.

The BIOS is fine - you do not have to 'downgrade' your BIOS to run XP.

I would leave the old drive intact with Vista - if only to be able to test new versions of nVidia drivers as they are realeased (dont hold your breath though). lol

If you have only a single HD tray, then it might make switching drives out a pain.

If you plan on bouncing back to vista frequently, I would suggest not using the screws to lock the tray in place. You risk stripping the screws out if you arent careful.

Remember Gooch... the driver issue is in Dell's court. nVidia has stated it is up to the manufacturer to release an updated driver. I have lost a lot of faith in Dell over this lack of support (I didnt buy an XPS lappie for strict business).