Gateway P-7805u FX... Changing OS help?

Hi people i bought this laptop
Gateway P-7805u FX (Vista home) about 1 month ago and i want to install xp home on it.
On laptop it says Windows vista.

So is this a good idea cause i dont really like vista.
Do i need to install motherboard drivers and stuff.

thx

 

You'll have to find, and install, XP drivers for every component, such as the chipset, the audio, the GPU, etc..., etc....

 

What do you not like about Vista? It's mature enough now to be good in many regards now that Service Pack 2 is available.

Edit: I'm not saying XP is bad... it's just that you'll be sacrificing many positives that Vista brings, such as better resource management (by utilizing more memory efficiently) and much better security (despite the UAC popping up a bit frequently, but it protects your system better than you might think).

 

I'll second that, and I just got a forced switch from XP to _Vista when my 6 y.o. VAIO decided to start eating its fourth hard drive - no looking back!

 

You might want to visit the Gateway Section of NBR. Many threads discussing XP swap over among other subjects relating to this notebook.

And I agree with the previous posters and recommend that you give Vista a good run first before making the change over to XP.

cheers ...

 

Yep, stick with Vista.

 

Or not ... just had to see the post count go to 1000.

 

lol, grats on 1000th post!

 

You need:
XP CD with SATA drivers (So you can use AHCI mode)
Chipset Drivers
Nvidia 9800M GTS Drivers (I love the Dox 182.46)
Gigabit Lan Drivers
Media Reader Drivers
WIFI Drivers
Touchpad Drivers (I prefer the Dell drivers so it can auto-disable touchpad when USB mouse is plugged in)
Sound Drivers (You'll need to read about Rancid's audio fix and using Devcon on startup to restart the Microsoft UAA Bus to recognize Sound, HDMI Sound, and Modem)
Nvidia Audio (HDMI, only needed if ur going to use audio thru HDMI iirc)
Modem (Are u really gonna fax/use 56k? If not then this isnt needed either)
ESATA (If you're gonna use it, some people have it working+have the drivers)

There are a couple other things I've heard like the webcam mic possibly not working, although iirc you can just use a regular mic or the mic input, I'm using a headset and it works fantastic.

All these drivers are available on this forum, along with MANY XP users who can help you with problems.

 

Agreed that Vista can be a bit doggy but before going back to XP I'd look too Windows 7. Now that I've upgraded I'd never go back without some major kicking, screaming and alot of other serious expletives..................