Any way to go back to XP from Vista?

I just got a DV6205us at CompUSA ($549 with rebates)
BUT now I am finding a BIG trouble with my older software and the Vista Basic.

I called tech sup: recomendation: take it back for one with XP ( Compusa sent them all back)
They seem to imply that an HP XP restore won't do it and imply that there are BIOS changes that will make me miserable for trying to go back to XP by this or any other means.

Is there known way to get XP on this machine gracefully?
I would be happy to buy a new copy of XP (getting rarer though) rather than replacing a lot of previously known working software. NonVista notebooks disappeared around here at the end of January

(not wanting to lean a new OS and buy all new software was a big reason for not getting a Mac)

HELP!

thanks
Ric

 

Basically the people that told you it would be a nightmare to take a machine from Vista back to XP when that machine has been setup for Vista are right. Don't do it! You'll be in for major headaches and ZERO support from HP if you do that, many people in this forum have tried that and are experiencing the pain. You can still get XP machines online, in stores is nearly impossible as you say. The best I can suggest is doing a return, then finding an option online that fits your needs.

 

Abaxter is right, however if you don't want to return it it is possible to install XP on it still ofcourse.

The BIOS being set for Vista only or whatnot is totally not true you can run XP and/or Vista with the current BIOS for your system flawlessly.

If you are fine with purchasing XP that is, I would suggest looking for an OEM or academic copy as those should be pretty cheap now.

The XP drivers for your machine can be found on HP's website all of which are listed here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1842189&lang=en#

I realize that it says dv9000 CTO but they use the same exact drivers for the dv6000 series this is just a full list of them all, feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.

 

Just return the laptop and buy online. Never ever buy laptops in store. They are horribly expensive and have loads of crap installed on them.

 

Well, if you buy HP online or in store you get the same junkware unfortunately. The only advantage is you might save $$$ on taxes.

Airman is better informed than I on this, you might not be completely screwed. In the Toshiba forum there's discussion about somebody trying to take a Satellite A135 notebook back to Vista from XP and it's a mess.

 

I suppose reverting back to XP would be a mess on certain machines depending on the manufacturers have them setup. However HP isn't that bad luckily, the only factor here is whether or not you want to buy XP or just return the notebook and search for one with XP preinstalled which may be hard to find now.

You will get junkware on most systems as it helps to keep the costs down somewhat and as much of a pain as it is, you will be doing a clean install anyways if you purchase a copy of XP.

 

And yet it begins...

 

I just got a Compaq Presario c509NR. I'm also going to try and wipe it and install XP pro. Vista right now is eating up more than 50% of the memory and 10-15% of CPU at boot. I think Vista is going to be a debacle for Microsoft.
It's a Celeron M processor. Any idea where I can find sata drivers for this beast?
Thanks,
Al

 

I didn't notice any difference in speed when installing and not installing the SATA drivers under XP. When I installed the SATA drivers, I just used the drivers that came installed with XP. You can download them from HP here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...n&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1842189&os=228&lang=en

however you will need a floppy drive...

 

Thanks very much for your help.
I am trying to clarify whether someone has taken a DV6000 series with Vista and made the swap.
It seems like Airman has come close , but before I start I want to try and be more definitive that we are doing the same thing.

Airman, what was the configuration you made the swap on, and when?
Thanks

Just reading the preVista restore threads gave me pause and the HPtech support people's line has begun , "Well , it's not imposible , but...." with a different story each time.
The accounts on the forums are inconsistent and relay a WHOLE LOT of debugging the procedure.
HP online states they no longer sell machines with XP, other than refurbs :-(
It is interesting that many vendors speak of MS having a very liberal exchange policy on returning unsold XP as MS appears to try to drive people to Vista by drying up supplies. ouch.
It would be WAY less expensive for me to just buy a copy of XP than replace the software that I would have to upgrade. If only that will work.
MS and HP are technically keeping the ball out of their court, but....
I like the DV6205, no problems ther and Compusa gave 200$ in rebates and $40 more if I got the service plan. Now If could only get back to OZ.
Rich

 

1: Use something like Ghost 2003, Acronis True Image (run from a boot disc, NOT from the OS!!!) to IMAGE the harddrive...

2: Either that or create your "recovery discs".... then use a disc partitioning program to wipe the hd clean + overwrite the MBR.... so the disc is "clean"..

3: Then install XP.

I could be wrong but I think people are having "issues" because while they may be "formatting" the drive, they are not totally wiping the drive, overwriting the MBR....


PS: You might try looking around on the MS site for instructions... don't know..

It shouldn't be a big deal once you wipe the hd totally clean.

PS: In the link in my sig should be references to the disc programs.

.

 

It's pretty simple you buy the full version of XP, pop it in and install you really don't even need the SATA drivers they make no difference, I have installed with and without them and could have sworn it ran even faster without them. download the drivers from the link I provided in the other thread first so you have them on hand when XP is finished installing. Thats it, once XP installs install all the drivers you need for you notebook, then your done.

It isn't nearly as hard as people make it out to be, just make sure you buy the full version of xp and not an upgrade

 

I think I'm going to bail on this one.
I found a local Frye's with a sale price of $649 for a dv6105us and a $50 reprobate that has XP MCE.
It's a lesser machine. no dual core, 512mb in 2 sticks, and no whiz bang remote w/cardslots,or Lightscribe. Faster AMD w/smaller cache seems a wash and it appears that the dual core advantage requires the memory in 2 slots anyway (?)
Otherwise appears pretty much the same setup as the Intel 6205us. CompUsa's extended warantee was $130 for 2y with screen& bat , Frye's $140 for 3yr no screen or bat, covers my most likely threats.

Bottom line was $539 plus $95 to 200 for XP plus my time and some risk vs
a bit lesser machine for $599 that is plug and play.

HP is retailing the 6205us for $729.99 & the 6105us w/VISTA for
$711.98, if this can represent any kind of value comparison (as of 2/24/07)

For my use (no games no video ripping) this seems a decent deal

Anyway I learned a lot about what is inside of the puppies, MB, BIOS and the ins and outs of support

This question really does need to be a sticky

Thanks again to all and esp Airman
Rich

 

I got XP Pro running on my Compaq Presario C509NR and it runs fast. I come up with 80% of memory available.

I chatted with HP the other night and she gave me the following information on updating XP.

Here are the all the links to download and install the drivers for your
laptop:

Motherboard driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp32501-33000/sp32555.exe

2.Graphics driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33501-34000/sp33736.exe

Before installing Modem driver first download and install the UAA driver
from the following link:

Here is the link to download and install Microsoft UAA driver:

ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/softpaq/sp32501-33000/sp32646.exe

After installing this, download and install the audio driver from the
following link:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp32501-33000/sp32823.exe

Modem driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33001-33500/sp33442.exe

Wireless driver:
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp34001-34500/sp34152.exe

Note, at first the rep gave me the wrong wireless link.


Media Card reader driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33001-33500/sp33413.exe

Quick Launch button driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33001-33500/sp33258.exe

Synaptics touchpad driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33501-34000/sp33751.exe

Ethernet driver:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp33001-33500/sp33444.exe

Clicking on the link may not open the web page. Copy the link and Paste it
in the Internet Explorer address bar and Press Enter.

Here are the Installation Instructions

1. Download the Softpaq .EXE file to a directory on your hard drive.
2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.
3. Restart the notebook when the installation is complete.

Please do not forget to restart your notebook after installing each
driver.

This Audio driver will create a swsetup folder in C drive
("C:\swsetup\sp32823")

Installing the audio driver may result in an error. But continue with the
following steps to get the audio driver installed correctly.

1. Click on Start and select Run. Now type devmgmt.msc and press enter.
2. Right click on "Audio device on High Definition Audio Bus" and click
Update driver.
3. Select "Install from a list or specific location"
4. Click Next. Then select "Don't search, I will choose the driver to
install"
5. Click Next and then select "Sound, video and game controller" from the
list.
6. Click Next and then click Have Disk.
7. Click Browse C:\swsetup\sp32823 folder and select the .inf (wis30b2a)
file and click open and Continue with the onscreen instructions.

THE ABOVE SEVEN INSTRUCTIONS ARE CRITICAL FOR INSTALLING THE AUDIO AND MODEM DRIVERS. Follow them step by step.

Good luck,
Al

 

So I decided to stay with the slightly more expensive and less well equiped 6105 with factory XP-MCE.
I take the 6205 back still in the box sealed by HP tape.
(I'm a surgeon. I do ALL my thinking before I cut)
COMPUSA IS CLOSING!
actually just most of its stores, all the local ones.
My CUSA warantee would have been toast (less postage)
no tech support, not even a nearby place to return the box to to , at the end of the too brief 14 day NQA return period.
Whew!
not only missed a bullet, I missed a barrage.
Now to scan the board to find a way to get that 11.7 gig of bloatware off the puppy's "80"gig hd
and find a way to get that stupid quickplay thingy from turning on the computer everytime I close the case.

with 523 views it looks like at least I haven't been alone in this concern.
Thanks to all who helped.
Rich

 

ok i have the c506CA, and its generally the same computer, as all the steps have worked so far, and its running smoothly, one thing is the audio driver. in the device manager it dosnt even pop up, does anyone have any clue why?

any help would be amazing thanks

 

I had something like this.

In my case the problem was with the UAA driver. Simply installing it is not enough.
As pointed in that XP reinstall thread, after installing UAA you'll have to go into device manager, find it's unrecognized device, click on it and "update driver".

 

ugh, i am making a little progress, where as there used to be no unrecognized device, now i have an unrecognized pci device under audio controllers. but when i try to update the driver, it the .inf i was trying to use (the one that was pointed out above) didnt contain information about my device?

mind you it says unrecognized pci device not Audio device on High Definition Audio Bus

 

Yes, it's UAA.

Don't use any inf. Just do whatever XP whants you to. Cannect to internet or find it by itself - I don't remember.
Again - do as XP reinstallation thread says...

I actually bothered to copy the relevant part:

 

So if I get a clean SATA drive, and have my full copy of XP Pro, I can just install onto a brand new DV6000T? I downloaded the XP drivers from HP's site, and that all seems easy enough to load them from a USB drive..

My real concern is this SATA driver stuff. WIll I be able to install XP or not?
Seems to be conflicting info here...

 

Yes. Installing XP is easy.

Two methods for handling SATA (I tried both - they work):
1. In BIOS disable native SATA
2. Slipstream drivers into XP setup disk (very easy to do)

 

I used nlite. Nice program.

1. I ran the HP SATA driver utility on my desktop machine. i THINK I have the right one.
It wants to put the drivers on a floppy, so I did that.

2. I then copied those files to a directory on my HD, called it 'SATA from floppy' then added the whole dirrectory drivers with nlite. There was a big list of HC drivers so i chose the one that seemed right.
I *think* it was Intel 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH7M) Correct???

3. Made an ISO and burned a new custom XP disk.

Does the directory structure or dir names make any diference when I added these? As long as nlite grabbed em, XP will fnd them when I go to install on laptop? Did I use the right driver?

 

I've stuffed all of them - XP is more than capable to select the right one.

In my case it didn't.

 

Plus, why so much drama?

Just put the CD into the drive, boot from it and XP will tell you right away (well, almost) if it can't find your harddrive. It won't do anything to the machine. It will ask you ten times before starting writing anything.