Do we need an official XP help thread?

i am wondering if anyone agrees that it would be nice to start an official thread or something to help everyone out with installing XP. i have read many times in multiple threads about people who are having problems with finding XP drivers and in my case, as a newb, many people seem to not even know where to begin so if anyone else is having any issues with XP maybe this thread could turn into a support group for people trying to downgrade to XP. Anyone who has thoughts on this please feel free to respond!!!!

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X-205 Sli1 Vista

 

If some users wanted to whip up a guide on how to install XP on Toshiba notebooks (as in as many models as possible), we could work on making a sticky guide. We prefer it to be high quality material with links to drivers and pictures for some instructions, and you can make it into a few different threads if need be. We'll merge them or just create an index when the work is done.

 

That sounds like a great idea to me. i will try to start working on a guide for my X-205 Sli1 (and i am thinking that the essential drivers will work with all the X-205 models) this weekend but i am fairly new to this so if anyone is interested in helping me out on this one that would be great!!!

 

It'd be a great idea. There are great people in here who have the knowledge and want to help. I suggest to put a general pdf if applicable doc for all models, and refer where the differences are, or even to start model by model.
I can't imagine that a well known company like Toshiba, is careless to keep its customers. I can't even imagine that in one day they just decided to stop HD-DVD support....

 

Just FYI, but here is an example from a guide posted in the HP forums:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=165319

 

I have a tip for people attempting an XP downgrade which made it much less hassle for me.

I used FirstDefense-ISR so there was no need to worry if an incorrect driver screwed the system. You can restore the previous snapshot quickly, and still have the Vista OS available without needing a dual boot, partitioning etc. Work on it at your leisure etc and still have a working OS to use in the mean-time.

What's more, after getting XP running properly, the correct boot record will be installed, FD-ISR can be uninstalled and you can image the OS partition to create a "recovery dvd" of XP, with no Vista leftovers what-so-ever.

 

Sounds great!
I like the idea of a guide when upgrading from vista to XP Pro.

 

That sounds awesome! i was wondering how exactly this works??? do you install XP directly to a recovery image or what? Also since XP doesnt support SATA can i use my Nlite XP disk for the install?

 

Well I was just about to post how it works. But the versions that are helpful in this respect are no longer available. I'm looking for other products that will work similarly.

 

I don't understand your post before last.

What did you mean.

If you could still please post your method or anything here.

 

Ok, FirstDefense-ISR has been available through several publishers/developers since it came out. Several months ago Horizon DataSys got it and crippled it.
Read this.
Without the use of offline archives and multiple snapshots it makes it worthless. And it's not possible to have 2 different bootable operating systems.

I have the last build brought out by Raxco (of PerfectDisk fame), build 205. It has all the features required. I don't know of another product that can do what FDISR does, and do it reliably. I think Horizon DataSys Rollback RX Enterprise can do it but it's expensive.

So it looks like drive imaging or multi-booting would be the only way for you all, unless you know where to get a copy of FDISR, build 205 . Honestly, using FDISR makes this sort of thing absolutely painless. In fact I'm leaving it installed. My notebook has both Vista and XP, I can switch between them and don't have to bother partitioning and creating a true multi-boot system. And any time "driver hell" occurs I can return to a previous state in minutes.

 

slipstream SATA drivers, chipset drivers, KB888111, and network drivers into XP install disc, then install everything else later.

here's the drivers for the X205-sli3 http://www.davidfarmerstuff.com/XP-Laptop-Drivers/drivers.zip

 

btw, xp Service Pack 3, RC2 is available from Microsoft, so it's a good time to install/re-install

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...99-12AF-42B2-AAB1-B969A62C68A7&displaylang=en

 

Only if you want to re-install again afterwards. There's too much trouble with desktops with it let alone a laptop.