downgrade to XP? SATA issue?

[dbarton]

I'm getting a laptop with Vista. I want to wipe the drive and install XP.

I can get sound drivers and such for XP but will I have some issue though since its a SATA drive?

Will XP install to a SATA drive or do I need to somehow load SATA drivers first?
Cant do the f6 floppy install as there's no floppy!

[Thought about nlite to slipstream em into XP if need be, but thats a bit confusing.]

 

[jkresh]

xp sp2 will install fine, if you only have an older disk it might not work (though as you said slipstreaming would work). I suggest you try running it with vista for a while before going back to xp (give it a week or 2 and see if everything works)

 

[wgoldfarb]

I just installed XP on a new system with a SATA HDD. From what I read before I tried it, if you want your controller to be configured as IDE, then you should have no problems. If you want to configure as AHCI (or it already is configured that way) then you need to provide drivers. I had it installed as enhanced SATA and AHCI and I had to do an F6 install and provide the drivers on a floppy (I tried it without pressing F6 and got an error).

If you do need to provide drivers and do not have a floppy, check this thread.

 

[dbarton]

I really have no idea what I want my contoller to be configurred as ... All greek to me.. Its a new HP laptop that cpmes with Vista on a SATA drive.

I just want Vist off and Xp on!

AHCI? E SATA?
Please someone explain a tiny bit..

 

[wgoldfarb]

dbarton:

Controllers for SATA drives essentially can be configured in three ways: First is RAID. I won't go into what RAID is here, but if you only have one hard drive RAID isn't even an option for you, so don't worry about it . The other two ways are as "IDE" or "AHCI". IDE is the traditional way that hard drive controllers have been configured, it is essentially how all modern parallel ATA drives are connected. You just found the main advantage of selecting to install as IDE: since IDE has been around for a long time, almost everything works with IDE drives without much effort. The other way to configure SATA controllers is as AHCI. Essentially, AHCI provides a couple of advantages over IDE: it enables something called Native Command Queuing (NCQ) which makes the drive perform better, and it allows you to "hot swap" SATA drives. The drawback is that Windows XP installation will not natively support AHCI controllers, so you need to provide the drivers before installation begins by using the infamous F6 key.

You can check here for more details on AHCI, and here for more info on NCQ.

There is one easy way to find out how your laptop is configured: if you go into the BIOS, there probably is a way to select the configuration of your SATA controller as either IDE, RAID or AHCI. If you find it, it will show what the current configuration is. If it says IDE you can just go ahead and install XP. If it says AHCI, you may need the AHCI drivers for your laptop's SATA controller. You can find them here. I do not know Vista, so I do not know if there is a simple way to find out your controller' configuration from within Vista, without having to enter the BIOS.

For HP machines I believe you can access the BIOS by pressing F10 as soon as the machine is turned on, before windows starts to load. If F10 does not work, try F2 or F6 (Other brands also use the Delete Key or F1, but I believe HP uses one of the three keys I mentioned). What specific model of laptop do you have?

Finally, there are many MANY people in this forum who are infinitely more knowledgeable than I am. So, if anyone wants to correct anything I said, please feel free!

EDIT: When you go into the BIOS, do NOT change the configuration of your controller (i.e. if it says IDE do not change it to AHCI, or viceversa). I believe that it can cause a blue screen error in Windows.

 

[dbarton]

Thanks very much for the *great* detailed answer!!!!!!!!!!
Still waiting for laptop to arrive.. HP v6000t

I'm also looking at upgrading my desktop, and I see your system specs in your message. Looks like about what I need. Anything you'd change? CPU/Mboard?

 

[Patt]

Originally posted by: dbarton
Thanks very much for the *great* detailed answer!!!!!!!!!!
Still waiting for laptop to arrive.. HP v6000t

I'm also looking at upgrading my desktop, and I see your system specs in your message. Looks like about what I need. Anything you'd change? CPU/Mboard?

I just sent you a PM about the system specs too before reading this post I'm building nearly the exact computer, and was wondering the same thing as dbarton.

 

[wgoldfarb]

Patt: I just replied to your PM

dbarton: I am pretty happy with my build. My only complaint so far is the large V droop on the Asus board, but I understand this is common on most Asus boards, and is something that I can easily live with.

Other than that, I would probably have gotten an aftermarket cooler, probably a thermalright 120. While the stock HSF is very easy to install and is doing a great job of cooling (idle temps of 39C in each core at stock voltages and speeds) right now it is the only fan I can hear in my system -- the two 120 mm case fans and the PSU fan are very quiet. So, to make my system absolutely quiet, I should probably change the Intel stock HSF for a cooler with a quiet 120 mm fan.

Finally, I love the P180, but it was a real pain to work with in terms of cable management. Still, I would not change it.

Please keep in mind that this is my first build, so I have no reference to compare it to!

 

[John]

Not all laptops allow you to modify the SATA mode. I use nLite to slipstream the raid/sata drivers into the OS to avoid using a floppy.

 

[dbarton]

Originally posted by: John
Not all laptops allow you to modify the SATA mode. I use nLite to slipstream the raid/sata drivers into the OS to avoid using a floppy.

I tried this and selected the one drive I thought applied. Do you see any reason not to slipstream them all in? Will XP just chose the one it needs?

 

[Shawn]

XP should automatically load the correct driver.


Can I ask, why do you want to remove Vista?

 

[dbarton]

Becasue of extrernal legacy hardware that this laptop is specifically used for..

(Music creating)

 

[InlineFive]

I have a dv6000 too and for XP I had to use nLite to slipstream the drivers into the install. Otherwise it wouldn't work.

On the other hand Vista worked like a charm. If your laptop has 1GB consider running Vista, it has a lot of nice improvements for laptops.

 

[dbarton]

Did you just select that one SATA drive out o fthat list to slipstream in? I'm still waitng for laptop to arrive so cant try it out...

I'm using some legacy USB hardware, so cant use Vista yet. What's so nice for laptops?

 

[InlineFive]

In my mind the largest points are that Vista has greater ACPI support and combined with the more customizable, accessible power management properties a heck of a lot easier to configure for your needs.

Not to mention that the Vista Firewall has outbound filtering and supports classifying networks into three different zones (Private, Public and Domain/Work). Vast improvement for stopping file sharing whilst on the road.

Go to www.hp.com and search Downloads for your model number. You can then select the appropriate SATA driver to slipstream into your Windows install.