Install XP on your Vista PC
I bought a new Dell laptop (XPS M1330), and it came with Vista. And with Vista, came so much ‘extra’ that I wondered how complicated using a laptop seemed. The glassy glossy look was the only thing that attracted me initially. A week into using the Vista laptop, I thought I bought a bug. I then prayed, ‘God give me XP’. Isn’t XP the most successful Windows yet? Yes, at least in my experience, XP is a blend of simplicity and sophistication, both in the right proportion. Vista drove me crazy. I installed XP!
Hmm.. so I set out to find out how to get my laptop running Windows XP. That was quite tough. I had to do a lot of research and still couldn’t get it all fixed in one go. So, this guide.
This post aims at giving a short but definitive guide to get a Vista-running-laptop to run XP, and yet retain Vista (after all we paid to buy the laptop with it!), i.e. setting up dual boot.
Step-by-step:
- Getting the XP installation to include the SATA drivers (it won’t generally include)
- Installing XP on a separate partition of the hard drive.
- Setting up dual boot. i.e. to be able to use both XP and Vista.
- Finding and installing the right XP drivers.
- Finishing up.
The first piece of knowledge that came to me when I set out on this task is that, the XP installation CD that I have cannot install XP on a system that runs a SATA hard drive. So I would have to do something about it. That is, I would have to include the SATA drivers into the installation.
There are other ways to get this working, like storing the SATA drivers on a pen drive and sticking it in when XP installation asks ‘for third party drivers press F6′. But I personally prefer creating an XP installation that includes the SATA drivers so that I would be at ease re-installing XP later, easily.
Getting the XP installation to include the SATA drivers:
You would need:
- The XP installation CD.
- SATA drivers provided by the manufacturer. Usually provided on the manufacturer’s website. Download SATA driver for Dell XPS m1330 here – R200174.
- nLite, a freeware application. Download here.
- A blank CD.
Download and extract the SATA drivers to a folder on your hard drive. Say to C:\SATA
Copy the XP CD to a separate folder on to your had drive. Say to C:\XP
Install & start the nLite application.
Choose the location where you copied XP. Click next and Choose Integrate-drivers. On the next screen choose ‘multiple driver folder’. Provide the location where you extracted the drivers to. Select the appropriate driver and click OK. Apply the changes on the next screen and towards the end you would be left with the XP installation with integrated SATA drivers in the same folder where you copied it initially (C:\XP).
Click on the following visuals for a better idea.
Once this is done. We have the installation that has SATA drivers, but its still on the HDD, and it needs to be burnt on to a bootable CD, and you’re done!
The nLite application is capable of making a CD image file from the installation folder (C:\XP).
Start the nLite application. Make sure that the same installation folder is selected and you choose before(C:\XP), and click next. Select ‘Last session’ preset and click next again. On the ‘Task selection’ screen choose ‘Create Bootable ISO’. On the next screen set mode to ‘Create Image’ and click Make ISO. Lo..we have the .iso file that we can burn to a bootable CD.
Use any CD burner application (I recommend Nero) to make the ‘XP Installation with SATA drivers’ bootable CD. Voila! we’re ready to install XP. The best part is that we would not only be able to use the bootable CD to install XP on the laptop now, we would be able to do it any number of times later.
Installing XP on a different partition:
Before installing XP, we would have to download EasyBCD, a utility to setup dual boot after wards. Download it here.
Now that we have a bootable XP CD, we can go ahead an install it. Though you could install two different Operating systems on a single drive, in different folders but it is always safe to install them on individual logical drives . But most of the laptops that we buy these days wont come with a partitioned hard drive. There are several utilities with which we can partition the hard drive. Here are a few utilities that you might want to check out:
Paragon Partition manager.
Segate Partition manager.
Windows Vista disc management.
I would recommend using the XP partition utility which is already on the XP bootable CD that we have just made. Guide to use this utility here – Disc Partition using Windows XP installation.
Once the partition is done, install XP on the second drive (D:\). Don’t be astonished when you install XP and reboot, you’d not be able to boot Vista. You’d only be able to boot XP.
Setting up dual boot:
Restore Vista boot-loader:
Install EasyBCD and launch it. Choose the ‘Manage Bootloader’ option. In the ‘Bootloaderinstallation options’ section, choose ‘Restore Vista bootloader’ and click write MBR.
Setup dual boot:
Restart your laptop. This time, it boots directly to Vista. While in Vista, install EasyBCD and launch it. Choose Add/Remove Entries. Notice the windows vista entry in the ‘Manage existing entries’ section. In the ‘Add an Entry’ section, choose windows and in the version dropdown, choose ‘Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3′. Choose the drive in which you’ve installed XP (D:\) and click ‘Add entry’.
Use EasyBCD application to change the boot options like default OS and the time out at the boot menu. Do this in the Manage Bootloader section.
Restart your laptop. Oh oh! did you not see the boot menu? Now boot into Vista if you want. I would want to use XP!
Have fun, yeah its sure fun to see your laptop perform lot better while running XP.
Installing the right drivers:
After you install XP, setup dual boot, the next challenge would be to find the right XP drivers for your machine.
Laptops that come with Vista generally wont find support on the manufacturer’s site for windows XP. Its tough but it aint any impossible.
If you have a Dell XPS m1330, you could check out this post XP drivers for Dell XPS m1330
Finishing up:
An Antivirus, a Firewall and all the XP compatible software that you need. This gets you ready. Please go through A review on Viruses, Antiviruses and Firewalls- for a brief introduction to various types and categories of Mal-ware, and a review on anti-virus S/W and firewalls.
Please comment on how helpful this post has been. Happy XP 
PS:
On the same lines as this post, I’ve written ‘Install Windows-7 on a vista laptop’. Please check that out as well!
i can only find 64bit drivers for my pc does it need to be 32 bit since my xp disc is 32 bit
Hi Bharat;
I was able to Install WinXp in dual boot with Win Vista.I am able to use both the OS.I have installed WinXP on D drive while Win Vista is pre Installed in C drive.
Most of the functionalities like Blue Tooth, Touch Pad, Display are working fine in Win XP.
But the audio is not working.When i install the MAA KB888 device driver, i am able to listen to audio.
On reboot the error for any audio file is coming as Device Driver not found.
I have been able to install IDT on D drive.I dont know How to solve this problem. On thing i have noticed that the MA KB888 driver instals some hidden file in C:drive after which it gives the on screen instructions to install the driver further in D drive.
Please help me
Thanks & Regards
Vikas Wattal
Vikas, this problem seems a little similar to mine when I installed XP on my machine. Mine is a Dell XPS m1330. What’s yours? I suggest you download a few compatible audio drivers (you could contact the audio hardware manufacturer for help), and then from the device manager select the audio device and update drivers by mentioning the location where you unpack the drivers. This way the OS would decide which driver is the right fit. I also suggest you use the Intel-online updater (see the post for instructions) to update the graphics drivers too. Is say that because the graphics drivers might also contain HDMI drivers that interfere with audio. All the best.
Hi Bharat;
There is one more way to integrate the SATA drivers with your WIN XP CD.
Check the site http://users.telenet.be/jtdoom/basetute/Eng_tut6b.htm
All the drivers are also available through the links provided. I was able to download the SATA drivers from this site & also the integration of these with WINXP.
Bharat: Is there a way other than dual booting with Easy BCD as it again required .Net framework software.
Regards
Vikas Wattal
Thanks Vikas for the information.
Boot information in XP and previous MS OSes used to be on the boot.ini file. But come vista, changing boot setup isn’t that convenient. MS discourages using vista/win7 with an another OS, so obviously they would not let us setup dual boot with XP easily.
Actually, I have not explored options to setup dual boot. I tired Easy BCD and it worked well for me.
yeah it requires the .NET framework but I guess other BCD software also would require you to install .NET framework.
Hi Bharat;
Can you give me the Easy Install BCD. As i have been able to boot WinXp SP2 on my compaq CQ40-412TU.
Now i am not able to boot back to Vista.The Easy Install BCD that i had downloaded is not getting installed on WIN XP.
Please provide on my email.
vikaswattal@indiatimes.com
You can also send me the same on my mail-id through yousendit.com
Thanks
Vikas Wattal
Vikas,
You could download Easy BCD for XP here:
http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1
hi bharat.
This is amit. I recently purchased Compaq C510, laptop. when i tried to install win xp to it with bootable cd. it gave a blue screen error & directed about running chkdsk. my bootable cd is ok as it’s working fine on another system. when i called the seller he said that ur laptop only support vista. now i want to know that how can i install win xp on my laptop. i also searched hp website where caution is written that downgrading from vista to xp can create multiple problems ie. audio, video, networking, cam etc. can u help me by providing the method to install xp without above said possible problems.
Plz help the needful.
Thanx
TY yes finally a detailed description that seems like it can actually work,i havent tried it yet but if it does work its gona be the answer to hours of suffering
i found the other stuff related to the sata driver problem and Nlite stuff but couldnt dualboot after xp was done it was either xp or vista
ima try this right now
i have sony cs230j
Hope this works keep up the good work ty
Amit,
1. I suggest you make sure you get the XP drivers for your model before you try all this. I say that because it wont make much sense to be installing XP and later not being able to use all the devices on your machine.
2. XP bootable as such wont include SATA drivers already. And if your laptop came with Vista, the HDD on it would certainly be a SATA drive. My post details steps to create an XP bootable disc that includes SATA drivers. And mind you, SATA drivers are specific to the device on you machine ( i mean the HDD). Either the maufacturer or Compaq has to provide it.
3. If you have SATA drivers already on the XP bootable, it is possible that the disc needs a chkdisc. Try booting into vista and run a disc check before booting the XP CD.
hello
I have install xp pro on SONY VAIO VGN-FW31E it’s running but not I am having problem with internet I cannot go on to internet, In my network adapters (in device manager) there is two adapters 1- 1394 net adapter and 2- intel(r) wifi link 5100 agn i can access some ones wireless connection on very low signel but i can not access mine. if i check ip address there is nothing in for mine wireless connection, and in other devices there is 5 yellow icons
1- ethernet controller
2- modem device on high definition audio bus
3- pci device
4- sm bus controller
5- usb device
6- video controller (vga compatible)
please please help me I am nearly there
thanks
Do you know if having the dual boot drives will enable me to use my Adobe CS2 on the XP side? I’ve read Vista and CS2 are incompatible…but I spent good money on that suite!
I have a Dell Inspiron 1545. Does your link to the SATA drivers apply to all Dell laptops or this SATA specific to only your XPS M1330?
Thanks for having this site. So helpful.
You could search for drivers online or write an email to Vaio technical support. I tried to check on http://www.sony.co.in/productcategory/it-personal-computer but could not find your model. I have a dell laptop and never had any other before.
dear bharath
thanks for your rep. yes u are right I have checked link you have provided but drivers for this model VGN-FW31E is not listed so is there any other option I mean can I use driver for different model? and second thing if I find driver then how can I include in xp installation with nLite? I have looked nLite yesterday but as a new bee I am bit confuse so please help me?
waiting for your kind rep.
thanks
bapu
Bapu,
1) I don’t think your Vaio would have any problems running XP. So you can give a try with the procedure detailed in this post. However, it is advisable for that you should obtain the right drivers for XP. Try searching on Vaio users forums. This one might help.
At the same time, most of the services (video, Ethernet or may be even sound) might work by default because XP includes many default drivers already.
2) I don’t think you can use/install the Vista drivers in XP. Try identifying each of the devices from the configuration/invoice or the vista ‘Computer Management’ and searching for its xp driver.
Please update us on your progress.
Hello All
I have sony vaio VGN-FW31E, 4GB RAM, 400GB HD, vista home premium now I want to install xp pro is it possible to install on sony vaio? and I have tried to search xp driver for this but I could not find it and second thing can I use currently installed driver? and I want to use nLite to do this
please please help me
bapu
[...] I could literally not use it for more than a month. I felt all of that fuss was unnecessary. I soon setup a dual boot with Windows XP (by far the best OS ever from Microsoft). I’m happy with XP. But the buzz around Windows7 [...]
i have e-system laptop model of 1511 it have vista
and i want to install windows xp2 and when i boot the cd it have been show the blue screen with massge
” check yor virus and restart your
scandisk/f”
and other massage are shown in blue screen
anyone can solve this problem
[...] http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-22215-how-to-install-xp-sp2-on-vista-laptop#p54832 http://bharathreddyt.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/install-xp-on-your-vista-pc/ [*] http://techrena.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-install-your-own-wndows-xp-in-hp.html [...]
hi! i receantly purchased hp pavillion dv1240 tx laptop, having windows vista as inbuilt OS. I tried to install xp as per the procedure described above. i made the disc with SATA drivers. however when i tried to install xp with that cd it doesnt work. i m getting the same blue screen.
please help me out.
Hey guys,
My laptop model is hp dv5 1235 dx. I succesfully installed XP in my system and dual boot with vista with the process mentioned above.
Now I am having problem with drivers. I google a lot but did not find the right XP drivers that supports my hardware designed for VISTA 64 bit.
Can somebody tell me where to get all those XP professional drivers so that I can have sound, wireless and other functions in my laptop.
Thanks in advance.
Hi, I now have Vista and XP Pro on my Dell M133 and XP Pro works like a dream, the only thing that dont work is the side scroll on the touch pad.
If you went a step by step just let me know by email or replay? My email is ianbeckuk@hotmail.com.
P.S. if the want a video step by step on youtube, i can do that to.
Many Thanx
Whiplash
sorry. my laptop model is hp dv5 1235-dx
hae,
From what you wrote here, I understand that you have CS2 installed on Vista and you’d like to know if it works with XP. Correct me if I got that wrong. Well, I’m not really sure if you can. You should try that out and lets us know! Most general applications (say like a media player) can simply be used from within a different OS. But in case the application uses registry entries or such OS dependencies, it might not work. Guess you can reinstall CS2 afresh once you have an XP setup.
The R200174 driver extract says its only for xps m1330. However, I’m sure you’d be able to find one for your Inspiron on the Dell support website or the HDD manufacturer website.
Please update here if you succeed. Happy if this helps you!
Cheers!
Hello, thanks for your speedy reply!
I haven’t installed CS2 yet on my laptop because of what I’ve heard from friends and online about incompatibility with Vista. I’ll try it on the XP side once I install XP on my laptop.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress!
Thanks so much.
Hey,
I am running into same problem. I have HP DV5 1234-dx.
I am trying to install XP professional in my Vista 64 bit and getting error message saying DISK FAILED.
I tried all the process found in google and could not suceed. Your process sounds like it will work.
Can you please guide me how to do it in my latop. I need XP reall bad!!!
Hey,
I am running into same problem. I have HP DV5 123
Thanx for the quick reply, but it was the OS cd I made in nLite, I put in the wrong drives for my M1330.
It ok now…….I went into the BIOS and set it up so the M1330 can boot the XP installation CD and not the one I made in nLite.
Many Thanx
Hi, hope you can help me…..i made the boot cd but after the setup screen and finish coping over the setup file, the laptop reboots then i get the blue screen!!!!
Plz help.
Many Thanx
[...] XP drivers for Dell XPS m1330 Filed under: Guides — bharathreddyt @ 5:34 pm Tags: dell XPS, m1330, XP, xp drivers for m1330, XPS I bought a Dell XPS m1330 laptop. It came with Vista home premium but I have always thought XP was the best MS OS around. It did not take me long to realize I had to install XP on my laptop but at the same time I wanted to retain the Vista that it came with. So I setup a dual boot. To know more in terms of a step-by-step approach to this please go through this post – Install XP on your Vista PC. [...]
bapu,
1) I’m not really sure if you can use drivers of a different model.
2) Note that we need to include only those drivers that are required at boot-time in the OS(XP) installation, and the rest of the drivers can be installed after OS(XP) is setup.
3) Using the nLite application: New laptops come with SATA harddisk drives, and good old XP doesn’t include SATA drivers (that are loaded while XP bootable readies for installation). So the solution (among other solutions) for us is to include SATA drivers (favorably from the HDD/laptop manufacturer) in the XP bootable installation. To help us accomplish this, we use the nLite application. If you read the ‘Getting the XP installation to include the SATA drivers’ section of the post, it only talks about the SATA drivers only and not all the device drivers. The section explains the procedure with illustrations. Please go through and let me know if you need more info.
thank you pal!
Please let me know if this helped you.
u mean the setup completed successfully and after you rebooted you saw a blue screen instead of seeing a login screen to win xp? Try formatting the HDD and reinstalling using a win XP bootable. Make sure it has the right SATA drivers.
Hi,
Can you explain me the steps you followed?
The DISC FAILED error prompts probably at the missing SATA drivers on the XP installation.
Is the harddisc SATA? Have you included the sata drivers in your xp installation and made a boot CD? If not please follow the procedure in this guide.
Hey!
Good to know Xp works well for you too. I’ve reinstalled it recently and it really works seamlessly as before. For the scroll problem I suggest you uninstall the existing touchpad driver and install this one:
http://ftp.us.dell.com/input/R155586.EXE.
Scroll works fine for me with this driver.
The only problem if at all is this:
I use wifi internet at home. When I’m finished, I put my laptop to hibernate. When I wake it up again, the internet just wont work, though the wifi signal is full on and it works fine on others PCs. I would have to reboot the machine, then it works as usual. Any ideas?
Hey. Re: Hibernate stuffing your WiFi. You must click the wireless connection and choose REPAIR, it will take 1min but is quicker then restarting the system.
The reason is that when resuming from hibernate, XP doesn’t see that its been turned off for 1hr, or 1day or 1year. The wireless router however has been living its life in this time assigning the IP address XP had before hibernating to other users of the router. So the router is a bit confused when out of the blue XP resumes and wants to continue the converstaion last had 1hr,1day,1year ago. REPAIR wirless connection sorts it all out.
Hi Ravi,
The possible reason why the HDD isn’t detected (that is why the blue screen, if I’m not wrong), could be that the SATA drivers that you included might not be compatible with your hardware. Please verify if the SATA driver is correct for your dv1240 tx. You can may be talk to the hp techsupport guys. Try making the XP CD (a rewritable CD/DVD would be better) with a different SATA driver than that you used before. Let me know how it went.
Thanks pal for the suggestion. It sounds logical to me. But the problem I mentioned occurred occasionally, though I did not quite concentrate on the exact scenario (was the router turned off or did the internet connection fail while my laptop was hibernating). I’ll try repair and update here. Thanks again.