Windows Vista Hardware ???

OK,

I just got back from Best Buy asking if they sold any VIAOS with XP. The sales guy said no, that my best chance would be on line. Then he said something ODD.

"Don't buy a PC with Vista and try to install XP. It won't work. The hardware will only run on Vista".

I thanked him and went on my way.

Now there have been a lot of threads here and on other forums about that very statement. So:

Has anyone bought a PC with Vista and done a fresh install of Windows? 2K or XP?

I have one copy of Vista Business I kept trying to install and finally got it running on a dual core xeon 1.? Ghz and 2 GB of ram.

After testing for over a month and ****ing about with AD Policies and templates, I have concluded that there is no way in hell I'm going to put that **** on my network.

/rant

But I am curious as to this "Vista only" Hardware thing. I'll keep my thoughts to myself

I believe it has to do with drivers....and if there are drivers for XP.

I got a dell vostro...XP pro

Have no time to fiddle with vista right now

MLF

Quote:

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Has anyone bought a PC with Vista and done a fresh install of Windows? 2K or XP?

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The Wolfman has not. But I have upgraded my XP machine to Vista without any issues.

The only issue I see with downgrading a Vista PC back to XP is perhaps driver issues with some hardware and DRM support. (If you have media that requires a DRM certified device, it may not work in XP)

Thank you for the laugh, I have a brand new gateway that I downgraded (upgrade if you ask me) to XP SP2 that I bought from best buy, the manufacturer's website has the drivers for both OS (xp and vista) because "most" manufacturers allow you to order a customized computers, with your choice of OS. It would not be the best idea to offer a computer and based on the consumers operating system's preference tell them they have to downgrade the hardware to use this system...

I don't mean to offend but the kids working the best buy computer section are not exactly IT pros if you catch my drift =)

so to answer your question, yes I have.

I even went and used the reinstall vista disc from the manufacturer and installed vista, with no problems! (after I was done with XP)

the only problem I encountered were the device drivers which were easily accessible via the manufacturers website.

we had a couple of leather bound [don't ask :p] notebooks that came with Vista loaded, but the policy here [UK NHS Trust] is to only allow XP, as Vista tries to become master browser ??

we eventually got XP on both, but the first one failed big time, don't know if it was hardware related, or just the nut that holds the mouse :eek: at fault

but XP WILL go onto a Vista machine
it just seemed such a waste .........
we should have bought the notebooks sans OS, or, at least got them with XP already on

but such is [working] life

The only time I would see it potentially being a problem would be with a brand new model. Some of the lower end boxes contain OEM components that have been supplied to the manufacturer with only Vista drivers.

I believe that there might bee a slight issue if you have a SATA hard drive? IIRC XP doesn't load the SATA drivers on install so you might have to use nLite and create a slipstreamed CD with the drivers on it.

As others have suggested, just make sure that you have the drivers up front.

I know people who have done this with no problems, they wanted the machines to compatible with the rest of their networks & equipment.

EDIT: If you do this it might invalidate your warranty and/or technical support. I would feel happier if it were a model that I knew had been supplied with XP in the past.

Nihil is exactly right.

I deal specifically with Notebooks at work.

In my case the problem with going to Xp from Vista on these notebooks is that on most of the models that I deal with driver support is limited.

Same goes for Xp to Vista for those that wanted to upgrade an 'older' notebook.

Our desktop lines have a similar issue I understand, in that the 'budget' line is fairly adamant about staying in the OS that was shipped with it (or same OS family) because of driver signing.

Modem risers, some of the system board controllers.. You get the point I'm sure. It all boils down to the cost of the components making that Vaio you were looking into. I feel confident enough in the hardware, that you could make Xp work...

As far as your concerns with Tech support and warranty...

My experience with most Major manufacturers (the one I work for included) is-- You do what you can to proove the hardware is functioning, and then if it didn't ship with that version of Windows, refer them to free online support options or Microsoft.