Downgrading from Vista to XP 5

[rrdavis07]

I've searched for this both here and MSKB and am finding nothing.

A client of mine uses XP Pro, which is required by one of their major apps. The app does not support Vista. They have just purchased a new PC and need to replace the Vista OS that came installed with XP Pro. I've tried to boot from the XP Pro installation CD with the intent to reformat/install. Every time I boot from the CD, it goes through the file copy process, then goes to the "Starting Windows" message and almost immediately Blue Screens.

Is there anything different about Vista or the hardware that is keeping XP from being installed.

Randy Davis, MCP
Southwind Technology Solutions

 

[1DMF]

The app does not support Vista.

it's the other way round Vista doesn't support the app, the app works fine right?

They have just purchased a new PC and need to replace the Vista OS that came installed with XP Pro.

any reason they didn't tell the re-seller they wanted XP not Vista?

anyways, to the problem, are you able to get to the recovery console stage, instead of going for install/format?

then use the format option / fdisk from there?

does the machine have a floppy drive or can you put one in, you could then make a 98 boot disk and also get the HD makers low level format program and completely zap the HD.

low level formating puts the drive back to the state it was when it left the production line before any OS was put on it, that might resolve the issue.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

 

[gpalmer711]

It would also help to know what the error message is on the blue screen.

Greg Palmer
Freeware Utilities for Windows Administrators.

http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

 

[rrdavis07]

The BSOD give very little information, just a generic statement that the computer detected a problem. Under the technical information section, there is the following line:

"STOP:  0x0000007B (0xF7A8A524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

The 7B code appears to be a generic code that could mean lots of things. I've scanned it for viruses. Vista runs normally when booted, so I don't suspect hardware issues (unless there is a Vista ready HD controller out there that does not support XP--unlikely).

I'm told by a Dell tech rep that they are seeing this issue with customers trying to downgrade, but they cannot offer support with it. He commented that he knew there was a fix out there for this, but he was not allowed to talk about it, since they only support the configuration shipped with the computer.

Does anyone know about this fix?

Randy Davis, MCP
Southwind Technology Solutions

 

[1DMF]

(unless there is a Vista ready HD controller out there that does not support XP--unlikely).

But it may be picking up a driver from the HD that was used for Vista and is not XP compatible, have you formatted the disk drive yet?

or still trying to install via XP CD with Vista fully loaded?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

 

[Nelviticus]

I think you have to do this:

- Boot from the XP CD
- Go into the recovery console
- Run fixmbr
- Run fixboot
- Re-boot and get the installer to do a FULL hard drive format
- Install XP.

The fixmbr and fixboot steps get rid of Vista's boot loader.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[1DMF]

You see this is where it's not been made clear where it BSD's

Every time I boot from the CD, it goes through the file copy process, then goes to the "Starting Windows"

I was under the impression the initial (DOS looking) bit was crashing, I.E. can't get to the first bit to go into recovery console, but I could be mistaken, if you can get to the recovery console as 'Nelviticus' states , it should be a breeze killing the Vista install

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

 

[rrdavis07]

No, I do not even get to the recovery console. It BSD's prior to that screen.

I think I've exhausted everything except low-level formating the HD and starting from scratch. However, I can't seem to be able to format the drive. There is no floppy, so using a Win98 boot disk of out. I have a copy of UBD, but whenever I try to run any of the programs, it drops to the command prompt interface, displays the ISOLINUX copyright line and freezes, requiring a hard boot.

Any other ideas?

Randy Davis, MCP
Southwind Technology Solutions

 

[linney]

What type of hard drive is this (SATA or IDE)? Does it require drivers loaded at the F6 prompt?

You will finds some links here to cover your situation concerning the "no floppy drive".

Windows xp Cd not bootable
thread779-1235771

 

[1DMF]

there are also other cd bootable OS's you could try like Knoppix

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

 

[Nelviticus]

Hmm, tricky! Can you temporarily put the hard drive in a PC which does have a floppy drive?

Nelviticus

 

[Nelviticus]

I've just found a Microsoft KB article which might help, but only if you have a Vista DVD available:

How to restore a computer to a previous Windows installation after you install Windows Vista

Steps 1 & 2 show you how to boot to the Vista recovery console from the Vista DVD, while step 6 shows you how to get rid of Vista's boot loader.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[1DMF]

I guess you could also use the vista setup disk to drop to DOS Prompt and diskpart the drive, killing the volumes with the CLEAN command and then boot from XP CD, as the drive will be completely empty and ready for format with XP.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

 

[wolluf]

Put the drive in an XP machine and wipe/repartition/format it there - but I suspect you may still have problems (you did take note of SATA, drivers etc - if you do need drivers for XP to access hard drive you will need to temporarily add a floppy drive or create a slipstreamed XP install CD which includes the necessary drivers - use something like nlite). During Vista beta testing I often used XP install disk (to regress) on Vista system with no problems - can't really see that having Vista on the machine should matter one way or the other. So, though Vista runs ok on this machine, you may have hardware/compatibility issues with XP - even though that sounds very unlikely.

 

[bigste]

These Dell SATA drive controllers all seem to have some kind of RAID option attached to them, it's quite likely that you'll need to add some additional drivers when the F6 prompt comes up. Try downloading them from the Dell website something like ICH8R drivers you'll need. Unzip the executable and copy the contents to a floppy.
I got mine from here, but yours are probably different:-

http://support.euro.dell.com/suppor...1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=41&fileid=173456

They're good for all these devices:
- Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 631xESB/632xESB SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 631xESB/632xESB SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GHM SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GR SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GR SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GH SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 82801GH SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801FR SATA RAID Controller
- Intel(R) 82801FR SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller
- Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO I/O Controller Hub (ICH8R)
- Intel(R) 631xESB/632xESB I/O Controller Hub (ESB2)
- Intel(R) 82801GHM I/O Controller Hub (ICH7MR)
- Intel(R) 82801GBM I/O Controller Hub (ICH7M)
- Intel(R) 82801GR I/O Controller Hub (ICH7R)
- Intel(R) 82801GH I/O controller Hub (ICH7DH)
- Intel(R) 82801FR I/O Controller Hub (ICH6R)
- Intel(R) 82801FBM I/O Controller Hub (ICH6M)

try it ;-)

 

[gmiles]

Out of curiosity, did you ever try running the program in "Compatibility mode"? I had an app that we needed running in Vista, and after running the install executable in Compatibility Mode, the program worked just fine. Likely not viable for anything too complex, but might have been worth a shot.
-gmiles

 

[rrdavis07]

Thanks, everyone, for you input. We ended up returning the Dimension and getting something with XP already installed. I really think that bigste has the answer with his list of drivers. Unfortunately, I returned the box prior to getting that information.

Randy

Randy Davis, MCP
Southwind Technology Solutions

 

[Circle9]

Just insert your XP CD, then start the computer and format the HD and install XP. By the way, Vista has a compatibility format, where you can choose to run it under XP compatibility format.

 

[NerdsLogic]

I just wanted to chime in and CONFIRM that you will have to download the driver R130118 from Dell as suggested by bigste, Put it on a floppy, perform and F6 install of Windows XP, specify the storage driver which is on the Floppy that you have temporarily installed in the E520.

In my case, I used an internal floppy and did not confirm this solution using a USB floppy.

 

[hoc7hoi9]

I think the solution to install XP on a pre-installed Vista machine is to wipe out the disk completely. I had the same experience with a newly assembled machine with SATA drive. Once Vista is installed on the new harddrive the disk won't accept XP. In effect, I found out that the only way to reformat that disk is with Vista! A search on some forums shows that, in order to install XP, the hard disk must be wiped out by special softwares such as DBAN or KillDIsk. These free version of either one can be downloaded from their repective website. A floppy or a cd is used to boot the PC and and re-format the drive. After that, XP or other OS's, even Vista, can be installed.

Hope this info will help.