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Want to Wipe Vista & Reinstall XP

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baracuda

baracuda

Technical User
Nov 6, 2003
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New dell dimension preloaded with Vista. Owner can't function without certain apps that currently are not Vista compatible. She finally talked Dell into cutting her a deal on the purchase of replacement XP software but not until they gave her a big attitude and suggested the problem was her fault. My problem is that the machine freezes once the XP drivers are loaded during the initial stages of the install. I've tried wiping the drive with Acronis but received a "no hard drive installed" error. Does anyone know if Vista protects the drive from being wiped? Have you succeeded in repartitioning a drive w/Vista?
 
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I would suggest the drive be nuked, ie. Duke'sBoot&Nuke (aka DBAN)... this basically zero fills the drive...


then go from there...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
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1) Wiping Out Special "Recovery" Partitions, Pt. 1

Some clues and past stories here.


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

Downgrading from Vista to XP
thread1583-1350480

Using DBAN
thread1583-1373898


XP Drivers for a Gateway w/Vista?
thread779-1329243: XP Drivers for a Gateway w/Vista?


How can I install Win XP Pro SP2 on a Vista Pre-installed PC ?
thread779-1373663

Vista OS to xp pro OS?
thread779-1375858
 
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You MUST wipe Vista with something like Dariks Boot and Nuke in order to install XP. Ben has the link above but for sure an XP format won't wipe the drive clean like "BAN" will. I use Active @KillDisk but essentially it does the same thing.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!
 
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Is it time someone produced a FAQ on this?

I'm sure it would be very popular.
 
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Wow - thanks for the wealth of info Linney. I did search the T-T archives but aparently came up short or I wouldn't have bothered with my post. Anyway, I have decided to take the least painful way out of this situation by putting a second drive w/XP in the PC and keep the original intact so that down the line when some of the bugs have been worked out, the owner will be able to switch back with less pain. Curious that most of the posts refer to Dimension as the problem PC as that is what I am dealing with. I have noticed Dell is not currently offering the model my client purchased only 4 weeks ago but has made an option to purchase its sister PC with XP installed.

And yes, pjw001, it is time for a FAQ on this issue.

Appreciate everyone's posts on this matter. Just finding Dban was worth my time on this one. :)

 
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After 8 hours of trying every work around I could find, I have concluded this: when it comes to installing XP on a SATA drive, you have to either slipstream the installation disk or load the controller drivers using a floppy at the F6 prompt. A flash drive or CD with the drivers will not work. It has to be a floppy. On the Dimension mobo there was the added issue of the power supply for the floppy being a serial connection not 4 pin. Never seen this before. So my attempt to throw a floppy in the machine failed. I am down to two options: getting a floppy from Dell that works with this board or trying an external. I couldn't find any postings on using an external (I am curious if it will be found during the install). Slipstreaming is more work than I am willing to go through. Does anyone know if an external floppy will work do load drivers at the f6 prompt?
 
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Linney - these links confirm my post: there are only two ways to skin this cat - slipstream or f6/floppy drive install of the drivers. I finally succeeded with the install of XP on the Dimension E521. I used a USB floppy drive and basically had no problems with it finding the files on the floppy. So I answered my own question - you can use an external floppy drive to f6 the drivers.

Thank you everyone for the information.
 
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