Downgrading from Vista to XP

...the drivers you've found make it possible.. Generally, it may be necessary to disable SATA support in the BIOS so that the XP disc can recognize the hard drive during the installation process... But, if you want to install the SATA drivers during the XP installation process (F6 key at the appropriately indicated time), you will need a floppy drive (either internal or USB) so the drivers can be added during the XP install.

For those that want the ultimate speed out of the hard drive, (gamers, etc.), I'd recommend installing the SATA drivers and re-enabling SATA support after the install.. For all others, you probably won't notice the difference so leaving SATA support disabled is fine.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Hi Grif,

Thank you very much for the assistance. I actually found out that DELL did NOT include any XP SATA drivers or, for that matter, the drivers for the chipset for my model computer (DELL Inspiron desktop 531). So, I am now at a loss as to what to do. I know I need, at the least, the chipset drivers but just have no idea where to go them from.

Anyway, let me outline what I think I should to downgrade this thing and please tell me if I have the steps correctly:

- Go to the BIOS and disable SATA setting (may also need to change boot sequence)
- Put XP disc and begin set up
- After completing the setup I should install those drivers DELL provides
- Need to look for chipset drivers and install them
- Need to look for any other drivers not available

Is this pretty much it?

Please let me know.
Thanks,

Find the chipset driver BEFORE you wipe the drive and install XP.. It's the FIRST driver I usually install after XP finishes its installation process. The chipset driver is critical in allowing USB, PCI, and other motherboard devices to function correctly.. Have you tried calling Dell for their help regarding the chipset driver?

In addition, BEFORE anything, Open the "Device Manager" in your current Vista installation and write down ALL of the listed devices and their associated drivers.. This information can be valuable after you install XP when and if your chosen drivers don't work correctly.. You can easily find the device name and search for the driver later using the written data.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Hi Grif,

Just wanted to say thank you for the help and tips. I downgraded this past weekend with absolutely no issues. I didn't even have to disable the SATA setting since the XP setup started with no problems. After the set up was finished, I installed the drivers I was able to locate in various places, and that was about it! I now have a pretty fast XP machione that I just really like.

Again, thanks for the answers and suggestions.