General discussion

Drivers: Downgrading from Vista to XP

by derilium | November 30, 2008 3:54 PM PST

Hello,

I have a Compaq Presario C770US Laptop which came with Windows Vista. I have been using Windows Vista for a few weeks, but I have decided that I dislike it and desire to downgrade to Windows XP. I have experience with installing the operating system, but the problem is the drivers. When I check the HP website (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3747506&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=228), there is a large gap between the amount of drivers available for Windows XP vs. Windows Vista. In particular, I am concerned about the WiFi.

Are the drivers listed on the website all the drivers I need?? I need my built in wifi and touchpad to work completely, and an external USB key is not an option for me.

Also, if these drivers are found, will it be possible to have these drivers slipstreamed into a CD for Windows XP? I have a preset for nLite, so it would be preferred if you found a way to integrate the drivers into the CD using nLite.

Thanks in advance
- James

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8 Posts
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You'll Need ALL Of The Drivers For XP
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator | December 1, 2008 1:39 AM PST

..and that will take a little hunting. There are a number of users who have reverted to XP from Vista and before doing so, you'll want to identify ALL of the needed drivers for your machine.. Access the Device Manager while Vista is still installed and write down all the hardware device names and drivers so you can determine which ones you need. Be sure you're familiar with your processor type and brand and it's associate motherboard/chipset drivers. Lots of research to do before you jump in.

For a discussion about other HP users who have done the same thing, click on the link below and read a LOT of posts about the issue:

Drivers for AMD Installations.
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7587_102-0.html?forumID=69&threadID=271360&messageID=2699006#2699006

Downgrading From Vista To XP
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-12546_102-0.html?forumID=133&threadID=243153&messageID=2461470#2461470

Hope this helps.

Grif

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How...
by derilium | December 1, 2008 12:20 PM PST

Thanks for the swift reply, and the information has helped. I started out by trying to find the WiFi drivers. However, I can not find the drivers for the WiFi. I've searched online, but can not find it, and I have asked the HP Customer Support, but they did not help at all. The technician merely told me not to downgrade to Windows XP because it will decrease my PC's performance, and if I still choose to do so, I will not be provided with any additional drivers other than the ones available on the HP website itself.

So does that mean I can't downgrade to XP, since I can't find all of the drivers?

By the way, my laptop's processor is an Intel Pentium -- not an AMD chip.

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Looks like a rough ride.
by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | December 1, 2008 11:05 PM PST
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I ran everest...
by derilium | December 2, 2008 10:52 AM PST

I ran Everest and the results are at the end of this message...

WiFi: Atheros AR5007 802.11b/g WiFi Adapter
I googled that, and I the first page I saw was from the Atheros website (http://www.atheros.cz/download.php?atheros=AR5007&system=3).. It appears they don't have the drivers for Windows XP. I will try searching for 3rd party drivers later on. I have the same luck with the sound drivers.

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer JPC
Generator James
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition 6.0.6001 (WinVista Beta)
Date 2008-12-02
Time 18:38


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name JPC
User Name James

Motherboard:
CPU Type Unknown, 1866 MHz (3.5 x 533)
Motherboard Name Hewlett-Packard Compaq Presario C700 Notebook PC
Motherboard Chipset Unknown
System Memory 2037 MB
BIOS Type Insyde (03/19/0Cool

Display:
Video Adapter Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family (448 MB)
Video Adapter Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family (448 MB)
Monitor Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB] (73600754)
Monitor Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB]

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter High Definition Audio Controller [NoDB]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH8M Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2850
SCSI/RAID Controller Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Disk Drive Hitachi HTS542516K9SA00 (149 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive Optiarc DVD RW AD-7561A ATA Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 140882 MB (29600 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 11742 MB (2042 MB free)
Total Size 149.0 GB (30.9 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard Microsoft USB Dual Receiver Wireless Keyboard (IntelliType Pro)
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard with HP QLB
Mouse Alps Pointing-device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Atheros AR5007 802.11b/g WiFi Adapter (192.168.1.107)
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Modem HDAUDIO Soft Data Fax Modem with SmartCP

Peripherals:
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Canon MP210 series Printer
Printer HP LaserJet 2420 PCL 5
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2007
USB1 Controller Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2830 [NoDB]
USB1 Controller Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2831 [NoDB]
USB1 Controller Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 2832 [NoDB]
USB2 Controller Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 2836 [NoDB]
USB Device Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
Battery Microsoft AC Adapter
Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery


--------[ DMI ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ BIOS ]

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Hewlett-Packard
Version F.32
Release Date 03/19/2008
Size 1024 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD
Supported Standards DMI, ACPI
Expansion Capabilities PCI, USB

[ System ]

System Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product Compaq Presario C700 Notebook PC
Version F.32
Serial Number CND822RD0L
Universal Unique ID E0E93FF6-275711DD-BFBB001E-EC6D0AC4
Wake-Up Type Power Switch

[ Motherboard ]

Motherboard Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product 30D9
Version 83.21
Serial Number CND822RD0L

[ Chassis ]

Chassis Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Version N/A
Serial Number None
Chassis Type Notebook
Boot-Up State Safe
Power Supply State Safe
Thermal State Safe
Security Status None

[ Processors / Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2390 @ 1.86GHz ]

Processor Properties:
Manufacturer Intel(R) Corporation
Version Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2390 @ 1.86GHz
Serial Number NotSupport
Asset Tag FFFF
Part Number FFFF
External Clock 533 MHz
Maximum Clock 1866 MHz
Current Clock 1866 MHz
Type Central Processor
Voltage 1.6 V
Status Enabled
Socket Designation CPU

[ Caches / Unknown ]

Cache Properties:
Type Internal
Status Enabled
Operational Mode Write-Back
Associativity 4-way Set-Associative
Maximum Size 1024 KB
Installed Size 1024 KB
Supported SRAM Type Asynchronous
Current SRAM Type Asynchronous
Error Correction Single-bit ECC
Socket Designation Unknown

[ Caches / Unknown ]

Cache Properties:
Type Internal
Status Enabled
Operational Mode Write-Back
Maximum Size 32 KB
Installed Size 32 KB
Supported SRAM Type Asynchronous
Current SRAM Type Asynchronous
Error Correction Single-bit ECC
Socket Designation Unknown

[ Caches / Unknown ]

Cache Properties:
Type Internal
Status Enabled
Operational Mode Write-Back
Maximum Size 32 KB
Installed Size 32 KB
Supported SRAM Type Asynchronous
Current SRAM Type Asynchronous
Error Correction Single-bit ECC
Socket Designation Unknown

[ Memory Devices / DIMM0 ]

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor SODIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 533 MHz
Total Width 64-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator DIMM0
Bank Locator BANK 0
Manufacturer 0x7F7F7F7F7F510000
Serial Number 0x02150829
Asset Tag Unknown
Part Number 0x36345431323830323145444C335342322020

[ Memory Devices / DIMM2 ]

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor SODIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 533 MHz
Total Width 64-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator DIMM2
Bank Locator BANK 2
Manufacturer 0x7F7F7F7F7F510000
Serial Number 0x0215082A
Asset Tag Unknown
Part Number 0x36345431323830323145444C335342322020

[ System Slots / PCI Express Graphic X16 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI Express Graphic X16
Type PCI-E x1
Usage Empty

[ System Slots / PCI Express-0 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI Express-0
Type PCI-E x1
Usage Empty

[ System Slots / PCI Express-1 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI Express-1
Type PCI-E x1
Usage Empty

[ System Slots / PCI Express-2 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI Express-2
Type PCI-E x1
Usage Empty

[ System Slots / PCI-0 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI-0
Type PCI
Usage Empty
Data Bus Width 32-bit
Length Long

[ System Slots / PCI-1 ]

System Slot Properties:
Slot Designation PCI-1
Type PCI
Usage Empty
Data Bus Width 32-bit
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[ On-Board Devices / Intel Video Graphics Controller ]

On-Board Device Properties:
Description Intel Video Graphics Controller


--------[ Overclock ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU Properties:
CPU Type Unknown
CPUID CPU Name Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2390 @ 1.86GHz
CPUID Revision 000006FDh

CPU Speed:
CPU Clock 1862.11 MHz (original: 1866 MHz)
CPU Multiplier 3.5x
CPU FSB 532.03 MHz

CPU Cache:
L1 Code Cache 32 KB
L1 Data Cache 32 KB
L2 Cache 1 MB (On-Die, ATC, Full-Speed)

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard Name Hewlett-Packard Compaq Presario C700 Notebook PC

BIOS Properties:
System BIOS Date 03/19/08
Video BIOS Date 08/28/20
DMI BIOS Version F.32


--------[ Power Management ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Power Management Properties:
Current Power Source AC Line
Battery Status 100 % (High Level)
Full Battery Lifetime Unknown
Remaining Battery Lifetime Unknown


--------[ Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type HDD

Temperatures:
CPU 63

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And?
by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | December 2, 2008 11:27 AM PST

That's information for you to conduct your research for drivers with.

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Here's the rub...
by Willy | December 1, 2008 11:21 PM PST

Laptops are h/w specific and their maker provides whatever is needed to go. Being a Vista system originally, they often breakaway and start a process where it has drivers only for Vista, afterall that's the way it was offered to sell. When you back pedal and want XP instead. don't expect an easy hunt in getting drivers that are XP ready. You WILL NEED to identify the devices that need drivers and hope for the best. If the h/w device is too new, you maybe out of luck, no XP drivers as "none" were ever made. You can get lucky and find 3rd party drivers but that's usually not available on a timely basis or even doable as only very popular devices get such attention. As for wifi and touchpad, you can try the offering from the OEM makers support website as they maybe "generic" but if alot of bells&whistles are part of the Vista pkg., expect less with XP or none.

tada -----Willy Happy

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It WORKS!
by derilium | January 31, 2009 3:14 PM PST
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and i forgot to add..
by derilium | January 31, 2009 3:16 PM PST

Sorry, but I forgot to tell all people who are reading this that my SATA doesn't work. In order to install WinXP, you have to go into the BIOS and disable native sata support.

When you are done installing all drivers, you're supposed to be able to enable it again without problems. However, when I enabled it, my computer kinda crashed and I had to reboot it a couple of times after disabling the SATA. I'm not sure what's wrong, but I'm just going to leave it off. If anyone knows a fix, please tell me!

- James

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