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General discussion

XP INSTALLATION PROBLEM!!

Jul 10, 2007 2:59PM PDT

Hi,
I recently bought a new HP laptop with pre-installed Vista Home Edition.The model is Pavilion 6548ea.

My problem is I was not able to install the XP OS in it.When I tried installing it couldn't recognize the hard disks .My friend said that some laptops are built only to work in Vista.

Comment on this please!!!

Discussion is locked

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TRied Disabling 'Native SATA Support' In The BIOS?
Jul 10, 2007 3:35PM PDT
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Cant find native sata support option
Jul 11, 2007 3:44PM PDT

in the bios.My model Number is hp pavilion 6548ea.
Using DBAN in this case is it advisable?

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Not All Have 'Native SATA Support' In BIOS...
Jul 12, 2007 10:27AM PDT

...but many Intel motherboard/processor combos do and I believe that's what you have on your machine.. Still, whether you choose to wipe the drive and forge ahead is up to you... It depends on you experience doing these types of things.. If you read all the posts in the "downgrade" link I provided, you'll see that I wiped the drive EVERY time I've downgraded. The XP disc usually wasn't recognized unless I did so.. Not always, but usually. But then, I've done this a few times... BE SURE to make the Vista Recovery discs which can help you go "back" if you need to ..

Most importantly, you'll need to have a CD with ALL of the appropriate XP drivers before wiping the drive and installing the new operating system. Be prepared before jumping in with both feet.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Are you sure whether
Jul 12, 2007 11:12PM PDT

after wiping the entire hard drive, Xp will be identified.Have u done this many times?

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Not Grif but done this many times.
Jul 12, 2007 11:17PM PDT

What some forget is that installing any version of Windows is far from automatic. Some may have used Restore CDs that walk them through the process. When you use the retail versions new to Windows installs often forget that they are in a new land with new rules about finding drivers or how to prepare (or not!) the hard disks.

In short and to the question about all the disk space this is simple. One can wipe the drive and let XP's installer create a new big volume (inside the limits of the XP CD) or use any number of the other options. There is no one true path to doing this but in all cases you can use the entire drive space if you want.

Bob

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Done Many Times Including...
Jul 13, 2007 10:51AM PDT

..about 6 or 7 times on Vista machines so far. Am I Sure that XP will be recognized... No, I'm not sure.. Lots of problems can cause the disc not to be recognized.. Bad disc... Bad DVD/CD drive.. and other things as well.. But, if you're familiar the basic troubleshooting process, you should be able to work it out.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Research this.
Jul 12, 2007 11:49AM PDT