Any computer geeks out there?

Hey, I just got a laptop that has windows vista on it and I've come to the conclusion I hate Vista.  Is there any way without paying for a copy of xp to downgrade to the windows xp?

It's a compaq presario but I have an dell disk with windows xp on it that came with my other computer.  Do you think this will work?

I think I may qualify for the "Geek" thing that you speak of... The short answer to your question is "No" you cant downgrade to XP for free, you will need to have a license key in order to install the operating system onto the machine.  That being said, there are ways of obtaining license keys in a Not so appropriate manner, if you know what I'm sayin'... wink, wink. Now, I was an early adopter of Vista at work and it really grew on me in time.  Yes, there is a learning curve with it but once you get used to it, it is not that bad. Good Luck Rob

Hi James, you can take it back and order one from HP direct with XP on it.  That is only way to avoid paying for two OS licenses.

I too just got a new laptop with vista installed. I spent two weeks trying to reformat and go back to xp. Its a long complicated process. I got most everything to work but there were just no xp drivers for the video card and chipset drivers. So in the end I went back to vista and I'am learning to live with it. Damn Microsoft! Between them the hardware manufacters they just have to keep coming up with ways to milk more money out of consumers. You can try but in the end it probably just wont work. the only way is to get one that has xp installed in it like the gentalman above stated. Have a great day, Derrick

My dad just got a new laptop and he wanted to throw it out the window!!! There is about a 2-3 week learning curve. I have learned from helpinf him that the are patched you can download from HP.com that can make the transfermation easier. I do know that you can use XP things (word docs, etc) on Vista but not visa versa.

Good luck

Sean

i bought my daughter a laptop for her b-day with Vista on it.  We were having some problems with speed and programs not responding.  I found out that the Norton that came on it was conflicting with the AVG anti virus program I had .  Once I totally got rid of the Norton, evberything works very well now.  There are free norton removal tools available on line if you want to go that route.

I bought my mom a Compaq desktop for Christmas and I hate Vista, her almost brand new printer would not work with it. Eventually however, they will force us to us it, just like they seem to always do!

The short answer is probably not. The long answer is that if it was Vista Business instead of Vista Home Premium, the answer would be yes, you could downgrade for free to XP Pro.  See my blog post at http://blog.bftcpa.com/2007/12/some-vista-user.html.  You also have to make this selection pretty quick after you purchase a PC with Vista Business.... Best regards, Brian

yeah since I have vista home I'm screwed.  Oh, well.......maybe if I could just figure out what all this crap HP installs on the computer and what I need and don't need it would be easier to use!