FOR VISTA USERS [HOW-TO AND CHEWB ADVICE] Windows XP Pro Performance Edition

YOU WILL HAVE TO BE EXPERIENCED WITH BOOT LOADER MODIFICATION, HARD DISK PARTITIONING, BURNING IMAGES ONTO CDS AND NOT FREAKING OUT AT EVERY ERROR.


Dear Mods/Minions: I hope this is not advertisement. If you want, you can remove the link and replace it with a google search link. But I would appreciate you keep this tut as I have put some time into this...

You Vista users I'm pretty much positive the annoying compatibility hack issues, unstable OS and having a laggish computer has made you scream in frustration. Seek no further! Windows XP Pro Performance Edition is here to save the day. Here are some great reasons to use it:

- ITS XP, meaning XP only hacks WILL work on this OS!
- You can keep all your Vista stuff, if you dual boot, so you can choose which OS to boot from!
- Its very resource light, when started, it only has 32 processes. It also takes around half the memory of Vista.
- It comes as 32-Bit, Vista 64 not compatible? You got yourself a 32 bit backup!

I know this sounds like advertisement but I really want to help all you frustrated Vista users. And also to reduce compatibility spam.

You can get this great version of XP from: Window XP SP3 Pro ASSASSIN Edition Jan.2009 For Gamer v2.0 » Full Software Downloads - Download For All

Notice: Win XP 7 Pro SP3 Ultimate Edition V. 3.0 has numerous advantages over the the one I posted above. Download Link: Windows XP 7 Pro SP3 Ultimate ASSASSIN Edition v3.0 Fully For Gamers - ...::ien dan Quang Nam Online:::...

The download is extremely light, only 233 MB. That is 1/3 the size of Linux Mint.

READ THE WHOLE POST BEFORE YOU EVEN TRY ATTEMPTING THIS. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE CONFIDENT IN DOING EVERY STEP SUCCESFULLY. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOST OF DATA.


Materials Needed:
A CD able to store a 233 MB ISO.
A CD Burner/Writer.
Permanent Marker (Optional)
Plenty of confidence and Experience
A second computer with internet access.
Your computer manual.
A Flash Disk. (Recommended above 2 GB of FREE space)


Lets Start!

Now you have to burn the ISO onto the disk. You Nero or some other disk burning application to burn it onto a disk. Label the disk incase you need it again in the future. BE ECO PEOPLE!

Now you will probably need your basic drivers. For me that was nVidia display, Intel wireless drivers, nVidia and Realtek HD Sound drivers. Try googling for each one of them on your second computer. If you run ATI, search for ATI drivers. Use common sense. I expect you to be smart enough. Transfer the driver setups on your flash disk. You will need these drivers later, if they don't work, just try to find another one on your second computer.

Make a new partition, call it Z or something. Just remember the letter. Make it around 20 GB. That will be enough to start out, but you should increase it later. DON"T DELETE THE PARTITION CALLED RECOVERY. IT IS VITAL TO YOUR COMPUTER.

Now you got your CD, refer to your computer manual to find to find out how to get to your BIOS screen. You will need to make some modifications to allow it to install for XP. Be sure you are comfortable with adjust your BIOS settings. If you arn't discontinue this guide immediatly, I will not be in charge if you have a broken laptop in the end.

Now restart your computer, I advise to keep this web-page open on the second computer and restart your main computer that your going to install XP.

When it starts up, access your BIOS screen. On the settings, try to find the setting that will allow you to set your hard drive to compatibility. (I will fill it in after I reboot my computer and find it again). Insert your CD. Set boot option to boot from disk. Then go to save and exit.

Now it will restart then it will say booting from CD, press any key to continue. Press a key. Then it will start extracting everything. Once it finishes it will go through the self-explanatory setup. Choose to set up your XP on the partition you made earlier. There is a backup partition, DON"T DELETE THAT. IT IS VITAL TO YOUR COMPUTER IF U EVER NEED TO INSTALL LINUX OR RECOVER YOUR PC. If you get a BSOD after extraction, don't panic. Make sure your HDD on your BIOS is set to legacy or compatibility. If that dosen't work, come over here and I will try to help you. Try to take a picture of your BIOS screen if you do need help.

Now after you setted it up, you will log in as Administrator. Put in the password you set in the setup. Now XP will boot up and it looks all awesome and stuff. Now take your flash disk and plug it into the USB port. Install all the drivers, if they don't work just find another one on the internet with your second computer. Drivers vary and I can't really upload mine. Ur almost finished!

The boot loader is now corrupted. OH NO! You will have to fix the boot loader.
Google for a boot loader manager. You will have to add back your Vista partition. I advise online help since this process is really variable on what program your using. So I can't help you too well here. After you fixed your bootloader. Restart your XP computer. If you can see your boot options you can select which one to boot from! Select XP and your on XP now! Congratz!
You have now successfuly installed XP on your Vista computer. Enjoy

I will go up to here and I will see if I need to edit/update anything. Please enjoy.

I'm sorry I have noticed this topic is very advanced for most people. But I ask you to thank me and rep me anyway :P . This does save a lot of time, my experience was all from Trial and Error. This guide does make it easier...