What exactly does it mean that it has been downgraded to XP? I assume since XP is being installed in Vista that both OS's are on the computer. Would it be possible to switch between the two if and when I decide which one I want to stay with? If so, how easy is it?

This is NOT a discussion on whether XP or Vista is better, I am just looking to find out how this works. Is it a dual OS or, whether I choose option 1 or 2, will I be stuck with that OS?

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

ISK# AWESOME - DEATH SQUAD

Because I'm working and don't feel like making a personal call, duh

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Quote, originally posted by .dave »

Pretty sure you'll be stuck with it. I wouldn't say going Vista to XP is a downgrade though.

Haha I know, but the computer I'm getting is more than fast enough to run Vista without any sort of major stress on the system. The way I see it, Vista is a shinier XP. The only real difference is looks.

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Make sure you have atleast 2gb of memory

MA
http://www.mensalmanac.com

RON PAUL 2008!

And compatibility with certain things.

I have XP Pro and Vista Ultimate 64bit. Vista is pretty and has some flashy features but I'm back to XP in classic view.

I prefer more streamlined windows that works with everything without problems over fancy "polished" layouts.

Write the place an email and ask what exactly that means if you don't want to make a call at work. You have no problem posting on HT at work so just write an email to them.

ISK# AWESOME - DEATH SQUAD

I have an 11" sony vaio vgn-t with 1.33 centrino and 2gb ram... this computer is designed to last 10-12 hours on a single charge using conservative battery settings. with xp, It lasts that long, and it is impossible to kill it in less than 8 running everything wide open. When i installed vista, i couldnt get it to last longer than 4.5ish no matter what i did, not to mention it slowed down by 60-70%. booting on xp takes less than a minute, and about 8 minutes on vista.

BTW what brand\specs is this laptop you are getting?

"A lie can make it halfway around the world before the truth can even put its pants on"

It's an HP 8510w, they are having a massive sale on customs till July 31. I'm getting it 24% off

It has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.5 ghz, 2 gs of RAM (with another 2 coming in the mail), NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M video card, an extra battery (it'll supposedly get up to 6-8 hours of user time), and other goodies.

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

you are going to be lucky to get 5 hours on the using xp, on a conservative setting, with vista, dont expect more than 2.5 ever ever ever...

that being said, if your goal is not battery life, 4gigs of memory, and that graphics card should roll vista quite nicely, that is a very nice setup.

"A lie can make it halfway around the world before the truth can even put its pants on"

If you're going to run 4 gigs of RAM, you need 64-bit Vista. Even the 32-bit version will only recognize up to 3 gigs. Unfortunately, a lot of programs aren't compatible with Vista at all, and for the 64-bit version, even less. I have an almost identical HP setup myself. But I use mine for graphic art, and Adobe has no problem with compatibility.

Hope that helps.

Quote, originally posted by 90JPRCRX »

Yea its a shame he is making you read all of his posts. God forbid you read something about God.

No I know, but there is a special extra battery that you can hook up and run dual batteries. It looks like a U and hooks up to the bottom back of the laptop. I looked it up and independent testing showed they consistently got 8+ hours when using low key stuff and close to 6 hours of gaming/DVD watching.

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Yeah it'll be the 64-bit Vista.

I just finished a live-chat with an HP guy and he said what I can do is order the laptop with Vista installed, call them up, and they will send me all the software and stuff to install XP over Vista for free. Then I can choose which one I want to keep, and go on from there

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Awesome. Even though Vista 64 is a bloated pig, that extra gig of ram comes in handy sometimes. I guess it all depends on what you're doing with it.

Just make sure you get the Vista disks in case you go with XP. You might eventually need to convert back later to utilize that extra gig. That setup is great by today's standards (for a laptop), but tomorrow it'll be obsolete.

Quote, originally posted by 90JPRCRX »

Yea its a shame he is making you read all of his posts. God forbid you read something about God.

No I know that, but thankfully it can also be upgraded to 8 gs of RAM so this thing'll be more than competent for at least (hopefully) the three years it's under warranty. I'll make sure they send the Vista disks along with the XP disks so I'll be able to go back and forth when trying to make my decision.

Besides, with the 24% off sale, I am quite happy with the laptop I'm getting. It'll be a hair under $1700 when all is said and done

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Nice. I got in a couple months ago on a similar sale at the same price. Wait ... you can upgrade to 8 gigs? What model are you picking up?

Quote, originally posted by 90JPRCRX »

Yea its a shame he is making you read all of his posts. God forbid you read something about God.

8510w, if you have Vista 64 it can support up to 8 gigs (4x2), or up to at most 4 gigs per slot. Can we say nom nom?

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

Say what?

<-- Vista 32bit with 4gb's RECOGNIZED of ram

Recognized by what? Your BIOS, or Windows?

Quote, originally posted by 90JPRCRX »

Yea its a shame he is making you read all of his posts. God forbid you read something about God.

I think Vista 32 will only recognize up to 2 gigs in one slot, though I'm not sure. I do know you need Vista 64 to recognize 4 gigs in a single slot. So you could run a 4 gig laptop but you'd have to split it into a 2x2 configuration.

Maybe?

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.

itll detect more than 3gb's of ram...personally, ive seen up to 3.8gb's on the machine with vista 32bit but 4gb's in the bios. as for program compatibility, you can install in XP mode and itll work alot of the time. i say go for it. ive had vista since launch and i havent had a blue screen yet.

Quote, originally posted by yobbr5 »

My buddy has a superchargered s2k, and that its rear wheel drive and it loses about 40% of its power from the drivetrain, axle, and other things.

Vista Business, is essentially Vista Ultimate without Media Center, Hard Drive encryption, and and Ultimate Extra's.

Vista Business Downgrade to Windows XP Pro is installed with Vista Business but it includes a Windows XP Pro install cd for businesses that need to stay with XP. BOTH OS's ARE NOT INSTALLED!

Personally, I would go with just the Vista laptop if it less expensive. The hassle of installing XP is not worth it. However if they are the same price then go with Vista with the option to downgrade. Vista has been one of the most stable OS's I have used. Mind you I have it installed on a 4 year old laptop with only 1.5 GB of memory.

It drops deep as it does in my breath
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death - NAS

I take 7 MC's put em in a line
And add 7 more brothas who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that's 21 MC's ate up at the same time - Rakim

Quote, originally posted by George Knighton »

There is something wrong with you people.