Need Help: Windows XP Or Windows Vista Business for Samsung X360

Hi,

I recently purchased a Samsung X360-34G notebook and I am trying to decide if I should stick with the Windows Vista Business OS that is already installed in the unit or downgrade to Windows XP. This is the first notebook I have purchased with a Vista OS and I am a little intrepid to turn on the unit because of the negative comments that I have read in the past about the Vista OS. I will also be getting a XP downgrade cd from Samsung and I would appreciate any comments or feedback from anyone about their experiences with either operating systems. Thanks.

 

Vista isn't that bad. Some people prefer it to XP. You can disable most of the bells and whistles which can affect performance on a lower-powered CPU. See the Vista tweaks guide.

I used Vista for a year then reverted to XP because of Vista's incompatibility with some older software. If you won't be using any software with known Vista incompatibilities then it would be worth giving it a try. It does have some useful improvements over XP.

John

 

I agree with John, Vista isn't so bad anymore. I find XP to be a bit quicker, but perhaps it's just the visual effects in Vista that give the illusion of lag (for instance, windows open a bit slower due to the fading animation). Not sure.

There's many things I really enjoy about Vista which I would miss if I reverted back to XP. I really like the "Open" menu feature in explorer, where you can choose the program you'd like to open a file with. Replaces the right click "Open as...". Or how you can set your own bookmarks in the left sidebar in explorer.

 

Hi,

Thank you both for your prompt reply about whether you prefer to use the Windows XP OS or the Windows Vista OS. I currently have a HP Pavillion desktop which has Windows XP installed in it and If I transfer some word documents, photographs and music between my Samsung X360 notebook with Windows Vista Business installed in it and the HP desktop, will there be any compatibility issues? Thanks.

 

Nope, you should have no problems at all! Unless of course you forget to install certain piece of software. I find that nearly all program that run on XP should work with Vista as well.

 

Hi,

Thanks to your quick reply to my question. I also wanted to find out if there would be any compatibility issues between both computers using my wireless network that is installed on my desktop computer. Thanks.

 

1. The possible compatibility problem you may encounter is if you have Office 2007 on one of the computers and and older version of Office on the other. In that case you need to install Microsoft's FileFormatConverter on the older computer so that the older office can read the new format.

2. I've always found peer-to-peer networking to be a bit hit and miss. You have to set up network shares on folders and give access rights. Sometimes it works one way but not the other. I usually use a flash drive! But that also gives the advantage that I have a backup copy of the files on the flash drive.

John

 

Hi John: I'm attempting to downgrade my x360g to XP and I'm getting a blue screen with the error: STOP: 0x0000007B. It appears to be a boot issue, but I've wiped the partitions and selected the external usb drive to boot from. Any thoughts? Thx!

 

Which version of XP? It might not have the AHCI drivers built in and then BSODs when it tries to access the hard drive. There is a way to install these drivers from a flash drive by pressing the right key early in the XP installation. First you have to extract the files from the matrix storage installation package. There's instructions on the Intel website somewhere.

However, the best method is to get all the relevant drivers and XP service packs / patches and use nLite to slipstream these all into the XP installation. nLite creates a custom installation CD which should then get all the right drivers installed so you have minimal updating afterwards.

John

 

Thanks for the quick reply John! I'm using XP Pro. I'm going to try your suggestion and will report back.

 

I actually meant whether it is XP SP2, XP SP3, or what? The older XPs definitely don't support AHCI, which is what most of the current notebooks use.

But using nLite to build your own installation disc including all the latest Samsung drivers is the best way forward.

John

 

Sorry about that John. I believe it's SP1 because the disc reads "Version 2002". I assumed I could disable the AHCI settings in the bios to allow for install, but that didn't work. I know at work we have machines that have to modified from Legacy Mode to Compatibility Mode to allow for downgrade. In any event, I'm going to attempt to decipher the nLite site and make this work.

 

nLite is quite easy to use - it's an impressive piece of software for someone's homework.

Get the SP3 network install package plus, preferably, the more recent critical updates and all the latest Samsung drivers (also the Intel matrix storage drivers V8.8 are recommended) and put them somewhere on the HDD. Then insert your SP1 CD and tell nLite to do the necessary.

John

 

John: I really do appreciate all of your help. I ran into a snag yesterday and forgot my power cord so I couldn't test if the NLite created ISO would work on only 5% battery. I have the cord today, and the computer is not booting from the ISO. Any thoughts?

Edit: I burned the files directly to disc and they booted just fine. Not sure what was wrong with my original ISO but XP is now on my machine! NLite is an awesome program! Thanks so much for steering me in the right direction John. You're the best!!!!

 

Hi,

Thank you John for providing the information to downgrade to Windows XP OS, although unfortunately, I am not that tech savvy so I hope I will be able to follow your instructions. I also have a question for "MMBOND", after installing the Windows XP OS, do find yourself enjoying the laptop? Thanks.

 

nyctechogirl: I'm just wrapping up the downgrade and will be playing with the laptop tonight. I downgraded because the laptop running Vista had lag issues on the internet. I'll post back tomorrow with my results.

 

Nyctechnogirl: The laptop is great in Vista or in XP. XP is a bit more user-friendly, and its faster, not being the resource hog that Vista is. A couple of things aren't working, like the fingerprint reader, but I really enjoy having a faster machine. Unfortunately, my biggest problem, with the wireless internet being sluggish, is unresolved. It seems to be just as sluggish as it was during the Vista install. In any event, if you are more comfortable with XP the downgrade is mostly painless and the machine works great.

John: Any thoughts on improving the sluggish wireless connection?

 

1. Check if there is a firmware upgrade for the router. If so, apply it.

2. Check if there is a newer driver for the wireless card than the one provided by Samsung.

3. Set the router to use a different channel. Sometimes two nearby routers can be fighting over the same channel

However, what is your definition of "sluggish"?

John

 

Point taken John. My definition of sluggish refers to when the connection "hangs" before eventually connecting, or does not connect.

I have five laptops in my possession - a Gateway ML6720 running Vista, a Toshiba Tecra A2 running XP, a Macbook Pro, a Sony Vaio Z520 and the Samsung X360.

I have on several occasions assumed that my routers connection might be failing, but I haven't yet made the determination concrete.

Case in point - I downgraded the Samsung to XP because I would have issues with Vista connecting to the internet. I also experienced this very frequently with the Gateway running Vista. I have experienced it with the Macbook on occasion, but very rarely. The Toshiba almost never has any issues and I'm cracking open the Sony to experiment with it now.

When I've experienced the sluggishness on the Samsung, I will attempt to connect to a web page. I will then attempt to connect using the other machines. If they connect more quickly, I assume there is a problem. Unfortunately, the Samsung was hanging even after the downgrade. Perhaps your theory of routers fighting over the same channel will prove correct.

FYI, I have a trendnet wireless G router and I just brought home a linksys WRV54G router to swap out if necessary. I want to upgrade to a Buffalo wireless N when the new model comes out.

 

I see from the driver list that the wireless adaptor is Intel, which is normally very compatible. (I see there are also fingerprint reader and TPM drivers for XP).

I've seen your wireless problem in the past but not recently. Get the latest wireless driver from Intel.

John

 

Thanks John. Will do.

 

Hi,

MMBOND: Have you been able to upgrade the drivers needed to run a smoother operating system?

John: I have never downgraded a windows operating system before, so I hope you do not mind if I ask if the following steps are necessary to downgrade to windows xp professional and please correct if I am wrong:

1. download and burn Nlite onto a blank cd (which version of nlite should I use).

2. download and burn windows xp drivers from samsung on a blank cd.

3. Use xp professional cd (ordered and received it recently from Samsung).

Thanks.

 

If Samsung have provided an XP downgrade CD then it might contain all the right drivers. The easiest way to find out would be to look at the dates on some of the files and folders.

Otherwise the basic procedure for using nLite is:

1. Download and install nLite

2. Download the various Samsung driver packages and unzip them into separate folders within a master folder on your HDD (D: if your HDD is partitioned, then you still have the files when C: gets wiped by the XP installation).

3. Download any critical updates from Microsoft and place them in another folder.

4. Put the XP CD in a CD drive and run nLite.

5. When requested, point nLite to the XP CD, the XP updates folder and the Samsung driver folder.

6. Leave nLite to merge all the material and then, when requested, insert a blank CD so it can write the slipstreamed CD.

I would use the newest version of nLite.

John

 

Yes, thanks to John and a little head-banging, I have everything up and running pretty smoothly for the most part. NLite is a wonderful program and John's instructions will help tremendously. I am still having some intermittent wireless issues, but if you're not experiencing those now, you shouldn't after the downgrade. Good luck!

 

Why would you need or want to NLite an XP install when it has a 120gb sata/128gb ssd harddrive?

 

Also for the wireless, there is a setting in the Intel 5100 wireless for power management within the properties, just pick through the options and there should be one for ad-hoc power management--set it to maximum. I looked up this issue on the net and found that certain Intel cards have issues with particular routers due to the machines power management settings. My X360couldn't even connect to my Motorola cable modem until i changed this setting. FYI

 

nLite might have started life as a way to slim down an installation, but it is also excellent for adding in drivers and Windows updates / SPs into the installer package which means less user intervention during installation and less work afterwards. It is the latter function we are using here.

John

 

Thanks shl11111! I'll give it a try tonight.

 

Sorry guys: Got caught up with a bunch of stuff. made the adjustments per Shl11111's recommendations and it still seems a bit off. Will continue messing with it. On another note, I can't seem to get the HDMI sound to work with my tv. Any thoughts? Picture is great, but no sound. Also, curious as to whether or not nyctechnogirl downgraded her x360...

 

Just a guess, but do you need to select digital out in the audio manager software?

See page 69 of the user manual.

John

 

Hi,

I am going to downgrade to Windows XP Professional today and would like to find out if an external 2.0 usb dvd-rom drive (sony model no. drxs70u/r) that uses an ac adapter will be compatible with the Samsung notebook. Thanks.

 

That should work. The Samsung BIOS supports booting from a USB device.

Press the Esc key at the Samsung BIOS splash screen in order to get a list of boot options.

John