Downgrading to XP on Dell Latitude d630

Hi - I just brought an unused Dell Latitude D630 from a friend. It has Vista installed but I want to downgrade to XP Pro because all the other computers at home and University are still with XP so I want to wait until all the computers I use are on Vista before learning how to use it (my small brain can't deal with using two OS).

The laptop came with an XP recovery cd (just put it in, hit F10 and follow the instructions). However, Im worried about how I get Vista back in the future -there is no Vista backup DVD (or my friend has lost it).

Can someone reassure me that by downgrading Im not going to lose Vista forever. Do I need to make a backup DVD.

Thanks

PS: Do my reasons for wanting to stay with XP make sense?

 

Stick with Vista. There is a mild difference in UI, but the software and apps are almost the same.

 

I am tempted to stay with Vista but every other computer I use is with XP so I don't want the bother of working with both at the same time - I know this is very lazy.

Also annoyingly the laptop only has 80GB hard-drive and I hear that Vista is quite a bit bigger than XP.

On the other hand I think the specs of the laptop will allow it to run Vista ok:
(Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz,800MHz,2MB) with Intel GMA X3100, 2GB RAM)

 

+1

stick with it.. you'll get used to it and its not all that different b/w vista n xp.. they are almost the same.. the UI is different may be, as Andy says..

and yes, I work with both (as can be seen from my sig).. desktop at work is XP Pro SP3, laptop is Vista Ult. 32 bit SP1... and its been just as fine for me and I enjoy working on Vista more, in fact

As for the size, Idk what you could do.. get an ext. hdd may be? (lots of good, cheap ones around).. and also may be reduce the size of volume shadow copy on vista and so it free' up more space?!!!

 

If your friend cannot give you a way to do a fresh re-installation, or any re-installation, of the OS you paid for...I'd be unhappy.

 

Well, when I say 'friend' perhaps I should have more accurately said 'a guy who advertised at my tennis club'. It was a laptop which was given to him by his company but he used Macs so it had just been sitting for 6 months (I really liked that it was totally new)

Does anyone know if there should have been a DVD for Vista with this Dell D630. If so, I can ring him up and ask if he has it (not much more I can do as he has the cash though ). I would prefer it if I could make the backup DVD myself though - all this has got me worried!

 

Buy a $30-40 internal HDD, install and use XP on it. Whenever you feel like playing with Vista, put in the old HDD.

 

Sounds a little too complex for me . Any ideas about the backup DVD?

 

How old is the d630? If it was purchased within the past year, there is a possibility that it was ordered with the "Windows Vista bonus" downgrade option. That means that Dell should have provided both a Windows Vista DVD and a Windows XP CD along with the driver disks. XP would have been preinstalled first as well.

In any case, the system also has a recovery partition on the hard disk, however if the system was ordered with the "Bonus" option, this partition will only contain the XP image, as XP was preinstalled before the computer was shipped.

One way to check if this was the case (so you can request a replacement Vista DVD if necessary) is to plug in the "service tag" number on the notebook on the Dell Support website. There, you can see the computers specifications as shipped from Dell.

To find the "service tag" number, you can visit the support site using Internet Explorer: http://support.dell.com/support/top.../details?~ck=ln&~tab=2&c=us&l=en&lnki=0&s=gen Just click on the "Find my Service Tag" link at the bottom of the page.

If the system didn't have the bonus option, then you may want to make an "image" of the system in it's present state before you reformat to XP. You can use the built in Complete PC backup tool to do this-search for it using the search box in the Start menu.

Good Luck and BTW, My system (see sig below) has similar specs, and runs Vista beautifully with no issues, your experience should be similar.

 

Yeah, Dell includes the OS discs, so it should have come with it. See if your friend still has it, but if not, call Dell or do online chat w/ their tech support and ask them to send you a disc.

 

just make a backup dvd...

 

How do I do that? Annoyingly, I've just found out that the laptop actually comes from Dell in the Netherlands (he did say that he worked for a Dutch company). Therefore, I think they are unlikely to spend me a new disk to UK - also as this guy has not got my money I dont think he will be that helpful.

I have decided to stick with Vista but would still like to make a backup dvd just in case I need to re-install at some point. Does anyone know how to do this?

Also, is there much bloatware on the d630 that I should get rid of?

Thanks

 

Does anyone have any ideas??

 

The D630 comes pretty much clean-nothing really necessary to remove (that's one benefit of getting a business notebook) Depending on your config, you may have Google Desktop on it-Uninstall that if you want and your all set.

Do you have Vista business or Ultimate? (easiest way to find out is to hit CTRL + ALT + DELETE and read the logo at the bottom of the Windows Security screen) If so, you can use the Complete PC Backup tool to create backup DVD's. Normally if something bad happens, you can boot into the "repair your computer" tool by pressing F8 and choosing "Advanced boot options" from the list. There you can choose to recover from your Complete PC backup.

To get to the wizard-Click Start, Click All Programs, Click Maintence, then choose "Backup and Restore Center"

Follow the instructions here: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/ca11e84f-fce6-4e3e-82ef-467870bb6baf1033.mspx

The only catch? You might need the Vista disk to boot into the "repair your computer" tool if something really really bad happens, so it's a good idea to get a hold of a Dell Vista Disk:

You should go to Dell and complete the "Ownership Transfer" process. That way if you have any issues with your D630, Dell UK will be able to take care of you. This will also allow you to get the disks from them.

http://support.dell.com/support/top...ansfer_form1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1

My Dell site (USA) allows us to order backup disks online, unfortunately, the UK site doesn't have this set up yet-It just redirects to an error. I would complete the ownership transfer process then try using either the Chat tool or call Dell support and asking for the disks. Most of the time, they will give them to you for free.

Make sure that you were supposed to get the Vista disk though, and that the laptop giver didn't just install their own copy of Vista and didn't give you the disk, as Dell will only provide disks for OS's that they preinstalled. You can do this by imputing your "Service Tag" following the instructions in my previous post.

Good Luck
Ricky

 

Sorry for being a bit slow replying to this but thanks - really useful info.