# Need to reinstall XP **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961 "2009-02-08T21:21:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Professor\_Murder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@Professor\_Murder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Professor_Murder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/1 "2009-02-08T21:21:49Z")
Hi does anybody know how much a new copy of Windows XP would cost? I have to install it again my laptop’s hard drive is F’d up. It came with Vista originally but I had to replace the hard drive in January, I got a copy of a copy of XP and until today everything was ok. So, ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/2 "2009-02-08T21:43:12Z")
List price is $199 for the full install disk, or $99 for and upgrade disk, which requires a disk from a previous version of Windows. Did you have XP installed on this laptop already? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/3 "2009-02-08T21:52:23Z")
[Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 OEM at Tigerdirect](http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2571832&CatId=306) $149.99 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/4 "2009-02-08T21:53:29Z")
Doesn’t Vista have a rollback to XP license option? ---
**Author:** ![Professor\_Murder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@Professor\_Murder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Professor_Murder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/5 "2009-02-08T21:57:39Z")
It’s a pirate copy of XP I got through work. I can’t roll back Vista because I had to replace the hard drive so I no longer have it any more. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/6 "2009-02-08T22:01:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Doesn’t Vista have a rollback to XP license option? I think this was a joke. From the Onion, maybe? If not, fight my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/7 "2009-02-08T22:03:52Z")
If this laptop has a SATA drive, the XP installation disk won’t recognize it without supplying drivers via a floppy drive, which your laptop likely does not have. In short, installing XP on a laptop with a SATA is a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![Professor\_Murder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@Professor\_Murder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Professor_Murder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/8 "2009-02-08T22:05:45Z")
I have the drivers on a USB memory stick, will this do? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/9 "2009-02-08T22:14:15Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I think this was a joke. From the Onion, maybe? If not, fight my ignorance. It definitely used to be an option, for real. Not sure if MS have withdrawn it though. Some info (not up to date) here: > **[Microsoft Simplifies XP Rollback](https://www.infopackets.com/news/2377/microsoft-simplifies-xp-rollback)** > > Although chairman and recent Harvard graduate Bill Gates has bragged that Microsoft has shipped its new operating system, Windows Vista, some 40 million times, there has been much criticism of the product. That's not news. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/10 "2009-02-08T22:15:50Z")
> [@Professor\_Murder](#): > > I have the drivers on a USB memory stick, will this do? Yes. If your laptop is able to use the memory stick to emulate a floppy. This is usually settable in the BIOS. Don’t get XP64 - it’s a dead end. I’d recommend whichever OS you use at work. If you’re feeling brave, you could try the beta of Windows 7. At least you’d save some money. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/11 "2009-02-08T22:16:03Z")
> [@Professor\_Murder](#): > > I have the drivers on a USB memory stick, will this do? No. [ETA - unless your computer does what QED suggests.] XP install only recognizes a floppy drive. Some people have burned their own XP install disk that slipstreams the SATA driver, but you need a second computer to do that. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/12 "2009-02-08T22:19:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > If this laptop has a SATA drive, the XP installation disk won’t recognize it without supplying drivers via a floppy drive, which your laptop likely does not have. > > In short, installing XP on a laptop with a SATA is a PITA. Not true, changing a simple BIOS option ususally fixes that problem ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/13 "2009-02-08T22:27:56Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > Not true, changing a simple BIOS option ususally fixes that problem Older machines may not have this BIOS option. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/14 "2009-02-08T22:28:32Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > Not true, changing a simple BIOS option ususally fixes that problem Many laptops don’t have that option, ie HP DV6000 series. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/15 "2009-02-08T22:52:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > XP install only recognizes a floppy drive. Some people have burned their own XP install disk that slipstreams the SATA driver, but you need a second computer to do that. This is pretty easy using [nLite](http://www.nliteos.com/). This free software takes a copy of an XP install disk and creates a new one with additional drivers. You do have to supply the drivers for it to add; if it wasn’t included with the computer and the manufacturer’s web site doesn’t have it, you may need to try the manufacturer of the chipset. And you can do it on the same computer if it has a CD-R drive. nLite itself can run under Vista. I’ve done it myself recently. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/16 "2009-02-09T00:11:29Z")
If your copy of Vista was Business or Ultimate edition then you can install XP Pro using [downgrade rights](http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/2/3/d23b9533-169d-4996-b198-7b9d3fe15611/downgrade_chart.doc) (direct .doc link). You’ll have to call Microsoft during activation rather than doing it online, but otherwise it shouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/17 "2009-02-09T00:43:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > If this laptop has a SATA drive, the XP installation disk won’t recognize it without supplying drivers via a floppy drive, which your laptop likely does not have. > > In short, installing XP on a laptop with a SATA is a PITA. My computer came with a SATA drive and I installed XP SP2 without any problems with SATA drives. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/18 "2009-02-09T01:07:53Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > My computer came with a SATA drive and I installed XP SP2 without any problems with SATA drives. Are you sure it’s not operating in IDE mode? Some (all?) SATA adapters can be configured to run in IDE compatibility mode - it’s in the BIOS settings somewhere. If you set it to IDE mode, XP will install without additional drivers, but I understand the performance of the hard drive will be reduced. And you can’t change it after installation. ---
**Author:** ![Professor\_Murder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@Professor\_Murder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Professor_Murder)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/19 "2009-02-09T08:24:07Z")
When the laptop hard drive originally failed I bought a new blank one. I was given a copy of Windows XP Pro so I had to install this manually. It installed fine so I went online and got all the drivers for the machine and stored them on a USB stick, from this I installed the drivers. Until yesterday the machine was working fine. Now when I start it up I get as far as the desktop screen but that’s all. I can’t open anything or even shut it down. I have to hold the power button until it shuts off. I must have made a mistake somewhere I’m just not sure where. As I mentioned before, it is a copy of a copy of Windows, could that be the problem? ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961/20 "2009-02-09T12:58:58Z")
You can get good deals on OEM versions. There are lots if you search Google for Windows OEM. [Here’s one](http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/details~productID~1717.asp) for XP Home at $93.95. I’m not sure of the legal status of the OEM versions being sold like that but companies have been doing it long enough that it must be either quite legit or MS don’t really care. They’re usually shipped with some worthless piece of hardware such as an oddball cable to satisfy the requirement that it only be sold with hardware. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-reinstall-xp/484961.md?page=2)