# So I really can't just erase Vista? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566 "2008-06-11T12:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/21 "2008-06-11T22:46:04Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] Just a crazy question… has this computer ever had Windows XP successfully loaded on it? Because unless it had, there would be no reason whatsoever to assume that a PC shipped in 2008 and loaded with Vista would necessarily work with XP, which is 7 years old. Just because Ubuntu and Vista work on it doesn’t mean XP will. Windows installation bootstraps itself from the CD. Leftovers on the hard drive aren’t going to affect it. The likely situation here is that XP won’t run on this computer. [/QUOTE] How do I find out if XP will work on my computer? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/22 "2008-06-11T23:03:20Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] Windows installation bootstraps itself from the CD. Leftovers on the hard drive aren’t going to affect it. The likely situation here is that XP won’t run on this computer. [/QUOTE] Does vista work like XP? I’ve never touched vista but reinstalling a previously preloaded copy of XP often just copies a drive image and doesnt really do an install from scratch. I’ve had computers that came with XP but were erased to install linux and when reinstalling XP, the install program would crash when it couldn’t find a windows partition. A real installer should work through it, but it may not if it’s just copying a drive image. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/23 "2008-06-11T23:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=gitfiddle] How do I find out if XP will work on my computer? [/QUOTE] The only way it wouldn’t is if there was hardware in it that had only Vista drivers available. The 1420 has XP drivers available for everything. Here’s a [how-to](http://www.davidreedonline.com/wordpress/2007/08/03/installing-windows-xp-on-the-dell-inspiron-1420/) with links to the drivers. Drivers for the Vostro 1400 will also work, they are the same hardware internally. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/24 "2008-06-11T23:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=yoyodyne] Your SATA hard drive is probably set to AHCI (or Native) mode in the BIOS. XP doesn’t have the driver built-in for that, you either need to change the SATA mode in the BIOS to ATA/IDE or hit F6 during XP install and use a floppy with the chipset driver. It has nothing to do with Vista at all. [/QUOTE] Too much emphasis in this thread is devoted to the hard drive and not \*\*yoyodyne’s \*\*comment. Check your BIOS settings. Machines these days are manufactured for Vista and not XP. The XP compatibility only comes into play when you change the BIOS back to a compatibility mode that XP can identify. If you cannot change the BIOS, you need to install the appropriate drivers for XP to work with your machine. See … [http://www.davidreedonline.com/wordpress/2007/08/03/installing-windows-xp-on-the-dell-inspiron-1420/](http://www.davidreedonline.com/wordpress/2007/08/03/installing-windows-xp-on-the-dell-inspiron-1420/) > **[TechnologyGuide](https://www.informatechtarget.com/technologyguide/)** > > Thank you for visiting the TechnologyGuide network. Unfortunately, these forums are no longer active. We extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for their steadfast support—it is really you, our readers, that drove [http://www.laptops-drivers.com/dell-laptop/how-to-install-windows-xp-on-dell-inspiron-1420-part-i.html](http://www.laptops-drivers.com/dell-laptop/how-to-install-windows-xp-on-dell-inspiron-1420-part-i.html) [Similar support here](http://www.google.com/search?q=Dell+Inspiron+1420+xp+install) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/25 "2008-06-13T13:16:43Z")
[QUOTE=gitfiddle] My comp. doesn’t have a floppy drive… only USB’s, SD card slot, and DVD. [/QUOTE] External USB floppy drives are around $20 ---
**Author:** ![GomiBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@GomiBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GomiBoy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/26 "2008-06-13T13:39:25Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] External USB floppy drives are around $20 [/QUOTE] Or alternatively just make a bootable CD drive; it’s not that hard anymore. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/27 "2008-06-13T14:24:17Z")
[QUOTE=GomiBoy] Or alternatively just make a bootable CD drive; it’s not that hard anymore. [/QUOTE] The f6 driver preload interface will only read floppy drives. ---
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/28 "2008-06-15T09:25:03Z")
I’ve now used nlite to make a bootdisk, burned the iso, but when I put it in the computer and reboot, it just goes straight into Ubuntu. I have it set to boot to CD first, but at no point does it give me the option to go into the installation, just acts as though there’s no disk in the tray. ---
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566/29 "2008-06-15T13:57:44Z")
Ok. disregard the last post. I hadn’t actually made a bootdisk… However, now, I have. I’ve made three. Doing EXACTLY what those websites are saying, and I’m still getting the exact same error I got with the original disk! Does anyone have any more ideas? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-really-cant-just-erase-vista/452566.md?page=1)