Downgrading from Windows Vista to XP

L

License2Kill

New Member
Hi, I am into gaming, and I play first person shooter games. I am experiencing lagg when the map load, and when my character spawns.

I was told that windows xp is better for gaming than windows vista.
I also found out that microsoft will let you downgrade to windows XP from windows vista. My main problem is that I don't know if my hardware will be compatible with windows XP.

I went into device manager and out that the Digital signer of most or all of my hardwares is microsoft windows hardware compatibility.

Does this mean that it will be compatible? Judging from the name of the digital signer.

This is on a laptop, so I can't really open up anything.

If you need more information, such as the system spec please include how I can get the system spec because I can't find it on google.
 
i personally have an acer ex4420 that came with vista. i formatted the hard drive and installed xp along with driverpacks. to this day, it has no problems.

ur laptop should be compatible with xp, provided u have the necessary drivers.
 
License2Kill said:
Hi, I am into gaming, and I play first person shooter games. I am experiencing lagg when the map load, and when my character spawns.

I was told that windows xp is better for gaming than windows vista.
I also found out that microsoft will let you downgrade to windows XP from windows vista. My main problem is that I don't know if my hardware will be compatible with windows XP.

I went into device manager and out that the Digital signer of most or all of my hardwares is microsoft windows hardware compatibility.

Does this mean that it will be compatible? Judging from the name of the digital signer.

This is on a laptop, so I can't really open up anything.

If you need more information, such as the system spec please include how I can get the system spec because I can't find it on google.
Click to expand...

What model laptop do you have? You would have to search online for all the drivers. If XP drivers are available then the manufacturer will have them on their site.
 
On the top right corner of my laptop it says HP Pavilion dv2000, but I went to system information and it says HP Pavilion dv2700 Notebook PC.

Using the extremely helpful link you gave me, I found that the dv2700 is this one:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3559543&

Now I'm not sure whether I should click on vista or XP, but I think it is XP.

On the XP screen, there are only drivers for Keyboard, mouse, and input devices, network, storage, internet access, and solutions.

Does this mean that it will not be compatible for XP?

Should I just quit and live with vista? Also, is it really true that 2GB on XP = 4 GB on vista?

Thanks for your help!
 
If you have a computer savvy friend or relative have them find out what existing drivers you have for Vista and see if they can find XP drivers. The HP site does not list all the XP drivers needed. Or you can try a test install to see what drivers XP will install and then find the balance.
 
I don't think you'll need that many drivers. Touchpad, keyboard, camera (if there is one), networking (wireless/wired/bluetooth), audio drivers (simply found on google).

2GB on XP is not 4GB on Vista. RAM (2GB/4GB) is physical and does not change unless you buy more and put it in. 2GB goes much further on XP than Vista, as Vista sucks the life out of most computers. XP will use less than 512mb with no other programs running, where Vista will use between 800mb and 1200mb. You can see the difference.

It should be fairly simple. If you're not happy with all this, you have two choices.

*Live with Vista and most likely be disappointed (many older games do not work on Vista)
*Take your laptop to a local PC store, and ask their advice (they might even do it for you :P)

Clarification:
Vista is good for new games such as Crysis (DX10), but many older games won't work properly. Get XP on there for a while, and play any game, and then put Vista on when it's matured. Make a backup of your Vista installation so you can reinstall it later.

PS: Call of Duty 4, Crysis, FarCry II? Which games? Might be able to figure out why they're lagging. When you say spawn times, I assume you mean on multiplayer?
 
Hahaha I found the reason why your lagging =] You have a very crappy graphic accelerator (video card). Nvidia Go 6150? your not going to be able to play much games on that. Trust me, I tried. I can play BF2 LOW settings, high textures barely making it above the 35 fps mark. Sometimes when an artillery strike hits I get about 15 FPS.
 
Im on a laptop and have no idea how I would go about replacing a graphics card.
If that would fix my problem, then can you suggest what graphics card, and how I would replace it on a laptop?

PS: I'm playing Combat Arms ( FPS ). I Don't lagg at all on Warcraft III, or Runescape.
I do not lagg that a lot on when I can actually play, but the long load ( 1 minute + ) is about 5 seconds on my sister's laptop, and the spawn is about a 10 second lagg, which is pretty crucial considering the other team tends to spawn kill. For some reason I get OK fps when I run around, but i spike when I spawn \ load map.
 
you can replace the graphics card in a Laptop, but you will have to find exact details of your current card, match them to the new card (newer model obviously), and then after that it is going to cost you around £300 for the new card. You might as well buy a new laptop (or even a desktop) and save yourself the effort.

I used to have a Fujitsu-Siemens Amillo M 3438G laptop with a 6800go in it. was good at the time (1 - 2 years ago), I looked into replacing that, but it was too complex / expensive, so I sold it and bought myself a desktop (sig).
 
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