New emachines - Vista to XP

P

Pyrox920

New Member
Hey all. My mom just bought a really cheap emachines (t3646) and I figured it would be best to just dumb it down to XP since that would get rid of all the extra crap that comes with pre-built computers, and it would be easier for my old parents to use (it's only for internet surfing).

So I installed our old xp cd on there, and now I can't get the internet to work. I assume it's because I don't have the drivers for it, and the drivers on their website are for vista only, so I guess I have to use the Vista re-installation CD and switch it back. Is there no way to get away with using xp on this comp?

I'll give a high-five to anyone who helps.
 
Surprise! The newest prebuilds out are wrapped around Vista! If it was an older model like an early 2007 you would see XP drivers still available with a choice of XP or Vista. But for any 2008 prebuild Dell is about the only one offering a choice of OSs. You went with the wrong brand.
 
Now your screwed and have to buy vista again because you dont have the install disks!! That sucks Too bad you reformatted huh?
 
If the system had been simply returned once no XP drivers were found available you could have ordered a Dell for prebuild with the option of XP. But once you disable all of the Vista "eye candy" crap and switch to the Classic Windows theme and turn off the user account UAC it will be a more basic Windows even though it is the latest version out. That would simplify things.

After running Vista since it came now seeing SP1 it has proven itself to be more stable then XP in many ways making that a good selling point for those who lack experience with repairing problems that come up in Windows. With the recovery disk onhand you should be able to restore the factory defaults easy enough and simply switch to the Classic setting for your parents.

Some on the prepackaged softwares can be simply be disabled or removed without effecting Windows if wanted. Promos for AOL and other crap can be taken off just to see the basic Windows run for them there. IE 7 also sees an antiphising filter built in to avoid seeing them hit with adware attacks while browsing.

If McAfee or Norton are the included antivirus remove that for the latest AVG 8.01 that now sees an IE security bar as an option that steers you away from bad sites while browsing online.
 
Thats not going to do any good after he reformatted the hdd!! A restore disk still needs the partition on the hdd and thats gone now.
 
Thanks for the replies (gives a few high-fives). I just started re-installing vista with the re-installation cd that comes with it.
 
So he finds out what brand of hard drive he has, downloads some management software to zero out the drive, puts in his eMachines discs, reformats and reinstalls. Big deal.

And since when is it spamming to give out lots of info?

Tom
 
Who is spamming anything? The new systems are simply wrapped around the newest version of Windows out whether you like it or not that's simply fact.

With the restore disk onhand rather then seeing a system come without one included at least the warranty has a chance to be preserved. Vista is far from being an OS hard to learn how to use. Instead of Outlook Express you now see Windows Mail on the desktop shortcut. But in the long run Vista is still Windows like any other version.
 
So how can you install vista oem onto a hdd with just restore disks that you made? You can do it even on a reformatted hdd and the hidden partition is gone?
 
Ahh ok Srry for the misunderstanding guys. I have never had to reinstall vista as I keep my pc clean of infections. LOL You learn new stuff everyday on here
 
Since the only partition that would have been effected was the Vista primary and not a total drive wipe the hidden recovery partition would still be intact allowing for factory restoration with the disk. For a complete wipe using a partitioning tool then a new full version disk would be needed to see Vista installed again.

Fortunately that didn't take place and seeing Vista on again should go quickly. While many don't like the new version it will do what is needed there easy enough.
 
PC eye said:
For a complete wipe using a partitioning tool then a new full version disk would be needed to see Vista installed again.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. With my Sony, for example, I can do a factory recovery without the recovery partition. I deleted that partition a long time ago...:D
 
PC eye said:
Since the only partition that would have been effected was the Vista primary and not a total drive wipe the hidden recovery partition would still be intact allowing for factory restoration with the disk. For a complete wipe using a partitioning tool then a new full version disk would be needed to see Vista installed again.

Fortunately that didn't take place and seeing Vista on again should go quickly. While many don't like the new version it will do what is needed there easy enough.
Click to expand...

So I was right then? Except that he didnt do a full wipe and thats why he could recover it.
 
The Sony disk that mep916 is talking about is obviously a full install disk rather then the old style branded recovery type where half the files were tucked away on the drive. The Dell XPS systems see a simple key combo at post for seeing everything restored to factory without any disks included. That's saves money for Dell there obviously.
 
Pyrox920 said:
Hey all. My mom just bought a really cheap emachines (t3646) and I figured it would be best to just dumb it down to XP since that would get rid of all the extra crap that comes with pre-built computers, and it would be easier for my old parents to use (it's only for internet surfing).

So I installed our old xp cd on there, and now I can't get the internet to work. I assume it's because I don't have the drivers for it, and the drivers on their website are for vista only, so I guess I have to use the Vista re-installation CD and switch it back. Is there no way to get away with using xp on this comp?

I'll give a high-five to anyone who helps.
Click to expand...

whare the the names of the hardware? perhaps if you go to the manufacturer's website they'll have the xp compatible drivers.

when vista based sony laptop computers came out they only had vista drivers. then after a while there was an option for xp drivers to be downloaded on their driver page. perhaps if you contact them about the situation they'll tell you where to get the xp drivers
 
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