Issues with XP install on lappy; Help! Created 15 years ago2009-05-24 12:18:10 UTC by RotatorSplint

G'day, folks.

My new HP HDX 16t laptop cam in the mail a few days ago with Vista installed, so naturally I wiped it clean and began installing XP. To my dismay, though, after all the needed installation files are loaded from the CD, I get a BSOD just after the bar at the bottom reads, "Starting Windows." I have the Windows 7 release candidate installed currently, but I would be much happier with XP.

From what I've managed to research, this BSOD issue occurs when the hard drive is running in AHCI mode instead of IDE compatibility mode, but I can't find any option in my bios to make that change. Does anyone know what I can do to resolve this?

Thank yah.

What's wrong with leaving Vista installed as it was? The operating systems that come with HP computers are highly configured to the particular models that they were original installed for. A lot of little stuff that your HP PC needs to operate right, was with that "HP version of Vista" you removed.

Install Windows XP using a CD containing MassStorage and Chipset driver packs.
By the way, if you aren't installing Professional x64 Edition, you should be.

You should check ( or press a function key I guess) for installing the SATA drivers when installing Windows, see if this helps.

What's wrong with Vista? (Turn off UAC and set it to classic style and you got a OS that's better and more secure than XP)

I've had the same problem with a HP lappy a month back, and tried to install two different XPs (one with integrated SP2 and one with SP3 and a shitload of drivers), ending up in both cases with a BSOD.

I looked it up back then, and I think the only solution would be a BIOS upgrade - or rather downgrade if you want to install XP. But a BIOS upgrade is quite risky and could end up fucking up your lappy...so it's up to you.

On the other hand, if this laptop has at least 2 gigs of RAM, it should handle Vista or Windows 7 without any problems.

Don't install 64-bit XP onto a laptop; You won't find any drivers for it.
As for your problem: no idea.

Okay, so the reason I wanted to install XP was because of all the incompatibility issues I was having in 7, but I fixed all that by running the problematic programs in XP compatibility mode. So that's a non-issue now; I'll just keep 7 around.

7 is doing some strange things regarding downloads, though. It seems dependent on the file size, but if I download to a folder located in C:\Program Files, it will transfer all the necessary information, but simply wont appear. No biggie; I can just download to the Desktop and move it, but does anyone have a clue why this is the case?