Vista or xp

Hi,
I bought a new laptop which has vista but many say xp is better, could i install it and would that be ok any advise would be appreciated thanks

Yes, you could install Windows XP.

Place the Windows XP disk in the drive and boot from it. You'll have to format the partition that Windows Vista is installed on and then install Windows XP.

Is it ok? Sure it is. Windows XP has been around for some time now and is very stable. I haven't even touched Vista yet, so I can't say whether or not it's better. So best to leave that for someone else to comment on.

I heard they'll be discontinuing XP in the near future, maybe even support for it (that part I can't recall). I would also choose XP just from what I hear but that is something you should keep in mind as well maybe

Indeed, that's a good point. As far as Service Pack updates, the date is not yet known. See here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/li...rvicepacks.mspx

License availability ends in January 2009: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx

before you change OS to your laptop check if all the drives are available for XP.

There is nothing wrong with Vista.

I've been using it for about a year and so far, haven't had any problems or compatibility issues

People were skeptical about windows XP and look how it (XP) turned out, so don't be
afraid, just leave Vista installed.

As with any new PC, I always do a clean install, this way, I get rid of unwanted programs that come with a new PC,
some of which you may not want.

I can't speak for everyone, but before making decisions, you should try Vista out and if you don't like it, downgrade.


Though you may have to upgrade that installation when XP no longer offers updates

Also, you might want to make sure that by installing XP, that you are not voiding your warranty by running "non approved software". I'm unable to confirm or deny that doing so would void your hardware warranty, so you might want to contact your pc's manufacturer before doing so.

One problem you may run into is SATA drivers. XP setup may tell you no drive is found. If so, check to see if your laptop has a compatibility mode for your SATA controller (in BIOS).

Vista is a huge resource hog compared to XP, just as XP was compared to Windows98. In time, Vista's requirements won't be so taxing, as computers will get faster and include more memory.

I feel, if you go to XP, you're going to run into SATA driver issues, as well as other device drivers.