New Advent K200 Vista to XP downgrading problem!

[rusolinio]

Hi guys,

Well it happened, i was foolish enough to buy a laptop from PC world with the dreaded vista pre-installed.

I promptly went out and bought XP home, wiped the laptop from all signs of vista, and all installed ok.

A few days later after multiple hours of trouble free computing, i get a BsoD (too fast for me to get the codes) followed quickly by rebooting. When it trys to load windows it says the system folder is corrupt.

I try a repair, but i only get as far as 'setup is atarting windows' and then the sytem freezes, then reboots again.

So, i go to PC world and they inform me that the BIOS in my new laptop has to be downgraded to accept the XP installation. Now, i can do this task, but i cant find the right BIOS files for the job.

Is what the people telling me correct? Or is smoke being chuffed up my ring? Anyway,

my BIOS version is Phoenix 1.11, but those questionable people at PC world couldnt tell me which BIOS i need to allow the XP install. And i'm not paying them £69.99 to solve it when i know i can do it myself!

So, anyone have a clue where i can get a 'downgraded' BIOS for my laptop? (if that is in fact the case) Full specs below:

Advent K200 laptop
Intel centrino core duo T2080 1.73ghz
2GB DDR2 533mhz RAM
Intel 943GML + ICH7-m
MOBO Model: NAPA0001.86C.0056.D.0706051428
BIOS Version: 1.11.DIX
KBC Version: 1.09

Ive read a post on these forums explaining SATA drivers may be to blame, but i doubt that is the case with my problem as i was using the laptop with XP for 3 days with multiple tasks being done on it with no probs, until now. Just thought i'd mention it..... but,

Any helps would be greatly appreciated! Many Thanks,

 

[ArizonaGeek]

My first question is why would you call Vista dreaded? Sure it has its quirks but (depending on the version) once you get around them it is actually a very nice OS. I've been using it for almost a year with relatively no problems. I think it is faster, more stable, and is a lot easier to use. You just gotta figure out where everything is.

My next question would be why would you install XP Home and not Media Center or Pro?

If there is a specific reason why you can't use Vista like for work or some weird software that decided they were gonna stick with the past, fine, but otherwise you should reinstall it and use it. You're going to be using it eventually regardless, since at some point MS will stop supporting it. Ya it might be a couple of years of but you might as well get used to it now.

Just my two cents.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

I have to agree with AG. I looked all over the web for any support info on Advent laptops and I can't say I was impressed with their forthrightness. PC World doesn't seem to carry the bios and I couldn't even find a website for Advent but I did find many sites willing to sell their computers cheaply. I reckon you got what you paid for.

If it's only a few days old, box it up and return it for a refund and then go somewhere else and buy a computer that has your OS of choice already installed and is made by a company you can find in the event you need drivers and such.

Or put your perfectly fine copy of Vista back.

 

[linney]

Press F8 to enter Safe Mode at Bootup. See if it starts in Safe Mode? Next try the "Last Known Good Configuration" option, see if it starts with that? Finally there is also an option (SP2 machines) to turn off Automatic Restart so that it will Halt at the error screen.

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

Running ChkDsk /r might help?

An easy to follow recovery console description when unable to start computer due to corrupt registry.

http://www.digitalwebcast.com/2002/03_mar/tutorials/cw_boot_toot.htm

That is a layman's version of Q307545 in simple language.


If they don't work you could try repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

I don't know about any Bios problem, it is something you could ask the manufacturer.

 

[rusolinio]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the input, but your suggestions have been tried.
I cant even get it to boot as i get an error message 'sytem folder not found'.

The reason i'm using home and not pro as its a laptop for my mother, and she bought XP home herself. The term 'Dreaded' is used in light of the sheer grief this woman gives me when she utters the words 'Vista'.

When trying to do a recovery via a CD boot from the XP home CD, it loads all the files, then hangs on the 'setup is starting windows' screen. So i cant even get in to the partition screen to try a repair.

After hanging on the 'setup is starting windows' screen, it hangs a while then reboots and starts all over again. I dont have the option in the BIOS to alter anything to do with SATA modes. And my HDD is recognized in the BIOS.

I could format the drive with a boot CD,(which is my next step) but without finding the cause of the sytem hang on windows setup, i'm sure its going to happen again once i try to re-install windows.

Could this be a SATA driver problem? I ask this because, at every point where the system is trying to load something from the hard drive, it just hangs then reboots.

Or maybe the BIOS in the laptop cant change a perticular mode for the HDD, thus making me need a downgraded BIOS???

Thanks for your speedy replies guys, at least i'm typing instead of forcefully ramming this thing down my mothers neck!
lolz....

 

[Nelviticus]

The fact that you had "multiple hours of trouble free computing" means that the BIOS works just fine with XP, otherwise you'd have never got it installed. The problems you describe sound very much like a hardware fault somewhere along the line.

As LeeMcCauslin says, it's still under warranty so just get them to replace it, repair it or give you a refund. Don't put up with them trying to tell you that the warranty is void if you wiped the OS - if the hardware is faulty, it's faulty. See this story: Linux broke my laptop hinge! for more info.

If you can get a refund I believe Dell still sell laptops with XP installed.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[ArizonaGeek]

One of the other things people have posted recently is that some (not all of them) manufactures are voiding warranties if you "downgrade" your OS to XP. I can't confirm nor deny this but there are a few posts throughout Tek-Tips that say its true.

Use Darik's Boot and Nuke to wipe the drive clean and try to reinstall fresh. DnB will do a complete wipe (different than a format) of the hard drive.

Lastly if that doesn't work buy a better named computer. Dell does still sell laptops and PC's with XP on them. They also provide in home warranty and Gold tech support (where you talk to someone in the US for support) as an option. So that might help relieve you from ramming things down her neck.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[LeeMcCauslin]

Ohhh, now you tell us it's for Mom. That's different! lol - all bets are off when supporting Moms. Mine calls me to ask me how to attach a picture to an email so I end up spending half an hour walking her through it just so she can send me something that isn't anywhere near as funny as she thought it was.

I still think your best bet is if you can get it to boot to the Vista CD, reinstall Vista and then take it back to the store. I am assuming you are in the UK since that's where all the websites I found were so I cannot pretend to know how they deal with returns. I hope they are fairly liberal and willing to help an unhappy customer. Be polite but very unhappy.

As for the downgrade - my company, in the last 4 months, has bought close to 20 laptops from HP and they all came with Vista business. We downgraded them all to XP with no problems - no need to mess with the bios or anything. They all have sata drives too. (We had to do it because the training program we bought them to run is not yet Vista ready - we are retaining the Vista licenses so we can go back to Vista as soon as the other program is updated). My point being that it shouldn't be causing you this much trouble and PCWorld seem to be blowing smoke up your ring.

And remember - she's yer mom. ;-)

 

[linney]

Is there any Bios Scanning running in the Bios that might be interfering. Are you loading the Sata drivers via the F6 option?


Some clues and past stories here.

How to install Windows XP over Vista
faq779-6713



How to restore a computer to a previous Windows installation after you install Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168/en-us#appliesto

Downgrading from Vista to XP
thread1583-1350480

Using DBAN
thread1583-1373898


XP Drivers for a Gateway w/Vista?
thread779-1329243: XP Drivers for a Gateway w/Vista?


How can I install Win XP Pro SP2 on a Vista Pre-installed PC ?
thread779-1373663

Vista OS to xp pro OS?
thread779-1375858