So I "upgraded" my PC to Vista.. didn't really like it, and didn't want to pay for it...

after rearming slmgr a few times, I ran out of activations and didn't really feel like it was worth tweaking it to keep on running it, so I decided to go back to XP.

So I booted up the computer from the installation CD, reformatted the HD and it started to install what seemed to be setup files. At the end of that, it says it needs to restart the computer and then it will continue with the installation.

When it restarts it just goes back to the initial setup, tells me to reformat c and proceeds to reinstall the same files.

If I tell it to boot up from the hard drive instead of the CD, it goes into an infinite loop of loading up and restarting.

so.... what the hell am I doing wrong??

3/23/2007 9:38:21 AM

how about format the hd without using the xp cd, then use the cd the install xp.

btw, why come you don't like vista. i am waiting for my vista upgrade that i got with my (fairly) new computer. are there many driver issues, exe issues, or what?

[Edited on March 23, 2007 at 9:41 AM. Reason : asdf]

3/23/2007 9:40:14 AM

oh you didnt know?

ms wont let you go back to xp after you have installed vista

especially an "upgrade" version

it haxed the hdd

you are going to have to buy a new one to go back to xp

3/23/2007 9:40:47 AM

how about just get another hard drive? it would be cheaper. also, are you sure if you format the d with the xp cd, it will will not work? that can;t be true. i have read of people installing vista and reverting to xp. this has to be inaccurate.

3/23/2007 9:42:52 AM

Quote :

"btw, why come you don't like vista"

well to be honest, it wasn't a licensed version, so having it expire every 30 days was a pain in the ass... also it made my comp run pretty slow, but then I only have 512mb of RAM so that could be part of the problem too...

I actually did like some of the features, but it was mostly just eye-candy that I could get from something like windowblinds. Things like the search functions and windows explorer had some nice upgrades, but changing any kind of internet settings was much more difficult than XP



-- back on topic

How would I reformat without using the CD?? I can't boot up from the hard drive (infinite restart cycle) to get any kind of DOS prompt

ok.. i found something while typing this...

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

I didn't delete the partition when I was installing it, I think I just reformatted it and installed to the original partition.. I guess I'll try following these instructions and see what happens

3/23/2007 11:20:53 AM

I always delete and reform the partitions. Don't be lazy. That's when shit breaks.

3/23/2007 12:35:52 PM

Delete the partition and do a long format or use whatever setup utility your drive manufacture provides.

3/23/2007 9:08:19 PM

You should be able to boot to a DOS prompt with your XP CD, iirc. From there you can blow away the partiton info, reform them, rewrite boot info, etc.

If that's a no-go, a Linux live CD will definitely do the trick.

3/24/2007 4:51:19 AM