Member Avatar for maximusimo

Hi there.

my mum has a Fujitsu-Siemens laptop with Vista Business installed. Now, she did a computer course and everything was carried out on XP.

At this stage she couldnt handle the step-up just yet and so I was wondering how I would save the current installation of Vista, as I am sure she will make the step up at some stage, and then be able to install XP fresh in the knowledge that I can upgrade to Vista eventually?

Unfortunately I bought this laptop from a friend who has no longer got the installation disks (prob lost or something). I have an XP installation disk which is not used which I can use.


I hope this makes sense.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Bob_180_Bob

Dani AI

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Quick recap and practical additions to the thread: and correctly pointed out partitioning/dual-boot as the least-destructive routes, flagged the licence/key issue, and ’s driver warning proved important — later confirmed the needed drivers were available from Fujitsu‑Siemens and also hit a common bootloader snag that was fixed without losing data.

Recommended safety checklist before any downgrade or dual‑boot:

  • Create a full image of the current Vista partition and make external rescue media. Keep the image and the rescue USB/DVD offline (external drive) so Vista can be restored exactly as-is.
  • Preserve installers and product keys: save the XP product key and grab any OEM recovery media or order it from the manufacturer if the restore disks are missing.
  • Back up drivers from the working Vista system (driver backup tools can export installers). If OEM XP drivers aren’t supplied, note hardware IDs from Device Manager so compatible drivers can be located later.
  • If dual‑booting, leave unallocated space and install XP to a separate partition. Installing XP over Vista will overwrite the boot setup; a working recovery/rescue disk will simplify restoring Vista’s boot manager.
  • Consider virtualization as an alternative: running XP inside VirtualBox or VMware avoids repartitioning and most driver headaches.

Practical notes and gotchas:

  • Bootloader problems after installing XP are common; having rescue media or a boot manager ready makes recovery straightforward.
  • Allocate at least 20–30 GB for a usable XP partition if it will host programs and updates.
  • Keep a copy of any rescued boot files and driver installers on USB before making changes.

This balances reversibility with practicality: image first, collect keys/drivers second, then proceed (dual‑boot or VM) so the original Vista environment stays recoverable.

Recommended Answers

All 15 Replies

Member Avatar for naz82

Is the hard drive partitioned? if so, why not install xp on the other partition.

Vista allows you to resize partitions, maybe this will help:

Edited by naz82 because: n/a
Member Avatar for moiztankiwala

If you want downgrade you have two options:
1. Have dual boot - 1 for your existing Vista and second for XP. I your laptop came with a single harddisk with a single partiotion, you will have to shrink the Vista partition and make space for the second partition for XP.
2. Format the drive and do a clean install for XP. You would need the Laptop restore CD/DVDs if you want your Vista back in the future.
(I assume you have taken backups of your data for either option).

Check out this link that provides all the information:

Should you have any problems, let me know.

-Moiz Tankiwala

Member Avatar for maximusimo

Guys I never even thought of Dual Boot which is a good idea, I'll follow the instructions at later on and let you know how I get on. I just hope the C drive at the minute is pretty big.

Member Avatar for Rik_

One thing to remember though, it's not having an XP disk that is important, it's having a valid and legal serial number for it.

Member Avatar for caperjack

check to make sure you are going to be able to get windows xp drivers for the devices in the laptop before you go to far !

Member Avatar for maximusimo

Yes I have a valid and legal serial number. Never actually thought about the drivers part but too late now, have XP installed but am having a problem booting into XP.

I am getting an error regarding ntldr:

Windows Boot Manager has experienced a problem.
File: \ntldr
Status: 0xc000000f
Info: The selected entry couldn't be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt.

Member Avatar for maximusimo

Guys I just followed the first 4 steps under "General Troubleshooting Guidelines" from here and now have booted into XP successfully. I replaced the ntldr and ntdetect.com files that were on the system with those from the aforementioned site. Hope this helps someone else who has such a problem.

Thanks alot.

Member Avatar for casablanca68

I have often thought of downgrading myself. but I keep hearing that I won't be able to find the drivers necessary to run the hardware in my Vista native system.

Member Avatar for caperjack

I have often thought of downgrading myself. but I keep hearing that I won't be able to find the drivers necessary to run the hardware in my Vista native system.

check web sites of the makers of your hardware. if you own a major brand computer like Compaq/HP/Dell or what ever ,do a search with the service tag /model # for winxp drivers

Member Avatar for maximusimo

The only things I needed to find drivers for where ethernet car, wireless card, sound and monitor as well. Got em all from the Fujitsu-Siemens website. All working a treat

Member Avatar for smartbloggerz

Vista was a rubbish version..I gave it a try and my god!! I came back to XP just after some 3-4 hrs of juggling.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Vista was a rubbish version..I gave it a try and my god!! I came back to XP just after some 3-4 hrs of juggling.

i know you only posted to post your signature links ,but 3-4 hrs is not enough time to judge any OS

Member Avatar for DaniWeb4Jim

check to make sure you are going to be able to get windows xp drivers for the devices in the laptop before you go to far !

VERY SMART caperjack,
I have aHP VISTA only Laptop. No drivers on their site and anywhere else and HP tells you that it is a VISTA only OS PC. But then came Win 7.
I wanted to return it until I installed Windows 7. I am an XP lover. I hate the way VISTA had the menue but I lived with it Win 7 on the other hand took my CLASSIC FOLDERS AND MENUS. (Down with BILL GATES)

Member Avatar for caperjack

Win 7 on the other hand took my CLASSIC FOLDERS AND MENUS. (Down with BILL GATES)

i never used Vista ,coming to win7 from winxp .anf i don't mind the way the folders work , i put a shortcut to mydocuments & mycomputer and on the desktop ,now for menus ,if you click on organize and go layout you can get the original menu

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

I have aHP VISTA only Laptop. No drivers on their site and anywhere else and HP tells you that it is a VISTA only OS PC. (Down with BILL GATES)

It sounds like you should have the complaint with HP and not Microsoft. Most people love 7, and I am slowly getting there.

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