Member Avatar for SantaPotato

Hello there, knowledgeable computerfolk from the land of the internet.

I am buying a computer in the next few days. It has Windows Vista pre-installed on it. I'd rather have Windows 2000 on it.

I don't like all the fancy-schmancy special effects and bonus features. Win2k, or even XP with minimal visual effects/fireworks/bells and whistles is good for me.

Is there a way I can get rid of Vista and install Windows 2000? Word around the block is that she's a resource-digger.

Or better yet, can I tone down Vista enough to drastically reduce its resource usage?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by coolraj003

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Brief summary and practical next steps for and others weighing Vista vs older Windows: there are three realistic routes — keep Vista but strip it down, run an older OS inside a virtual machine, or install an older OS natively. Replies from , and raise the right trade-offs; the notes below fill in the technical gaps and point out the pitfalls that make a native rollback the hardest option.

If you decide to install Windows 2000 natively, prepare first. Create full recovery media/image of the factory Vista install and copy the OEM driver set before touching the disk. Confirm vendor support for Windows 2000 drivers for chipset, storage controller, video and wireless. Many new systems use SATA/AHCI or RAID controllers that legacy installers won’t see — switching the controller to IDE/compatibility mode in BIOS can let the installer detect the drive. If the installer still won’t see the disk, you’ll need the controller driver during setup (legacy installers often require loading third‑party storage drivers from removable media). Expect to hunt for drivers or accept disabled hardware (wireless, advanced GPU features).

As an easier alternative, run Windows 2000 or XP in a VM (Virtual PC, VMware) on the new machine. That keeps Vista and its drivers intact, gives native networking and file access, and avoids driver hunting while letting legacy apps run. If native speed is essential and you still choose a clean install, keep a recovery image and a Vista reinstall plan so you can revert.

Quick tuning notes if you keep Vista: remove OEM bloatware, set Visual Effects to “best performance,” disable Sidebar and indexing if unneeded, and uninstall unused services. Those steps yield a noticeable improvement without losing hardware support.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

You will need 2gb of ram to use vista properley. Dont believe MS's lies

2gb on vista gives you the same performance as 1 gb did on XP, 1gb on vista is about as usable as XP on 256.

I think you will have to do with vista though, as win2k has reached end of support and XPs death is not far off.

If you want to go ahead, the only way to get rid of it is to buy a legal 2000/XP cd (full edition. not upgrade) and delete everything and start afresh. This is a bad idea as disks arent cheap and at some point you may need to go back to vista.

Member Avatar for SantaPotato

Thanks for the response.

It looks like I'll need to spend either way. On more ram if I want Vista, or on an older OS.

From what I've read, Vista is a disappointment, especially for people who want just the bare minimum out of their OS.

From what I know, XP SP2 and Windows 2000 SP4 are very stable operating systems, with the buggy phases long gone. Most software still supports 2000 and XP too.

But if I were to stick with Vista, would it be possible to disable all of the extra functionality in order to tone it down enough to work as fast as XP?

Member Avatar for jbennet

you can save a fair amount of ram by turning off the effects and using the classic windows 2000 style theme.

Member Avatar for SantaPotato

It's certainly on my to-do list if I decide to stick with Vista. Thanks for your help.

Member Avatar for CMNetworx

It would be easiest to just repartition the hard drive., then do a clean install of 2000 or xp, Id stick with xp over vista personally.

Member Avatar for coolraj003

this is waht i m plannin to do as well cos I have used vista for more than a month and after this much time i just could not get my head around to like this system. I m going back to XP again as it is more practical...i ll ge to vista when it would come to that stage...so far its just not that impressive.

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