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i am interested in changing to windows xp from current version of windows 2000, will all of my drivers that i am currently using under 2000 be compatible to xp

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Building on the points from , and : many Windows 2000 drivers will work under XP because both are NT-based, but it is not guaranteed for every device. A bit of preparation prevents most headaches — inventory hardware, get XP versions of critical drivers first, and have a full backup or disk image before you touch the hard drive.

A practical preflight checklist:

  • Make an inventory: motherboard/chipset model, graphics card, network adapter, storage controller (IDE/RAID/SATA), sound, modem, printers/scanners and any PCI/USB cards. Record hardware IDs from Device Manager (PCI\VEN..., USB\VID...).
  • Download vendor-supplied XP drivers for chipset, mass-storage and network first, and save them to CD/USB.
  • Back up user data, mail and product keys and create a disk image so you can restore quickly if needed.
  • Note BIOS/firmware versions; update only if vendor recommends XP compatibility fixes.
  • Uninstall low-level utilities (encryption, disk caching, some antivirus) before an in-place upgrade; they can block setup.

Upgrade vs clean install: an in-place upgrade keeps applications and settings but can carry over problems; a clean install is the more reliable route if time permits. If you choose clean, install drivers in this order right after Windows: chipset/storage, video, network, then audio and peripherals. If upgrading, remove incompatible software first and keep driver installers ready.

Troubleshooting tips: if a device fails, use the hardware ID to search the vendor site or generic XP drivers; try the device on another machine to verify hardware; if no XP driver exists for a peripheral (old printers/scanners), consider sharing it via another PC or using a print server. Also note: Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft, so consider security implications and, where possible, plan for a supported OS.

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Member Avatar for mikeandike22

some might others might not but a lot of the drivers will come with your hardware

Member Avatar for dlh6213

i am interested in changing to windows xp from current version of windows 2000, will all of my drivers that i am currently using under 2000 be compatible to xp

This link to Microsoft's HCL (Hardware Compatability List) may help you:

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Whenever you make a move from one OS to another, by far the best way to go is to back up, wipe clean, and install fresh. Upgrade installations only inherit little underlying problems which are inevitably present in your current installation, and then magnify them!

Also, you should really be looking at downloading drivers for all your components prior to installing the new OS. There will almost certainly be more up to date drivers available for your equipment, and it would be better to use them.

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