Need help unistalling Vista.

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ellover009

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 17, 2005
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Hi guys, I have Vista RC1 installed, I have decided to go back to xp for a a few months or so until some of the Vista drivers mature a little bit more, no point in spending money in Vista when XP will do the job, I will give up DX10 for now but only Halo 2 requires Vista and half my games don't play friendly with Vista, mostly battlefield 2, my epson printer even with the Vista patch, ATI 550 TV turner, creative cards are not used at full potential (due to having to change D3D game sound and EAX sounds to the new standard which is more software sound oriented than hardware) overall I like Vista but because it's not totally functional even with win xp compatibility mode it's better to go back to xp for me. I also run a 8800gtx

I remembered when I first got it tried to go back but xp would not run with Vista installed, what's the easiest way to reformat my hard drive? run the Vista install and have it reformat then back out when it comes to the install part or somehow see if I can xp to reformat? I think I tried using the xp to reformat and no luck, also tried the install cd from the hard drive to reformat. What can I do?

I really love Vista but with some of the smaller things I feel like I get less things done in Vista since I have to use other alternatives or not use some things at all. Thanks guys.
 
boot to your xp cd, hit enter, hit f8, select the partition with vista on it, hit D, hit L, hit C, hit enter, hit enter. (pretty sure thats all the keys)

when you get to the partition selection screen delete the current one and recreate it. (which the above does). the next screen will ask you if you want to quick or normal format.
 
I know this isnt a "Why wont XXXX work in vista thread" but BF2 works quite well in Vista and the theater 550 card and Vista get along just fine, I f you have a friend with the Vista disks you may want to try the full blown Vista out for the 120 day trial. It'l save you from having to go back to XP for a while, or forever, for that matter.
 
You are using Vista RC1? You are just asking for trouble. The final release of vista has come a long ways.
 
Try using a Linux boot disc (like, say, Ubuntu) just so you can format your drive quickly. After that, you can safely use your XP disc.
 
BF2 works the problem is that after I play for lets say anywhere from 5-30 mins the game crashes randomly. Biggest reason I wanted to go back to xp was the creative labs problem with the sound which is not entirely their fault, it's like MS making D3D games not supported and having the new standard open GL, they have to find a way to convert to open GL, this is what's happening but instead it's the sound card vendors. I also have a few dvd burning software and dvd playing software that I am not sure if it will work on Vista. Nero, Fab DVD, inter video, I also have photoshop CS2, Alcohol 120%, easy cd creator and a few other things.

I am not dissing Vista, I am seriously considering buying it but I don't want to invest too much in other software to fill in the gap of the old stuff. I can always dual boot.

Here's an interesting question I looked into purchasing the 32bit OEM Ultimate, my system is 64bit and in the future maybe it would be in my interest to try 64bit, would I be able to order the 64bit with the extra $10 and would I be able to swap back to 32bit if things don't work out? My other question is that it requires you to dial in if you make big changes to hardware, I was wondering if I reinstall is it going to have me phone in?
 
Your previous problems have resulted from your belief that 'Format' is the approach and answer. 'Format' isn't really the ideal approach, as lAciDl has pointed out above.

Some people assume Format to the the correct procedure. But Format has limitations. Simply formatting a drive doesn't alter the Master Boot Record entries. Deleting and then recreating the drive partition is the better approach because it does just that. Your previous attempt to 'format and install' XP failed because all traces of the Vista boot weren't eliminated.

XP and Vista easily sit happily side by side if you install XP first and then install Vista to a different partition. I agree. Dual-booting is the best method of easing the migration, and ensuring that you don't have to replace heaps of old software straight away.



If you purchase OEM 32-bit Vista you don't get 64-bit Vista. OEM comes as one or the other. You aren't eligible to receive the other install DVD. But funny thing is, if you can get your hands on somebody else's Vista 64-bit DVD and make a copy of it, your OEM Product install key code will work just fine with it ;)

Don't have a friend nearby who has one you can copy? Then perhaps you have an online friend who will make an ISO inage for you and upload it to web storage where you can download it and burn the thing to DVD.

Changing between 32-bit and 64-bit versions requires a fresh installion in either direction, but getting it activated again is merely a matter of ringing the activation centre and informing them that you've wiped and reinstalled. Online activation sometimes goes through and sometimes doesn't. Mileage varies in that regard. But telephone activation is relatively quick and painless, so no big deal.
 
I had a problem trying to install Vista on a drive that had Ubunto on it. I did a low level format and started from scratch. The installation went flawlessly. You would have to get the utility from the manufacturer of your specific drive, but it cleans your drive basically back to factory specs ansd allows the use for another OS without problems.
 
Tried the utility that came with the HD, it did not go too well. I have not tried since I will only have time for all of this on the weekend.
 
Low-level format is overkill IMO. And anyway, what drive maufacturers call 'Low level format' tools aren't really doing low level formats. On modern hard drives a low level format can't even be conducted outside the facory. The tools provided by drive manufacturers are really only 'Zero-fill' tools.


Deleting and then re-creating the drive partition should be plenty enough to adequately reset the drive partition table, and ensure that what was previously written there doesn't interfere. If there are problems which result from the previous contents of sectors on the drive then the drive itself has problems.

The ONLY useful purpose of the 'low level format' tools MajorDomo descroibes, IMO, is to overwrite traces of sensitive data so that file recovery tools can't rebuild and access them. They are a security tool rather than a 'fixit' tool designed to overcome functional problems.
 
So do you recommend dual booting system and would you recommend 32bit over 64bit? I only have 2gb at the moment, I think it's plenty enough for now. If I can get some games to run stable in the retail version of Vista, my printer, tv turner, dvd software and photoshop CS2 then I will not need XP at all. Thanks for the oppinions, to me it becomes a little harder to decide on something when it has to do with my rig.
 
I came back to XP. My machine isn't powerful enought to take advantage of Vista's features, and XP runs so fine, I think I'll stick to it for a while now.
 
My machine is high tech E6600 dual core processing, 8800gtx and 680i mobo. It's all new, also 2gb ram to boot. It's a tough one, I grown used to Vista.
 
You should be choosing whatever YOU feel comfortable with, not asking others what they think ;)
 
One things is what you like and another thing is what you know will work with everything all the time.
 
If I know that Vista full release will run without a hitch It would be awesome. want to make sure all my games run well.
 
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