trying to downgrade from win XP home edition to win 2k pro, problems

[accord94]

Ok so my pops bought a gateway 7326 laptop cause office depot is closin em out.

Anyway the thing comes loaded with windows xp home edition, which sucks and wont work with our 4 computer network. The other 2 comptuers on the network are windows 2k running sp4 and all other applicable updates.

Everytime ive loaded 2k pro onto something, its been either a brand new hard drive, or it has been a messed up 98 or 2k computer, and ive ended up having it reformat and reinstall.

My problem is i do the boot from cd, it loads all the shit then says "starting windows 2000" and then just stalls. I can get a picture of exactly what im talking about if this isnt clear

im assuming theres some sort of xp file protection or something so it wont let me go into 2000 setup or what? Someone please help me out here.

 

[Audiochris]

first, please explain how xp home sucks and why it won't work with your existing networked computers.


if you're just going to wipe the drive go to www.bootdisk.com and get a win98 boot image. Either put that on a floppy or burn it to a bootable cd and use fdisk to delete your partitions. If XP was the cause of your not being able to boot (i doubt it) it will now be resolved and you should be able to install 2000.

 

[accord94]

xp home wont see the network at all, i configured everything on the damn thing the same way i did with the 2000 computers but it tries to say the network doesnt exist.

Other than the networking, XP is a piss poor operating system overall and has nothing on 2k. 2k uses less system resources just on the OS and runs WAY quicker.

Thanks for the link i will try that.

 

[accord94]

aight guys it still isnt working. Here is a picture of the exact spot it wont go anymore. I have 2 windows 2000 disks and it does this with the both of them.

The top says "Windows 2000 setup"

and on the bottom grey bar it says "Setup is starting windows 2000"

I cant get it to move past this point.

 

[accord94]

update!

my dad rebooted it and fuckin XP booted!!!! This is after i fdisked the fuckin thing with the windows 98 boot disk! So it just wont die or some shit!

 

[DejaWiz]

First, how big is the HDD in the laptop? There is a size limitation for FDISK.
A fix is available:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q263044


Second, make sure you set defaults in BIOS and you're running the lates BIOS revision. Laptops can be very finnicky if some settings are changed (but make sure your 1st boot priority device is set to the CD drive).

Third, make sure there are no external devices connected, such as USB devices until after the install is complete.

Fourth, make sure you are completely deleting the existing hard drive partition(s) with the Windows Setup Process instead of just installing over it or using crappy FDISK.

Fifth, if W2K still won't install, check the tech support site from the laptop manufacturer to see if they are aware of the issues you are experiencing and have possible workarounds or resolutions.

Sixth, keep us posted on your progress.


This may (or may not) help with your networking issue in XP:
1. Open a folder window.
2. Click Tools
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab.
5. Scroll all the way to the bottom in the box and uncheck "Use Simple File Sharing".

 

[Dan_D]

First, how big is the HDD in the laptop? There is a size limitation for FDISK.
A fix is available:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q263044


Second, make sure you set defaults in BIOS and you're running the lates BIOS revision. Laptops can be very finnicky if some settings are changed (but make sure your 1st boot priority device is set to the CD drive).

Third, make sure there are no external devices connected, such as USB devices until after the install is complete.

Fourth, make sure you are completely deleting the existing hard drive partition(s) with the Windows Setup Process instead of just installing over it or using crappy FDISK.

Fifth, if W2K still won't install, check the tech support site from the laptop manufacturer to see if they are aware of the issues you are experiencing and have possible workarounds or resolutions.

Sixth, keep us posted on your progress.


This may (or may not) help with your networking issue in XP:
1. Open a folder window.
2. Click Tools
3. Select Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab.
5. Scroll all the way to the bottom in the box and uncheck "Use Simple File Sharing".

Windows 2000 is likely unsupported on most if not all machines that come with Windows XP Home Edition.

On another note, Windows XP Home is crippled when it comes to certain networking features. The most important ones have to do with being able to set file permissions and with not being able to connect to a network domain. If you don't have a domain its fine.

I was going to advise turning off simple file sharing as well. That will usually fix it. Windows 2000 doesn't understand it at all. So you'd definatley have problems going from 2K to XP like that.

Personally I don't think any machine should be running Windows 2K anymore. I know its popular for various reasons. I usually disagree with. Anyway, as far as that machine goes there may simply not be drivers available for it, and no doubt the system wasn't tested with it to make sure it would install. I do by the way second all the advice in the above post. Its right on the money. Good luck.

xp home wont see the network at all, i configured everything on the damn thing the same way i did with the 2000 computers but it tries to say the network doesnt exist.

Other than the networking, XP is a piss poor operating system overall and has nothing on 2k. 2k uses less system resources just on the OS and runs WAY quicker.

Thanks for the link i will try that.

This is the biggest misconception I have ever seen with the Windows OS's thats out there now. I have run the two SIDE BY SIDE on the same type of machine and Windows XP used less processes and took less memory. Boot up time is much better, and it has wider driver support than Windows 2000 and all in all is more responsive and faster on the same hardware. The interface is much quicker on XP. Even with the goofy startmenu and taskbar. In my tests on two identically configured Hewlett Packard XW4100 workstations Windows XP was far better in nearly every category than Windows 2000 was.

When it comes to IDE disk access speeds and video performance, especially in games I've found 2K to be terrible compared to Windows XP. I've also found that Windows XP is just as stable if not more so than Windows 2000. Now, don't take that to mean your average spyware infested (from the factory) garden variety retail machine is that way.

But a properly configured Windows XP installation that has been optimized and tuned is FAR superior to the outdated and 5 year old Windows 2000. 2K doesn't support many new technologies that have come out since its release. Hyperthreading being a main and very important one if you use Intel processors.