New Laptop - Vista installed but available with XP Downgrade

[cargosales]

Hi all,

I've got to get a new laptop and insist on staying with XP. While mine has been in the repair shop being diagnosed as terminally ill, I've been using my other half's machine which has Vista on it. A single word will suffice: Aaarrrghhhhhhhhh...

I've found a decent-ish replacement at PC World Business which has Vista installed but also comes with 'XP downgrade' i.e. it comes with an XP installation disc as well.

I'm sure I remember threads here and elsewhere about Vista being a complete git to remove from a PC. Being a suspicious sod, I called the PCWB tech guys to ask if it is really possible to completely eradicate Vista from the machine and then to install only XP. They reckoned that it was possible and that the 'Downgrade' works fine.

Question is: Is it really as easy as that? And/or, is there anything else I should be aware of and perhaps do if and when I go ahead and order the new machine?

Any answers would be gratefully received ..

Also, any reasons why not to get this particular machine, which seems pretty good value given the spec Toshiba Satellite Pro A300-1E0 Laptop PC Laptop PC PSAG1E-00G004EN - PC World Business Online Store UK - Buy The Best Deals Online. (http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/A0432469) would be welcome. We've always had Tosh laptops and have always been very pleased with their performance and build quality but if there's something out there that's better value then I'd be happy for people to recommend otherwise..

In the meantime, here are a few learning points from this unfortunate exercise which may prove useful to others:

1. It's a fact. Laptops and liquids don't mix. Especially pints of 6X which I haven't even had a sip of :{

2. If you are insured with AXA, stock up on valium and make sure you have several days free before attempting to make a claim.

3. If you are insured with AXA but you are unmarried and the policy happens to be in your other half's name, if you are the one making a claim then nip back to the chemist for a second helping of valium. You'll need it !!

4. If you are insured with AXA, make sure you have a sizeable bank balance before calling them. On their premium rate number that is. They don't answer their landline and our phone bill just arrived :mad:

5. If you are insured with AXA, you will have to call their 'preferred repairer' to try and get confirmed what the PC repair shop already told you. And them. Frequently. You will usually get your call 'answered', only to join a queue, for long periods of time, again at a premium rate :mad: :mad:

6. If you are insured with AXA, you will need to buy a thesaurus before attempting to communicate with their 'preferred repairer'. This will enable you to convert your version of the English language into sentences using words of one syllable or less, in order to successfully communicate with said 'preferred repairer'.

7. Should you have the temerity or stamina to complain to AXA about points 2-6 above, you will receive a pretty letter stating that they will investigate your complaint and report back within 10 days.

After 14 days or so, you will get another pretty letter apologising that they haven't got back to you yet...

And so the saga goes on .... :ugh:


CS

[Loose rivets]

I've been determined to catch up and learn a little, but it's been hard. One thing that surprises me though, is that having wandered the vast network of streets in the town of Vista, I'm slowly getting to find places that have some merit. Trouble is, they were so hard to find that I've scant memory of where some of them are, but I'll find my way back, they're worth getting to know.


The folks on this forum, have been most helpful, as has a pal in the UK. He has me leaning hard towards scrapping Vista for XP pro. He has spent his entire working life designing and teaching major OSs, and knows when the framework of a system is...flawed? Not his word and I'm not qualified to say, but it's sort of what he said. He does not like Vista. Really does not like it.

Getting the drivers? Does the downgrade state that it's tailored for your intended purchase, so that every last thing goes when you make the change. I got caught out on the internal modem. Went to send a fax...ho, hum, another half hour figuring out where that driver had gone. Oh, and I had no sound. Just little things.

Others on here would be better qualified to say if you should format the drive. I would, but now, can you make a backup disk before you scrap Vista? Would it mean that it had to be unpacked before you made the back up? I guess it would - unless you used some other utility to copy the packed file. I'm guessing that you don't get any Vista disks.


I'm hit with the fact that the Sony just isn't what I expected. Spec's okay, but the quality of the case is just plastic nastiness. I just didn't look carefully enough in the noisy store. I'd assumed that the name would give me the excellence that I had grown used to with my 10 year old one. Solid, neat, and the best keyboard I've ever had. The new one bends as I type. Now I find that the HP 6000 is suited for cooking on. Sheeeesh! Glad things are advancing.

Let us know what you do.