<aaronep@pacbell.net> wrote
>I have just purchased the HP Pavillion a1730n desktop computer that
> comes with Vista OS installed.
>
> As I am not happy with Vista and its clumsiness and lack of
> compatibility issues, I desire to use Windows XP on the computer.
>
> Is it possible to remove the hard drive with the Vista installation
> and substitute the hard drive from the older computer that has Windows
> XP w/service pack 2 by placing the older disk in the new computer?
Firstly, is the version of XP on that drive OEM or retail? If OEM, by its
license, it's tied to the first computer on which it's installed and can't
be moved to a different computer. If retail it can be moved.
Secondly does your new computer support XP? Some manufacturers are not
providing XP drivers for new hardware. Visit the computer manufacturer's
web site and see if there are XP drivers for your model. If so copy them to
CD.
To move a drive with XP to a different computer will require at the least a
repair install, and you would also need to install the XP drivers. See this
link:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
Lastly, installing a different OS might impact the warranty and certainly
you would loose any tech support from the manufacturer. Check out the
impact of using a different OS on the warranty.
--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]