Posted on 12/26/2007 7:40:03 PM PST by CedarDave
Its official, manufacturers are starting to dump Windows XP support entirely and some new models wont even have Windows XP drivers or any kind of support available, anywhere. One reader, Mark contacted us regarding installing Windows XP on his HP V6610 (AU) laptop which is the V6620 in the US.
Mark said when he went to the HP driver/downloads section that very few Windows XP drivers were available for it and he was right, there were almost no useful drivers for the laptop there.
His call to HP support didnt get very far as HP is no longer supporting Windows XP on the newer PCs.
Almost all new computers will ship with a version of Vista be it Basic, Premium, Business or Ultimate and deciding to install Windows XP might be problematic if not all the drivers are available. Its also doubtful that the drivers will ever be available so you may as well stick with Vista.
Personally, Ive not had that many problems with Vista, sure I had issues in the past but most of those have been resolved now and I would also have all my hardware working, despite the operating system.
Of course, those of you with Windows Vista and older hardware can attempt to install XP drivers, sometimes they take, sometimes they dont but its a guarantee that Vista drivers do not work on Windows XP.
If you are not aware, Windows XP OEM will cease production in early 2008 so many manufacturers see no reason to provide Windows XP drivers for their newer hardware which will likely be running on a PC with Vista installed.
My guess is that other manufacturers are going to follow this model sooner rather than later. Models that shipped with Windows XP should be unaffected just dont expect driver updates.
(Excerpt) Read more at tech.blorge.com ...
And then I appear to have answered it again... sorry for being redundant. ;-)
First they make us upgrade to Vista, and also starting next year, my TV won't be able to run on rabbit ears alone anymore.
2008 will be the 1979 of the 21st Century.
On my main computer (4 years old) I use XP, mostly because it is easy to hook up a wi-fi card with it.
On my other computers (both about 7 years old) that have wired internet I use Win98SE, runs fast and does what I need it to do. XP runs fine on it, just doesn’t load as fast.
I don’t see a Vista upgrade in my future.
That's Great! You should use that as a tagline for the next year! (Although it is pretty downbeat...)
Dell still lists it with their products.
Ummm, nope. I have to work with it -- hell I have to SUPPORT it (I'm a System Admin), but I'll never get used to it. Worst damn POS since Win/Me. And that's saying something.
I've run Windows since V2.0: 3.1, 3.11WfW, 95, 95B, 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP. 2000 was a peak, XP is perfectly acceptable. Screw Vista. It's awful.
You still need some sort of drivers for whatever operating system you run on the host hardware.
I seem to be going in circles not understanding your answer. Scenario:
I buy a new computer laptop with Vista on it and a new printer that works with that computer. I want to run XP so I wipe my hard drive and install XP Home (or Pro). Am I now screwed because I have no printer driver for that laptop hardware? In other words, is the printer driver machine (hardware) specific or operating system specific or both?
Except that you can run Windows XP in a window on a Mac, and Apple is committed to continuing to provide XP drivers for their stuff.
So, want to run XP? Get a Mac.
Fine.
> I want to run XP so I wipe my hard drive and install XP Home (or Pro).
NO!
Leave Vista on the new machine. Just don't do anything with it except install VMware, and run XP in the VM. No need to ever see Vista except when you boot the machine cold. And the pre-packaged drivers in Vista for your Vista-only hardware do the work for you underneath Vmware. XP never has to see them.
> > Am I now screwed because I have no printer driver for that laptop hardware? In other words, is the printer driver machine (hardware) specific or operating system specific or both?
Printer drivers are sometimes OS-specific, but are rarely (in my experience never) host machine hardware-specific.
You can attach printers or other peripherals to the Vista host machine, and "connect" them into the XP VM by choice. Or if the printer is Vista-only, install it for Vista and "share" it over the (totally internal) network to the XP VM as a Windows shared printer with a more generic (XP-compatible) interface.
Now, now you’re screwed because parts of the laptop don’t have drivers under XP (because they’re newer than XP is).
So, your video might not work properly, your modem might not work, your ethernet and wireless might not be recognized, your webcam and bluetooth won’t work....
This isn’t about accessory drivers. This is about *system* drivers.
Except that by doing so, you just lost a good 20-25% of the speed over native XP, since Vista adds that much overhead.
I am a Mac person for the most part, but professionally I use Windows and Unix. My brother runs his own PC support company, and he really REALLY dislikes Vista. I have been working with him one night a week to learn more about PC’s, and haven’t worked with it much yet myself.
At work, our hospital has had to disappoint some employees who purchased new laptops or desktops for home use, only to find they had to buy a copy of Windows XP if they wanted to connect to work via Cisco VPN, since the VIsta version had not been released and validated Enterprise-wide.
I have no working opinion about Vista yet, but only know what I have heard from others.
OTOH...I did enjoy slapping together the Photoshop Windows graphic...we can all joke about it. I get a decent amount of ribbing about being a Mac guy, but my organization does tolerate them and will help when it can. They usually just have them call me...:)
No, he's not screwed at all.
LEAVE VISTA ON THE LAPTOP as the host OS. USE its drivers for the laptop hardware (video, etc.).
But DON'T WORK IN VISTA.
Install VMware on Vista. Run XP in a VM. Work in XP.
You won't even know you have Vista on the laptop except when you boot cold.
Except for when Vista won’t work with your old accessories.... or asks for an update... or pops up the UAC when the VM wants something.
And we’ve experimented with this at work. Brand new Dell Vostro 1500 running Vista Biz - the computer is 25% slower running XP as a VM under Vista than it is running XP natively.
Care to explain that?
So all the bad things about Vista (excessive shut down times, file transfer problems, clunky slow operation, the need for excessive amounts of RAM, etc.) go away? Just like that?
Granted, but compare that modern CPU with many GB of today's cheap RAM (that only runs Vista native), to an older CPU with less memory (that will run XP native), and the 20%-25% disappears. A factor of 2 would hurt, but it's nowhere near that bad.
Yes, if you COULD run XP native, you'd get another 20-25%. But you can't, so don't sweat what you can't have.
CPU power is cheap and getting cheaper. RAM is dirt cheap and getting cheaper. Don't fret about a small loss -- it's invisible in the overall advance of the technology.
YUCK
Import them directly to the VM as raw devices (that's the default anyway) and the XP drivers will see them.
> or asks for an update...
Once a month on Tuesday? Big deal. Windows updates are annoying but not that frequent.
> or pops up the UAC when the VM wants something.
I haven't seen that problem. No comment at the moment.
> And weve experimented with this at work. Brand new Dell Vostro 1500 running Vista Biz - the computer is 25% slower running XP as a VM under Vista than it is running XP natively. Care to explain that?
Sure. Virtualization overhead, and the inherent slowness of Vista.
Look, I prefer to run my VMs over Linux or Mac OS-X. I sometimes run them over XP. They're more efficient.
But get back to the original question -- the guy wants a NEW NOTEBOOK that only runs Vista drivers. How does he run XP on it?
My answer is not meant to be a perfect or optimal answer to EVERY question. It's meant to be a workable answer to his question. He runs XP in a VM over the Vista that talks to his chosen hardware. OK?
Me? I choose to avoid Vista-only hardware wherever possible.
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