I'm sure tons of people have asked the question: How do I switch from Vista to XP? Well, I've researched this extensively only to come up with the fact that my system can't do it. Please tell me I'm wrong. Here are my computer specs (I just bought this thing a week ago):

HP Pavilion a6200n Desktop PC
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5000+
2048MB System Memory
360GB Hard Drive
DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE Graphics Card
Windows Vista

I downloaded AVG 7.5 Internet Security and I am using that, but I think I'm going to switch to Avast! because I've heard it's better.

I've been having several problems with Vista: had to system restore several times because it would freeze on the "Please Wait" screen, RAM usage at a constant 50%, Games such as Black & White and Prey not working properly, downloaded automatic updates that I think messed up my system and caused the freezing, among other things. I think switching back to XP is the best solution here, but I don't think I can get XP drivers for my hardware since this system is built for Vista. I looked on HP's website, but they only had Vista driver downloads for my system. I was thinking of just finding an older version of my computer and downloading those XP drivers, but I have a feeling that won't work since the hardware in the older computer is different. I don't want to try to switch back to XP and have it not work and then void my warranty. So I'm wondering: Can my system perform a Vista to XP switch without any problems? Also, I've heard about dual-booting both OS's, but I'm not the greatest when it comes to complicated stuff like this and I don't want anything to get messed up. Can someone please tell me or direct me to a step-by-step guide for doing this? That is, of course, if I can even do it with my computer...

A good friend of mine was nice enough to let me borrow his brand new 500GB external hard drive so I can do a system recovery and get the files I want to keep back on my computer. I'm gonna do that right after I finish posting this because I think that might fix some of my problems.

And thanks for your help. ^___^

I see no issues with running XP on that system

1) The only trouble you will probably have is finding drivers. However HP are pretty good for listing drivers on their site for both XP and Vista [usually!]
2) Warranties usually only cover hardware, and software warranties, if any, are only valid for 90 days. With my HP laptop, the warranty does not cover software issues at all [that's why they ask you if you've done a system recovery with the disks before you send it in for repair].
When my laptop went back to HP for a CD drive replacement, I just reloaded Vista onto it [I don't know why the drive worked with it] and even left a note on the desktop mentioning I'll be wiping it as soon as it gets home for Ubuntu. They left a note on there agreeing with how bad Vista is.

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Okay, I stumbled upon a guide on HP's website on how to downgrade to XP from Vista. I don't know how I missed this before, . I think I'm gonna try it, but I have another question? I made the recovery disks for my PC. If for some reason the downgrade fails, will I be able to restore the Vista OS with these disks? Or will I be stuck with a broken computer? Also, do you have any idea where I can get XP chipset drivers or any other necessary drivers for my system (aside from HP's website)?

Yes, you'll be able to get the system back to factory condition with the recovery disks.
You should be able to get the chipset drivers from the manufacturer's website, if they are not listed on HP's site.

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Okay, thanks for your help. I'll tell you how it works out.

One note. My boss bought a Vista laptop from Acer. She called and asked about upgrading from home basic to home preimum. They said after much debate in their office that that was fine (but might cause some features to quit working). When she asked about "Downgrading " to XP, they said that they would consider the warranty null and void.
So check well to see about your warranty.

Well, I did it and it worked. But I reinstalled Vista afterward for two reasons: I couldn't get the internet to work on XP (I have a cable modem), and the hard drive said I had only 127GB free space when my HD actually has 360GB. Does anyone know why this happened? Do I need some sort of internet driver or what? I told a friend about the drive space issue and he said that it happened to him on one of his newly installed hard drives and that there was a way to fix it. He said that sometimes XP doesn't recognize the full amount of space on a new hard drive. Can anyone help me with these two issues? Your help is greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep Vista and look for ways to speed it up, like removing unnecessary programs from startup and uninstalling worthless programs such as MyHP Games. My hard drive says I've got a total of 326GB of usable space and 18GB are already used up on it. I want to lower that number as much as possible. As soon as I know that XP will work the way I need it to, I'll downgrade again. ^___^

What sort of cable modem do you have and do you connect to it via Ethernet or USB?
About your drive only showing 127GB... try this link:
PC Answers - Helpdesk - LARGE DRIVE SUPPORT

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I have an ethernet connection directly wired to my computer. By the way, I tried doing it again and couldn't get it to work, so until I'm fairly sure it's going to work, I'm gonna stick with vista. I went to this site: Speed Up Windows Vista and did almost everything it said to speed up my system and it's working betting than when I first got it. The only thing I have a problem with (at the moment) is that when I open task manager, it says my physical memory is running at 30-40%. Is that high for Vista? I don't have many programs running, just Avast and DAEMON tools, and ocasionally PC Wizard.

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It depends, how much ram do you have?

I posted it at the top of this thread: 2GB on a dual-core processor.

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I know my user name sounds lame. It was the first thing I could think of, but it seems to fit seeing as this is a computer help forum. ^__^
And you can of course change it if you wish.

30% is only like 600mb, that's not THAT much to idle. Vista also does use more ram than xp, so it's normal.

My XP rig uses around a gig idiling... so vista using 800+ isint bad besides areo uses alot of memory