Vista-to-XP Upgrade Guide - where should I place it?

[jrf2027]

Some background...I purchased a Gateway GM5478 last fall because I liked the specs (check it out here) and the price / financing was right.

Well, after struggling with incompatibility issues between Vista and Nero, as well as not being completely happy with Vista overall, I decided to switch back to XP. (Actually, I ended up setting up a triple-boot between XP, Vista, and Ubuntu, and will shortly try a quadruple-boot between XP, Vista x86, Vista x64, and Ubuntu, with each Windows partition being completely independent and unaware of the existence of the others, but that's for another day...)

However, as this particular computer was designed completely with Vista in mind, installing XP was not as easy as inserting the XP CD and reformatting the C:\ drive. It actually took me the better part of three weeks to assemble all the different pieces of advice from across the Internet to successfully install XP on this machine. I ran across several "how do I install XP on the GM5478" posts and pages, but no "here's how I installed XP on the GM5478" posts or pages.

Consequently, I'd like to make a one-stop do-it-yourself guide on installing XP on this particular model of computer, but don't quite know where to put it...hence, I'm seeking the advice of the wise MSFNers.

So where does a post like this belong?

a. The Windows XP forum as its own thread?

b. The Windows XP forum as the first post of a thread suggesting that people share their experiences with "hard to upgrade" newer machines?

c. Somewhere else on the Web, but nowhere near MSFN?

d. Lodged in my head, never to see the light of day?

or e. Any other suggestions?

Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks!

Edited February 1, 2008 by jrf2027

[jrf2027]

Not to be one of those obnoxious types that replies to his own posts...but between my real job getting in the way of my fun, I haven't had time to completely assemble the guide I discussed in the start of this thread. Consequently, in order to start the discussion, or give others who stumble on this post a place to start looking, I'm going to share a message I've sent out to others that have sought information from me in the recent past.

In response to your inquiry about installing XP on the GM5478...

I'm going to be lazy and resend you a message I sent to somebody else earlier seeking the same information. (Plus, I'm just a little bit busy...I have a big project at work that's taking all my time this weekend...) I still haven't gotten around to posting my guide. Maybe I'll just add this message to my earlier thread....

As for dual-booting, I HIGHLY recommend doing a "triple boot" by using a Linux partition with GRUB as the master bootloader, it keeps each of your Windows partitions completely isolated from each other and allows each Windows installation to keep its own internal bootloader.

My first bit of advice...if you haven't already added a second hard drive to your system, I would recommend that you do so, so that you can experiment with installing XP before totally committing to it. In fact, I'd do some test installations before buying a license, just to make sure you can get the install done.

Second, as you said, you should decide if you want to go with XP Media Center or XP Pro. By doing test installations, you'll know which one suits your needs. Personally, I went with Pro because I was familiar with it. At first, I was planning to use a third-party software package for media center capability, but I never ended up finding one I liked...had I given it more thought at the outset, I may have went with Media Center - it's a little bit cheaper than Pro, and the Vista drivers for the onboard TV tuner card (the AverMedia M791) install fine in XP.

After not finding a suitable third-party package for media center capability, I discovered that, even with the Vista flaws I was running from, the one area where I never had any real problems was with Vista's media center... so, I ended up scrapping my initial XP install for a triple-boot system, with XP, Vista, and Ubuntu 7.10 to tie it all together, although any Linux distribution using GRUB as the bootloader will work. By using GRUB as the bootloader, you can isolate the XP partition from the Vista partition, and the Vista partition from the XP partition, so XP won't flub up Vista's files and vice versa. If you're interested in learning more, read this thread at justlinux.com.

So in short...I can say that XP Pro definitely works, but I don't know if MCE will. I'd experiment before committing to a license.

NewEgg has good prices on Pro ($139.99, free shipping) and MCE ($114.99, also free shipping). If you do buy the OEM version of XP Pro, make sure you use the files from the disk that comes with the license, because the new SP2c product keys do NOT work with older installation disks. That's the whole reason behild SP2c...MS was running out of authorized product keys for XP, and had to make more available.

Third...if you haven't used it before, and I hadn't, nLite is now your friend. There is a very obscure ATAPI interface on the motherboard that does not have its driver included in the XP install disk. It's made by a company called ITE, and you need to use nLite to integrate it into the XP install disk. Here is the direct link to the driver from ITE's website.

If you want to use RAID or the AHCI capabilities of the motherboard, you will also need to integrate the correct driver using nLite; however, you need to integrate the RAID/AHCI driver and the ITE ATAPI driver in separate passes. Personally, I don't use RAID, but I do have AHCI enabled. This blog explains the process for installing the drivers via nLite.

Fourth...other drivers. The GM5478's motherboard is similar enough to the Intel DG33TL that the drivers for the Intel board work on the GM5478. Just download the XP drivers for that board. One caveat...I never could get the onboard sound to work, so I ended up buying a new sound card. However, you may be able to install Microsoft hotfix KB888111 to get the onboard sound to work...I just didn't try it, actually I didn't even find out about it until after I had purchased the new sound card. And of course, nVidia has the video driver for the video card.

Well, this should give you some food for thought, and a good starting point for your own experimentation. Let me know if you have any questions, or need any assistance while working on this project.

And by the way...the quad-boot XP, Vista 32-bit, Vista 64-bit, and Ubuntu 7.10 worked well...

[AGlobalThreatsK]

Your link for the IT8211 v1.3.3.0 drivers is dead.

I hate these stupid gateway boards, my company bought 4 GM5478s and each one is a headache.

Edited April 2, 2009 by AGlobalThreatsK