I know this question must have been asked million of times on this forum and i suppose there are tutorials on the same available. But before jumping into the well, i want to get clarifications so i don't mess up things when i attempt the install.
1. I have a Toshiba Satellite L300D-01N laptop with 32 bit Vista Home Premium installed on it. It has AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core QL-60 1.90 Ghz processor and SATA drive (i suppose). Heres the link for the full config:
Toshiba Canada - mobile computing - notebooks - satellite notebooks - Satellite L300
Can i install windows XP over this pre-installed Vista ?
Will i need to use the Shrink volume utility in Vista to create a partition for XP ?
2. Will i encounter issues while i boot my machine using a Windows XP bootable CD, like HDD not found for install, etc ?
3. If yes then how do i rectify this issue without minimum effort? I suppose doing something in BIOS will be of help but am not sure. I also know something about slip streaming the SATA drivers and creating a new bootable XP CD but i want to avoid it.
4. Suppose i am able to install Windows XP properly, I expect not being able to boot into Vista again at this point (as per whatever i have read on the net till now). In this case i need to install EASYBCD in XP to rectify this issue so i get a dual boot screen at startup for booting into either of the OSes. Am i correct ?
5. Should i face any issues while using EasyBCD like the Vista Boot partition not found or any other unexpected problem? I mean i don't want to get stuck at a point of no return and render the laptop useless.
6. The laptop did not come with any vista CD but has a hidden partition which will be helpful for Vista recovery (dont know how to use it though). I have created a 2 DVD Vista recovery disc using Toshiba's inbuilt recovery disc creator software. Will it be helpful incase i screw up things.
7. What about the drivers that are needed for XP (if any) to interface with the available hardware in my laptop ? How to be certain that the installed XP will work flawlessly on the laptop ?
I have tried to be as much point blank as possible with my questions. Please let me know if any more information is needed.
1. I have a Toshiba Satellite L300D-01N laptop with 32 bit Vista Home Premium installed on it. It has AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core QL-60 1.90 Ghz processor and SATA drive (i suppose). Heres the link for the full config:
Toshiba Canada - mobile computing - notebooks - satellite notebooks - Satellite L300
Can i install windows XP over this pre-installed Vista ?
Will i need to use the Shrink volume utility in Vista to create a partition for XP ?
2. Will i encounter issues while i boot my machine using a Windows XP bootable CD, like HDD not found for install, etc ?
3. If yes then how do i rectify this issue without minimum effort? I suppose doing something in BIOS will be of help but am not sure. I also know something about slip streaming the SATA drivers and creating a new bootable XP CD but i want to avoid it.
4. Suppose i am able to install Windows XP properly, I expect not being able to boot into Vista again at this point (as per whatever i have read on the net till now). In this case i need to install EASYBCD in XP to rectify this issue so i get a dual boot screen at startup for booting into either of the OSes. Am i correct ?
5. Should i face any issues while using EasyBCD like the Vista Boot partition not found or any other unexpected problem? I mean i don't want to get stuck at a point of no return and render the laptop useless.
6. The laptop did not come with any vista CD but has a hidden partition which will be helpful for Vista recovery (dont know how to use it though). I have created a 2 DVD Vista recovery disc using Toshiba's inbuilt recovery disc creator software. Will it be helpful incase i screw up things.
7. What about the drivers that are needed for XP (if any) to interface with the available hardware in my laptop ? How to be certain that the installed XP will work flawlessly on the laptop ?
I have tried to be as much point blank as possible with my questions. Please let me know if any more information is needed.
