Downgrading to XP From Vista. Install on External HDD

[NeroFMX]

Well I have been reading alot lately on downgrading from Windows Vista to windows XP. I decided I want to try and just install it on my External Harddrive then just boot from that, so I don't have to delete anything from my computer.

Would you guys have any idea how I should go about this?

[EzyStvy]

Running Windows off a USB external is much slower then an internal drive....You won't be able to run ANY applications that were install in Vista...

You still need to be able to find XP drivers for all of your devices.

Install Windows XP on Your Pre-Installed Windows Vista Computer
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...vista-computer

[NeroFMX]

I'm really not this computer illiterate, but the first step on that site has me stumped. When I go into my internal HDD in the list to shrink it, it says I dont have any room to shrink it. I do have a recovery partition that was there when I purchased the computer, and I can shrink that one, but I cant shrink the big one. Any help?

[shadowpr]

How big is the hard drive? How much free space?

[NeroFMX]

I have 25 gb of free space

[shadowpr]

How big is the drive?

Vista won't like it if there isn't enough space for it.

[NeroFMX]

Originally Posted by shadowpr How big is the drive? Vista won't like it if there isn't enough space for it.

The drive is 120gb. I'm copying most everything off the internal to the external right now, just in case something is to go wrong when i do this. But maybe when i free up all this space, it will work to shrink it.

[NeroFMX]

I just made it so I have 40gb of space on the 120gb drive. It says...

"Size of available shrink space can be restricted if snapshots or pagefiles are enable on the volume."

[shadowpr]

Sounds like system restore and the pagefile might be using a large portion of space.

[NeroFMX]

So where should i go from here?

[NeroFMX]

So I decided i'm going to work with Vista, I really dont feel like screwing up my computer. I just bought 4gigs of RAM upgrading from the 2 I have from newegg for $40. Next I will be buying a 250gig harddrive with my next paycheck. Anyone have a link to taking out a laptop harddrive? Jeez... That makes me just realize that if i upgrade the harddrive I would have to start all over again. Anyways, thanks for all the help guys!

[not important]

Originally Posted by NeroFMX Anyone have a link to taking out a laptop harddrive?

What brand and Model Number?

[Negeva]

Originally Posted by NeroFMX So I decided i'm going to work with Vista, I really dont feel like screwing up my computer. I just bought 4gigs of RAM upgrading from the 2 I have from newegg for $40. Next I will be buying a 250gig harddrive with my next paycheck. Anyone have a link to taking out a laptop harddrive? Jeez... That makes me just realize that if i upgrade the harddrive I would have to start all over again. Anyways, thanks for all the help guys!

You can clone the hard-drive (HDD) that in the laptop now to the new; that will save the bother of re-installing everything. And, the chances are you don't have 'proper' disks to install Windows and a Recovery/Rescue Partition - this will need to be carried/cloned over to the new hdd too.

Most modern laptop hdd can be removed very easily; in most cases it's simply removing a cover from the underneath of the case and removing the plugs. Just make sure that you get the correct type of hdd - IDE/PATA or SATA: tools such as SIW System Information for Windows and Belarc Advisor can inform you what hardware you have.