Vista Home - to Win xp Assistance

[Insight_772]

Hi.

Some three weeks ago I purchased a new Dell Aspire 5315 Laptop. It has Windows Vista Basic installed.

I do not like Vista at all it is a resource hog and the computer is quite slow. So I decided to revert to Win XP.

I insterted my "real" XP disk and now all I can get on the screen is NTLDR is missing Press CNTRL+ALT+DEL to restart.

I have checked The Boot setting & it is correct. I have also tried using Microscope, a utilities disk, other versions of windows and Vista borrowed from a friend who has a computer shop.

I even tried to get a fix for this by way of downloading something from the internet (http://www.tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm) using a pen drive on my other Laptop, I then installed it on my pen drive. When I rebooted my FS Laptop it had taken out the NTLDR on this Laptop also. I have had to use the recovery disk that came with my Fujitsu Siemens and start from afresh with a new installation.

Meanwhile my Dell is still not working. I was given no recovery disk with my Dell and I think that I may probably need it. The problem is I purchased it in Spain and I am now back in the UK.

Any idea's or help would be appreciated.

[quaxo]

What do you mean your "real" XP disc? Is it real or not? Does it have a holographic surface and say Microsoft on it?

[Insight_772]

Apologies. It is an OEM disc, not a copy.

[patio]

The boot settings should be CDRom first if you are trying to do a Restore from an OEM CD....
WARNING: You realise after this all your data will be gone correct ? ?

[Insight_772]

Thanks patio. The problem was with the cd-rom drive itself. I have installed a new one and all is now working as it should be.

Great forum this by the way.

[DouglasC]

Dell don't make Aspire laptops, Acer do. Perhaps you mean Inspiron?

If you've not gotten it to work, you may need to wipe the hard drive with a tool such as GParted.

Also, if you are using an OEM verison of Windows XP that came with another computer, and the sticker says something like

A lesson to all: Do not buy a computer with Vista Basic installed: one of many giveaways taht the system is underpower.