downgrading to XP

twitchy · 12 Dec 2010

Bear with me as I am starting with the basics here, but I'm looking for the XP compatible drivers for the SATA drive, it is a wd3200aaks. Do I need to get this from the MOBO manufacturer, Western Digital, or is there a generic driver that will work? I downloaded nlite and it looks fairly simple, I just want to make sure I have the right SATA driver to paste into the ISO folder when I get ready to do this.

Also just for claification, I am installing XP on a completely seperate drive, I looked into the dual boot situation on the same drive and it looks like it takes some tweaking to get XP not to kick windows 7's butt lol, I don't mind using seperate drives at all to avoid the 'tweaking'.

Hopalong X · 12 Dec 2010

You need the SATA driver. If you know the brand of motherboard then the driver may be available from them. Asus, Gigabyte etc.

I'm not sure of your brand. You will need a 32bit version.
My Asus SATA drivers for my moboard will work with 32 or 64bit XP, Vista or Win7. So it didn't make any difference.

It just depends on manufacturer of the motherboard and what brand SATA driver they used on the board.

twitchy · 12 Dec 2010

OK Cool,
I know you guys get this all the time, but I really do appreciate all the help. These forums are the unsung heros of the computer age.

Hopalong X · 12 Dec 2010

Aw Shucks!!

gregrocker · 12 Dec 2010

If you run the Belarc Advisor I linked, it will tell you the exact mobo and chipset you have.

Google it, go to maker's website to download drivers (hopefully) for XP. Someone here will help you with each step you need help for.

Unzip the chipset drivers to flash stick or CD, let Nlite clue you to which is the SATA or storage controller, or insert all the chipset drivers.

Sometimes you get lucky, it's a great learning experience, but it is not always successful and can be frustrating for those not fascinated by this stuff. This is why I gave you the other options which may start looking better as you proceed.

stormy13 · 12 Dec 2010

Unless Gateway had the board modified beyond recognition (like Dell and HP are known to do), with the 780G chipset on it it should have the AMD SATA controller on it. The one I posted should be all you need, just download it, extract it and with it being XP most likely need to put it on a floppy disk.

If you don't have a floppy drive, unless someone else has a better idea you're going to have to use something like this,

nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation

and slipstream the driver into the XP install disk. The guide here,

nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation - Guide

if pretty straightforward as to what to do.

jimbo45 · 13 Dec 2010

Hi there
Contrary to some of the posts here it IS quite feasable to downgrade most systems to XP if you wish.

You won't be able to use bleeding edge technology but you can certainly install XP on pretty well 99% of even CURRENT hardware.

What you have to do first is SLIPSTREAM SATA drivers into an XP install disc ( at least SP2 but preferably SP3 level) or your XP install system won't find any Disk drives to install on.

Visit the Driverpacks site -- follow the tutorial and you will be fine. All the software is available including XP drivers for almost every system out there.

All DriverPacks | DriverPacks.net

Tutorial Here DriverPacks.net Forum / DriverPacks BASE tutorial (English)

Cheers

jimbo