Cant Install XP over Windows 7?

[iseeuu]

it doesn't tell me to tap a key, usually it would tell me to tap anykey to continue my boot. but ever since i've installed W7 it doesn't tell me to tap anything it just says "To Boot from CD:..."

Please rest assured that Windows 7 has nothing to do with a computer booting to this level. This is all motherboard, controlled by the BIOS. The reason you might not see the screen I posted to earlier is if you have enabled some form of "Quick Boot" that bypasses all this stuff and goes strait to the OS to save time. To avoid that you must begin tapping the F12 key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash, to enter the boot menu.

To enter the bios to set the DVD as the first drive in boot order, begin tapping the Delete key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash. When the BIOS menu appears, scroll down to Advanced Bios Features and find the First Boot Device and set to the DVD / CD Rom.





You can even temporarily disable any hard drive from the boot order so you boot to the CD or to nothing. You can go back later and change the boot order back.

Cheers!
Robert

 

[ericerics]

it doesn't tell me to tap a key, usually it would tell me to tap anykey to continue my boot. but ever since i've installed W7 it doesn't tell me to tap anything it just says "To Boot from CD:..."

Please rest assured that Windows 7 has nothing to do with a computer booting to this level. This is all motherboard, controlled by the BIOS. The reason you might not see the screen I posted to earlier is if you have enabled some form of "Quick Boot" that bypasses all this stuff and goes strait to the OS to save time. To avoid that you must begin tapping the F12 key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash, to enter the boot menu.

To enter the bios to set the DVD as the first drive in boot order, begin tapping the Delete key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash. When the BIOS menu appears, scroll down to Advanced Bios Features and find the First Boot Device and set to the DVD / CD Rom.

View attachment 43905

View attachment 43906

You can even temporarily disable any hard drive from the boot order so you boot to the CD or to nothing. You can go back later and change the boot order back.

Cheers!
Robert

i've tried that, i didnt work for me unfortunately

 

[ericerics]

Please tap the F-key given on first bootup screen to Enter BIOS setup, usually F2.

Look for the boot order selection menu and follow prompts to set CD drive to boot first, then HDD.

Also look for how CD drive is registered in the BIOS: Master, Slave, SATA1, SATA2, etc.

Save settings and exit. Now look for prompt to "hit any key to boot from CD"

If this does not fix it, open your case and remove your CD drive, check jumpers, set to Master and remove anything else on cable. Change the ribbon cable if possible. If necessary, try another CD drive.

your using a diferent motherboard than me, its hard to follow what you say because you are telling me what to do if i were using your motherboard. my motherboard's bios screen is "Delete" button and it doesnt have an F-key option, nothing happens when i press the F-key

 

[gregrocker]

I was referring the row of F-keys along the top of the keyboard, which are normally used to access Boot Menu.

Look on the first bootup screen for what key to tap for Boot Menu. Select CD drive to boot.

If it isn't there, then look on the first bootup screen for what key to tap to Enter BIOS setup. Set CD drive to boot first, then HD.

 

[jradicle11]

is there a way where i can just unstall the windows 7 OS?

Hi

Back Up your DATA first.

No need to uninstall, just delete the partition.

Take a look at this tutorial:

How to Install Windows XP

>i wish it was that easy. when i try booting from the bootmenu, it just runs normally...
it says "Boot from CD:..." usually it says "Boot from CD: press any key"

i like the windows 7 visuals and stuff, but everything else is too vista-like. i really don't like vista at all, the security warnings "do you want to open this" or whatever. i like XP, although it is less safe i have anti-virus programs and firewalls to protect me from that. constantly asking me whether i want to open this or that slows me down from everything. also i cant find anything i want to find, i was struggling to find the "Run" in windows 7 when it was right there infront of me. i have many other relevant problems wherei think i cant get use to, so im just going to try to switch back

ps. i didnt upgrade.
thanks for all your help people! im going to try some of these things

Seems like you could just do some customization to windows 7 to personalize it. I'm pretty sure the security warnings can be turned off. For all the effort you've put in, it would most likely be far less just to customize it. I figure, all the time spent fidgeting with switching to XP could easily have been applied to making windows 7 suit your needs.

 

[smsff7]

Hi

Back Up your DATA first.

No need to uninstall, just delete the partition.

Take a look at this tutorial:

How to Install Windows XP

>i wish it was that easy. when i try booting from the bootmenu, it just runs normally...
it says "Boot from CD:..." usually it says "Boot from CD: press any key"

i like the windows 7 visuals and stuff, but everything else is too vista-like. i really don't like vista at all, the security warnings "do you want to open this" or whatever. i like XP, although it is less safe i have anti-virus programs and firewalls to protect me from that. constantly asking me whether i want to open this or that slows me down from everything. also i cant find anything i want to find, i was struggling to find the "Run" in windows 7 when it was right there infront of me. i have many other relevant problems wherei think i cant get use to, so im just going to try to switch back

ps. i didnt upgrade.
thanks for all your help people! im going to try some of these things

Seems like you could just do some customization to windows 7 to personalize it. I'm pretty sure the security warnings can be turned off. For all the effort you've put in, it would most likely be far less just to customize it. I figure, all the time spent fidgeting with switching to XP could easily have been applied to making windows 7 suit your needs.

I had the same prob with WIn7 and vista myself I hated the UAC So I disabled it first chance I got. (not to hard to do and if that is your prob then somebody could tell you how to do it.) Tho when I first started using win7 I hated the fact that I needed to rig the quick launch back and no classic start menu, bu I got used to it

 

[gregrocker]

Quick launch functions were absorbed into the Super Bar. You can dock any app/program there for instant access, including full history by rightclick.

Change User Account Control settings in Control Panel.

 

[ickymay]

Hi im using windows 7 atm but i dont like it at all. the visuals are great and it looks amazing but the folder setups and everything else is too much alike vista. the whole reason i sticked with XP throughout the vista phase was because i didnt like anything about vista, nothing about vista at all.

So i've decided to go back to XP but now windows 7 wont let me install XP because it says my current OS is newer and its blocking me from installing XP...

What should i do? someone help me please

ps. i dont have two OS's on my computer

this seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to get your favourite game working

 

[iseeuu]

it doesn't tell me to tap a key, usually it would tell me to tap anykey to continue my boot. but ever since i've installed W7 it doesn't tell me to tap anything it just says "To Boot from CD:..."

Please rest assured that Windows 7 has nothing to do with a computer booting to this level. This is all motherboard, controlled by the BIOS. The reason you might not see the screen I posted to earlier is if you have enabled some form of "Quick Boot" that bypasses all this stuff and goes strait to the OS to save time. To avoid that you must begin tapping the F12 key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash, to enter the boot menu.

To enter the bios to set the DVD as the first drive in boot order, begin tapping the Delete key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash. When the BIOS menu appears, scroll down to Advanced Bios Features and find the First Boot Device and set to the DVD / CD Rom.

View attachment 43905

View attachment 43906

You can even temporarily disable any hard drive from the boot order so you boot to the CD or to nothing. You can go back later and change the boot order back.

Cheers!
Robert

i've tried that, i didnt work for me unfortunately

Could you please explain a little more what you mean by "didn't work"? Did tapping the "Delete" key open the BIOS menu? Were you able to set the CD as the first boot device? When you rebooted did the XP installer in the CD/DVD not start? A little help here would be appreciated.

For clarity, the "Boot Screen" in this picture is from the motherboard you listed in your specs: "GA-MA785GM-US2H " from the "Users Manual" available on-line from Gigabyte.



The BIOS menu screens are also from the Gigabyte Users Manual. If this is not the motherboard you have, please tell us which one you do have?

The next question I would have is are you using a USB keyboard? If so, I would suggest to you to turn off your computer, remove the usb keyboard and find an old PS2 keyboard and plug it into the back of your computer until you get your XP reinstalled. Then you can go back to the USB keyboard if you wish.

 

[smsff7]

Quick launch functions were absorbed into the Super Bar. You can dock any app/program there for instant access, including full history by rightclick.

and.....? I DON"T like it at all. It takes up to much room and not very useful to me.

 

[gregrocker]

Quick launch functions were absorbed into the Super Bar. You can dock any app/program there for instant access, including full history by rightclick.

and.....? I DON"T like it at all. It takes up to much room and not very useful to me.

You can change the taskbar size by rightclicking>Properties. You can also autohide it so it doesn't take up any space until you mouseover bottom of screen

Small size:

Regular size:

Autohide:

 

[smsff7]

Quick launch functions were absorbed into the Super Bar. You can dock any app/program there for instant access, including full history by rightclick.

and.....? I DON"T like it at all. It takes up to much room and not very useful to me.

You can change the taskbar size by rightclicking>Properties. You can also autohide it so it doesn't take up any space until you mouseover bottom of screen

Small size:
View attachment 44029
Regular size:
View attachment 44032
Autohide:
View attachment 44033

It is not the size of the taskbar that bugs me. It is the size and positioning of the icons/shortcuts to run the programs. For me, having then in one small contained spot next to the start button is a lot better then having them scattered throughout the taskbar.

 

[MacGyvr]

You have to reformat the drive. back-up all important stuff and use Darik's BOOT and NUKE.

There's no need for anything other than a simple format during the XP installation.

 

[MacGyvr]

and.....? I DON"T like it at all. It takes up to much room and not very useful to me.

You can change the taskbar size by rightclicking>Properties. You can also autohide it so it doesn't take up any space until you mouseover bottom of screen

Small size:
View attachment 44029
Regular size:
View attachment 44032
Autohide:
View attachment 44033

It is not the size of the taskbar that bugs me. It is the size and positioning of the icons/shortcuts to run the programs. For me, having then in one small contained spot next to the start button is a lot better then having them scattered throughout the taskbar.

They aren't "scattered"...you can arrange them however you like. There is essentially no difference in the functionality from the quick launch...you just have more of it, and more functionality.

 

[smsff7]

You can change the taskbar size by rightclicking>Properties. You can also autohide it so it doesn't take up any space until you mouseover bottom of screen

Small size:
View attachment 44029
Regular size:
View attachment 44032
Autohide:
View attachment 44033

It is not the size of the taskbar that bugs me. It is the size and positioning of the icons/shortcuts to run the programs. For me, having then in one small contained spot next to the start button is a lot better then having them scattered throughout the taskbar.

They aren't "scattered"...you can arrange them however you like. There is essentially no difference in the functionality from the quick launch...you just have more of it, and more functionality.

Well QL takes up 1" of the task bar and the new pinning takes up 1/2" per item and by clicking one it will open the prog in the same spot on the taskbar as it was located wile pinned so it takes up more roomand moves them more out towerds the clock so I conceder that not only scattered, but useless to me

 

[ericerics]

Please rest assured that Windows 7 has nothing to do with a computer booting to this level. This is all motherboard, controlled by the BIOS. The reason you might not see the screen I posted to earlier is if you have enabled some form of "Quick Boot" that bypasses all this stuff and goes strait to the OS to save time. To avoid that you must begin tapping the F12 key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash, to enter the boot menu.

To enter the bios to set the DVD as the first drive in boot order, begin tapping the Delete key as soon as the three lights on the keyboard flash. When the BIOS menu appears, scroll down to Advanced Bios Features and find the First Boot Device and set to the DVD / CD Rom.

View attachment 43905

View attachment 43906

You can even temporarily disable any hard drive from the boot order so you boot to the CD or to nothing. You can go back later and change the boot order back.

Cheers!
Robert

i've tried that, i didnt work for me unfortunately

Could you please explain a little more what you mean by "didn't work"? Did tapping the "Delete" key open the BIOS menu? Were you able to set the CD as the first boot device? When you rebooted did the XP installer in the CD/DVD not start? A little help here would be appreciated.

For clarity, the "Boot Screen" in this picture is from the motherboard you listed in your specs: "GA-MA785GM-US2H " from the "Users Manual" available on-line from Gigabyte.

View attachment 43987

The BIOS menu screens are also from the Gigabyte Users Manual. If this is not the motherboard you have, please tell us which one you do have?

The next question I would have is are you using a USB keyboard? If so, I would suggest to you to turn off your computer, remove the usb keyboard and find an old PS2 keyboard and plug it into the back of your computer until you get your XP reinstalled. Then you can go back to the USB keyboard if you wish.

Sorry for late reply
Tapping delete key opens up my bios menu, yes. I have set CD/DVD as first boot device. i rebooted my computer with XP CD, nothing happenned. yes, thats what my computer looks like when i restart yea andd im already using an old PS2 keyboard.
i hope there is a solution to my problem, i really despise w7 right now

 

[iseeuu]

Sorry for late reply
Tapping delete key opens up my bios menu, yes. I have set CD/DVD as first boot device. i rebooted my computer with XP CD, nothing happenned. yes, thats what my computer looks like when i restart yea andd im already using an old PS2 keyboard.
i hope there is a solution to my problem, i really despise w7 right now

Excellent reply ... the detail really helps ... and don't worry about the "late" reply. Actually, I am glad you have a life. You are welcome to come back here at your convenience.

OK, good ... you can edit the bios, ps2 keyboard, CD-ROM first boot device. But you say "nothing happens"? Please be more helpful here. When you reboot the computer, it should go through its boot process routine, check memory, search for hard drives etc. Then you should get a "boot to CD" message followed by a "press any key to boot from CD"? That can not be "nothing happens". If the computer can not find something to boot to, it will say it has to have a bootable device to continue.

Or, when you reboot the computer, continue tapping the F12 key (like you did to enter the bios) until the "Boot Menu" appears. When you select to boot from the CD what happens? What message do you get next, if any?

If you have another bootable CD, what happens when you boot with that in the CD Drive and reboot the computer? Will the computer boot to it?

Do you have a SATA DVD Drive? Does it have a thin cable plugged into the motherboard? (If it is an IDE Drive, it will have a wide cable) If it is SATA, turn off the computer power and plug the cable into a different connector on the motherboard, switch connections with another drive if there arn't any open ones.

 

[ericerics]

Sorry for late reply
Tapping delete key opens up my bios menu, yes. I have set CD/DVD as first boot device. i rebooted my computer with XP CD, nothing happenned. yes, thats what my computer looks like when i restart yea andd im already using an old PS2 keyboard.
i hope there is a solution to my problem, i really despise w7 right now

Excellent reply ... the detail really helps ... and don't worry about the "late" reply. Actually, I am glad you have a life. You are welcome to come back here at your convenience.

OK, good ... you can edit the bios, ps2 keyboard, CD-ROM first boot device. But you say "nothing happens"? Please be more helpful here. When you reboot the computer, it should go through its boot process routine, check memory, search for hard drives etc. Then you should get a "boot to CD" message followed by a "press any key to boot from CD"? That can not be "nothing happens". If the computer can not find something to boot to, it will say it has to have a bootable device to continue.

Or, when you reboot the computer, continue tapping the F12 key (like you did to enter the bios) until the "Boot Menu" appears. When you select to boot from the CD what happens? What message do you get next, if any?

If you have another bootable CD, what happens when you boot with that in the CD Drive and reboot the computer? Will the computer boot to it?

Do you have a SATA DVD Drive? Does it have a thin cable plugged into the motherboard? (If it is an IDE Drive, it will have a wide cable) If it is SATA, turn off the computer power and plug the cable into a different connector on the motherboard, switch connections with another drive if there arn't any open ones.

oo when i enter boot setup it says "To boot from CD:" but it would usually say "To boot from CD: press any key to boot w/e" but now it just says "To boot from CD:" then blank. i only have one cd drive, my cd drive can run movies and everything else so im sure its fine. also i have tried other CDs they have the same problem as the "To boot from CD:"
umm im not sure what a SATA DVD drive is
but! i have reformatted in the past but this problem occurs when i reformatted to w7. i don't know if its windows 7 problem or me, but i couldnt reformat after i installed windows 7, i have reformatted in the past, yes many times.
your so helpful thank you very much but nothing seems to work

 

[iseeuu]

oo when i enter boot setup it says "To boot from CD:" but it would usually say "To boot from CD: press any key to boot w/e" but now it just says "To boot from CD:" then blank. i only have one cd drive, my cd drive can run movies and everything else so im sure its fine. also i have tried other CDs they have the same problem as the "To boot from CD:"

Well ... if your current DVD drive is not booting ANY CDs, then the only step I can think of is to try a different Drive. If you have any friends with extra parts laying around, or can borrow a CD Drive from someone, you could connect a known good CD-Rom in place of the DVD. The XP install disk is a bootable CD so all you need to reinstall XP is a CD-Rom. If you have no other option, CD-Roms are not that expensive to purchase. Then after XP is up and running, you can connect the DVD back up and see if is working or not?

Cheers!
Robert

 

[MacGyvr]

is there a way where i can just unstall the windows 7 OS?

This is an area that I really do not have too much experience, but I have read many times in this forum, that when you upgrade the upgraded OS (XP) has the key deactivated.

If I am right I would like to offer an alternative. If you don't like the icons, or color or aero effect and it cannot be changed, then we cannot help. . I love the OS, as most of the highly proficient, and intelligent people, on this site do too. I have read 100's of posts, some complaints, but no one wants to switch back.

Win 7 does support the classical look, maybe that is more to your liking? We can help you there.

We have real experts here that can help you tweek the system to be more to yourliking. Let us know your needs.

Everyone here gets their satisfaction from helping, I would enjoy helping if I can.

No key is deactivated in the process. It is simply illegal to continue to use the upgraded copy of XP if the Windows 7 installation is in use. The EULA does not address this situation where the user does not want Windows 7 any longer, but I can assure you that the XP key will still work. It will, however, probably require a phone activation with Microsoft.