FAQ - How To Downgrade to XP

[luvit]

Windows XP Guides
How to Install XP on the Mini-Note
Installing XP from a USB Drive
Windows XP Mini-Note Drivers

copdied from hp2133guide wiki

[luvit]

Windows XP Guides
How to Install XP on the Mini-Note
Installing XP from a USB Drive
Windows XP Mini-Note Drivers

copdied from hp2133guide wiki

[diasbora]

Another FAQ/DIY Guide on fitting XP into your Mininote from lilputing.com:

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/04/in...-note-usb.html

For those downgrading from Vista to XP using the HP Recovery CDs, remember to format the ENTIRE drive, including the Vista recovery drive.

[diasbora]

Another FAQ/DIY Guide on fitting XP into your Mininote from lilputing.com:

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/04/in...-note-usb.html

For those downgrading from Vista to XP using the HP Recovery CDs, remember to format the ENTIRE drive, including the Vista recovery drive.

[luvit]

one of the links in the FAQ is the same link (:

[luvit]

one of the links in the FAQ is the same link (:

[MikeyBee]

Here is another method of downgrading to XP from Linux or Vista that worked for me, when the liliputing ones didn't. I have now used this method successfully on 3 HP Minis so I'm reasonably confident it's good.

These instructions are based on this thread on the EEE forum, modified for the HP:

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1888


What you will need:
- a USB memory stick / SD memory card to boot from (can be any size)
- a USB memory stick / SD memory card to stick everything from your Windows XP CD on (needs to be at least 512MB, preferably 1GB or more)

The goal of this whole thing is to get your HP PC into the following state, which will allow for Win XP to be installed:

1. HDD has a single FAT32 partition that is "active" and has a functional boot loader.
2. The complete i386 folder from your XP CD is copied to your HDD

What to do - download these items:

1. WinRAR (if you don't have it already http://www.rarlab.com/ )
2. Physdiskwrite ( http://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php )
3. Boot disk image: MS Windows XP System Setup Disk ( http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml )

- expand the Physdiskwrite ZIP file
- install WinRAR
- open WinRAR, drag the boot disk image into WinRAR, and extract the .IMA file to your physdiskwrite folder. You will get an error but it completes successfully.

-Insert the flash memory device you DO NOT intend to use to hold your XP install files.
-Open a command line and navigate to your physdiskwrite folder
-Type: physdiskwrite -u wxpboot.ima

It will list all of your drives and ask you which one you want to write a boot image to. BE VERY CAREFUL HERE. You need to make sure you aren't writing to any of your actual hard disks. If you are not sure which one is your flash disk, do the following:

Control Panel --> Administration Tools --> Computer Management --> Disk Management

You will see a list of all your drives. There are three steps to comparing to make sure you are not about to trash your hard disk(s)...:

1. The numbers in Disk Management should correspond to the disk numbers listed by physdiskwrite.
2. Your flash disk should have a small number of cylinders and sectors compared to your hard disk.
3. Also, your flash disk should not list a manufacturer like Maxtor, Seagate or Western Digital :-)

Now that you are sure you are writing the image to the correct drive, enter the drive number at the prompt and it will write the image to your flash drive. It should take just a second or two.

-now go ahead and copy everything in your i386 directory on your XP CD (must be SP2 or higher) to your other flash drive.

-When that's done, insert your "boot disk" drive into the HP. Hit F9 during the BIOS splash screen and tell it to boot from whichever device you just used physdiskwrite on. DO NOT insert your flash drive with all the Windows XP stuff on yet.

It will pause a time or two for you to hit a key. At the end, you should end up at A:\. If you did, congratulations, you are almost there.

-Type fdisk

The only "fixed disk" available to fdisk now should be your internal hard drive. You can check this by selecting the option to view all physical disks. If that option is absent from the menu (and it should be at this point), then it is only seeing your hard disk. Delete all of these partitions. Create a new primary DOS partition using all of the hard disk's space. Fdisk should automatically set it to "Active", but just make sure by viewing partition info after all of this is done and check that the A flag is present.

Creating the partition may take a while, also fdisk may report the wrong size while it is creating it, don't worry about this.

- Reboot the machine (ctl-alt-del). You should boot from your boot disk again.

-Back at A:\ prompt, format the C drive:
A:\format c: /s

-When that is complete, we need to make sure the previous boot loader is gone once and for all. type:
A:\fdisk /mbr

- Copy the following files from the boot disk (should be on A: ) to the hard disk (should be on C: )

a:\
xcopy a:\smartdrv.exe c:\
xcopy a:\himem.sys c:\
xcopy a:\config.sys c:\
xcopy a:\xcopy.exe c:\
md c:\i386

- Remove your boot disk. Insert your XP Install USB/flash disk.

- Reboot. Your HP should now boot into DOS on the hard disk. Don't worry if there's an error or two from the DOS install, this is because we've used a config.sys with stuff in it that is unnecessary (there's IDE CD-Rom drivers and all sorts).

- Start smartdrv to make the copy operation much faster:

c:\smartdrv.exe

-Copy the WinXP install files over to your hard disk:
C:\xcopy D:\i386 C:\i386 /E
(note: this command assumes your XP install files are in a folder called i386 on your XP flash drive as drive D:. Adjust as necessary). Be sure to use the /E switch so that it copies all the subdirectories. If you omit that like I did the first time, you get to the GUI part of the installation and then it asks for files that don't exist.

That copy operation will take about 10 minutes if you have smartdrv loaded.

Then start the Windows install program:

cd c:\i386
winnt.exe

The Windows installer should start... and away you go.


Hope that helps,

Mike

[edited 10/Dec/08 to make copying XP to the HDD much faster]

[MikeyBee]

Here is another method of downgrading to XP from Linux or Vista that worked for me, when the liliputing ones didn't. I have now used this method successfully on 3 HP Minis so I'm reasonably confident it's good.

These instructions are based on this thread on the EEE forum, modified for the HP:

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1888


What you will need:
- a USB memory stick / SD memory card to boot from (can be any size)
- a USB memory stick / SD memory card to stick everything from your Windows XP CD on (needs to be at least 512MB, preferably 1GB or more)

The goal of this whole thing is to get your HP PC into the following state, which will allow for Win XP to be installed:

1. HDD has a single FAT32 partition that is "active" and has a functional boot loader.
2. The complete i386 folder from your XP CD is copied to your HDD

What to do - download these items:

1. WinRAR (if you don't have it already http://www.rarlab.com/ )
2. Physdiskwrite ( http://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php )
3. Boot disk image: MS Windows XP System Setup Disk ( http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml )

- expand the Physdiskwrite ZIP file
- install WinRAR
- open WinRAR, drag the boot disk image into WinRAR, and extract the .IMA file to your physdiskwrite folder. You will get an error but it completes successfully.

-Insert the flash memory device you DO NOT intend to use to hold your XP install files.
-Open a command line and navigate to your physdiskwrite folder
-Type: physdiskwrite -u wxpboot.ima

It will list all of your drives and ask you which one you want to write a boot image to. BE VERY CAREFUL HERE. You need to make sure you aren't writing to any of your actual hard disks. If you are not sure which one is your flash disk, do the following:

Control Panel --> Administration Tools --> Computer Management --> Disk Management

You will see a list of all your drives. There are three steps to comparing to make sure you are not about to trash your hard disk(s)...:

1. The numbers in Disk Management should correspond to the disk numbers listed by physdiskwrite.
2. Your flash disk should have a small number of cylinders and sectors compared to your hard disk.
3. Also, your flash disk should not list a manufacturer like Maxtor, Seagate or Western Digital :-)

Now that you are sure you are writing the image to the correct drive, enter the drive number at the prompt and it will write the image to your flash drive. It should take just a second or two.

-now go ahead and copy everything in your i386 directory on your XP CD (must be SP2 or higher) to your other flash drive.

-When that's done, insert your "boot disk" drive into the HP. Hit F9 during the BIOS splash screen and tell it to boot from whichever device you just used physdiskwrite on. DO NOT insert your flash drive with all the Windows XP stuff on yet.

It will pause a time or two for you to hit a key. At the end, you should end up at A:\. If you did, congratulations, you are almost there.

-Type fdisk

The only "fixed disk" available to fdisk now should be your internal hard drive. You can check this by selecting the option to view all physical disks. If that option is absent from the menu (and it should be at this point), then it is only seeing your hard disk. Delete all of these partitions. Create a new primary DOS partition using all of the hard disk's space. Fdisk should automatically set it to "Active", but just make sure by viewing partition info after all of this is done and check that the A flag is present.

Creating the partition may take a while, also fdisk may report the wrong size while it is creating it, don't worry about this.

- Reboot the machine (ctl-alt-del). You should boot from your boot disk again.

-Back at A:\ prompt, format the C drive:
A:\format c: /s

-When that is complete, we need to make sure the previous boot loader is gone once and for all. type:
A:\fdisk /mbr

- Copy the following files from the boot disk (should be on A: ) to the hard disk (should be on C: )

a:\
xcopy a:\smartdrv.exe c:\
xcopy a:\himem.sys c:\
xcopy a:\config.sys c:\
xcopy a:\xcopy.exe c:\
md c:\i386

- Remove your boot disk. Insert your XP Install USB/flash disk.

- Reboot. Your HP should now boot into DOS on the hard disk. Don't worry if there's an error or two from the DOS install, this is because we've used a config.sys with stuff in it that is unnecessary (there's IDE CD-Rom drivers and all sorts).

- Start smartdrv to make the copy operation much faster:

c:\smartdrv.exe

-Copy the WinXP install files over to your hard disk:
C:\xcopy D:\i386 C:\i386 /E
(note: this command assumes your XP install files are in a folder called i386 on your XP flash drive as drive D:. Adjust as necessary). Be sure to use the /E switch so that it copies all the subdirectories. If you omit that like I did the first time, you get to the GUI part of the installation and then it asks for files that don't exist.

That copy operation will take about 10 minutes if you have smartdrv loaded.

Then start the Windows install program:

cd c:\i386
winnt.exe

The Windows installer should start... and away you go.


Hope that helps,

Mike

[edited 10/Dec/08 to make copying XP to the HDD much faster]

[harrisonrich316]

I am being thick! What does " open the boot disk image in WinRAR and extract the .IMA file to your physdiskwrite folder. You will get an error but it completes successfully" mean? I just have a .exe file that opens and closes really quickly? Am using Vista if it helps....

[harrisonrich316]

I am being thick! What does " open the boot disk image in WinRAR and extract the .IMA file to your physdiskwrite folder. You will get an error but it completes successfully" mean? I just have a .exe file that opens and closes really quickly? Am using Vista if it helps....