I just got a new Compaq laptop with 1GB of RAM, an AMD Athlone 64 X2 (dual core) processor, and an 80 GB hard drive. Like most current computer models, it came with Vista preinstalled; I have a feeling that the whole laptop was designed around the possibility that it would run Vista (and perhaps nothing else). That it runs Vista has not been a problem for me so far. I made sure that the laptop had Vista Home Premium Edition, which has the Aero interface, an improvement over the XP theme, and Windows Media Center. (I really like that Aero theme. Sleek and modern, the Aero theme makes XP's Luna theme look like a cartoon.) The only problems I've heard from Vista that could be major are problems with upgrading to Vista--which, because your laptop has Vista installed, is not a problem in your case--and problems with running applications and devices that are incompatible with Vista. If you still want to downgrade to XP, make sure your laptop has drivers for XP. For example, as I was researching my laptop's model online before I made the purchase, I read that it does not have XP drivers available. Check your manuals and online for such compatibility issues before attempting a downgrade. I've tried installing Linux and BeOS on machines without the correct drivers because those drivers were simply not available anywhere at the time, and the overall experience made me switch back to Windows; if downgrading to XP is anything similar to that experience, I would not want to do it.
22 Jul 2007, 8:11 am
