[april7]

Hi folks! This problem is driving me crazy! Mine is a Dell laptop which had XP home edition. Two weeks ago I switched to Vista only to find out that it's incompatible with some of the programs I use, sometimes doesn't recognise my DVD drive, and causes other problems. I want to get rid of this stupid OS. I first tried to uninstall Vista but it's nowhere in the system! Neither is XP. Then I tried over and over to reformat the hard drive so I could reinstall my XP disk. But I'm getting the message that I couldn't do so because the system is "write protected." I did a Google search and found out that Microsoft has created problems for reversion from Vista to XP. I called Mocrosoft teck suppport and they said my warranty covers only the hardware, and that they could help me out for a charge of $129. I would greatly appreciate your help.

April 7

[rainforest123]

a 17:
Which XP Home service pack? 32 or 64 bit?

Which Vista version, 32 or 64 bit, service pack?

Which model & model # Dell lappy?

How did you upgrade to Vista? The more detail you supply, the better we can understand your situation?

How did you uninstall Vista?

To re-install XP are you booting to your Dell operating system disk? If so, at which point does the write protected message appear?

Are you selecting "repair" or are you trying a fresh install?

Is "write protected" the exact phrase?

RF123

[rainforest123]

Perhaps you are trying to install XP on your lappy's recovery partition, such as this person tried.
http://forums.techarena.in/vista-help/963378.htm

Do you know how to enter the BIOS of your computer?
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread207391.html

1 solution, probably cheaper than Microsoft Tech Support, only if you are in a hurry, unable to wait for us to solve your problem would be to remove your HDD and install a brand new HDD hard disk drive.

RF123

[april7]

Thanks, Rainforest123 for the response. I would appreciate your help.

Here are the particulars you want to know:

Dell Inspiron 1405, which I bought in 2007.

XP Home Edition Service Pack 2

Vista Home Edition 32 Bit

The laptop had come with Vista but I told the manufacturer that the Vista was giving me problems and they provided me with XP disks (so I have both Vista and XP disks). Recently my wife bought a Toshiba that came with Vista and she is told me that the OS must have been improved and that she was enjoying it. So I made the stupid mistake of reinstalling Vista. In doing so, I didn't uninstall XP because I was told that Vista would autpomatically "overwrite" XP. Now I can't see either OS in the system!

I was trying to uninstall Vista from my computer: working through Start -- All Programs -- Maintenance -- Drives, and so forth. After I clicked Finish, a message said the process was completed, but then came a message, saying it could not be done because it was "write protected." I forget the exact message, I don't recall if I clicked "repair" or some other option.

Earlier, I tried to re-format the C drive by rebooting the computer with the DELL operating system, but it didn't work either because I suspect Microsoft had blocked the removal of Vista or I couldn't follow the steps properly. I am a computer half-literate!

Meanwhile, every time I restart the computer, I get the message:

"Windows needs to install driver software for your Base System Device.

Locate and install driver software (recommended)

Ask me again later."

I tried several times to download the driver software from the Microsoft site, I would see it being downloaded but don't see the filed on Desktop or anywhere else, and I get the message about its incompatibi;lity. I wish I had recorded the exact language..

Before, I was getting the message: "This driver is blocked due to compatibility issues," and from Google I got tips on how to resolve the compatibility problem and followed those steps carefully but the problem was not corrected. I kept getting messages that something was not compatible with "Sonic Solutions DLA."

And I continually hear a "tun," "tun," noise in my computer, as if someone is knocking at it to tell me something!

Do all these make sense to you?

I will be looking forward to your help..

April 7

[rainforest123]

a 7:
Thanks for the explanation.

Here's what I understand. You started with Vista. You downgraded to XP. You decided to return to Vista. Unpleasantries ensued.

But I am still confused [ happens w / increasing frequency these days ].

During the boot process, do either the Win XP or Win Vista spash screen appear? If so, which?

Does the error message [ very important, good job occur before or after the Windows Desktop appears? If before, what is the last thing that appears before the error message.

Which is the most recent OS [ operating system ] you tried to install?

Have you tried booting to safe mode?
You will probably need to use the F8 mode.
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/tutoria...into-safe-mode

I am not familiar with the steps you described for uninstalling Vista. Do you mean the steps under "Resolution"?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925809

Have you tried to re-install Vista? Don't do that, at this point.

DO take a look at www.ubcd4win.com
There are multiple tools, to include a format utility.

AGAIN are you certain you are not trying to install to the recovery partition?

I tried several times to download the driver software from the Microsoft site, I would see it being downloaded but don't see the filed on Desktop or anywhere else, and I get the message about its incompatibi;lity. I wish I had recorded the exact language.

What is the URL from which the download comes?

Have you tried downloading it to a different computer, copying it to a flash drive or optical disk, then running the install?

I understand that Microsoft may be to blame, bu the limitation might also be a Dell issue. Consider contacting Dell Tech support or use Dell's forum. If it is a Dell "feature", input from Dell will be invaluable.

RF123


RF123

[fairnooks]

Here's what I would do, going forward, assuming you want XP and have the XP install discs for that system, and have all your data backed up.

You might have some problems making a UBCD4Win disc based on what you have for installing XP or it might work fine, so since that's questionable, forget it.

Instead, I would download, extract the zip file if needed and burn a CD from an image filele called GParted live CD (http://sourceforge.net/projects/gpar...d-live-stable/). Then boot with/to that CD and GParted will allow you to remove any any all partitions there may be on the drive and also forrmat it to NTFS.

Then you should have a clean slate which the XP install discs can work with unimpeded. If the XP discs are customized to the system it will sail right through, if not, there could be other trevails to face, namely that an appropriate SATA driver will need to be found before installation will succeed, but you had XP on before so lets not consider that right now unless you hit a wall when the XP discs go in after GParted has cleared the way.

[Mumbodog]

See if this applies to your situation

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/933168


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