don't want Vista anymore

I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.

Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)

My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on this
laptop instead.
I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord the
cheapest prices is almost $200.
Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
operating system.

Kind Regards,
Andy Abreu

Contact Toshiba about getting a downgrade to XP or check auction sites such
ebay or buy an OEM copy of XP from sites such new egg or even amazon.com.

Could you describe the problems your wife is experiencing on Vista? We might
be able to give you help in that area too.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
"aabreu" <aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A77FD9B4-0227-4429-84F0-482FEEBFFBBB@microsoft.com...
>
> I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
>
> Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
> T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
>
> My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on
> this
> laptop instead.
> I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord the
> cheapest prices is almost $200.
> Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
> I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
> operating system.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Andy Abreu

aabreu wrote:
> I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
>
> Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
> T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
>
> My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going
> on this laptop instead.
> I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear
> lord the cheapest prices is almost $200.
> Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
> I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
> operating system.

Several responses:

1. The laptop may not be able to run XP if it has hardware devices that have
drivers only for Vista. This means that XP, Win98, Win2K, etc., may not run
at all on this laptop.
2. Vista is hooked to the laptop's environment. Vista cannot be extracted
and sold separately.

Vista on a modern laptop is similar to the keyboard - you just can't
substitute a DVORAK keyboard for the one on the laptop. You can make the
existing keyboard emulate a different layout and you can make Vista simulate
(in many respects) XP.

Bottom line: It may be easier to get a different wife.

There isnt any sort of trade in program for Vista but you might want to
contact Toshiba and see if they offer a discounted rate for your PC.

Joseph W. Conway, MCSE
Windows Server Group

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:55:05 -0700, aabreu
<aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>
>I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
>
>Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
>T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
>
>My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on this
>laptop instead.
>I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord the
>cheapest prices is almost $200.
>Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
>I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
>operating system.
>
>Kind Regards,
>Andy Abreu

You need to shop around a little. First decide if your want the full
retail version or some OEM version. You should be able to find a
version for about $100 or less depending on vendor and the version you
want. Some come with Service Pack 2 already part of deal.

http://www.nextag.com/Microsoft-Wind...92/prices-html

A big downside is you'll need to start from scratch. All your
installed software will be lost and you'll need to reinstall it.

Chances are much if not all the software that came preinstalled on
your laptop doesn't have CD/DVD's for you to reinstall from. So in
effect you would also be throwing all that away too.

Something else to consider, will your laptop's hardware work with XP?
Maybe, maybe not. Generally not a good idea to do what you want.
Better to keep Vista and everybody knows how I feel about it. Still
rolling back isn't a good choice for most people either.

What EXACTLY doesn't your wife like about Vista?

Well... first of all... thanks for all the quick replies.

Wife not happy... so i'm not happy.

Specifically... quirky things keep happening every day...

1.) internet explorer keeps seizing. Happens every day. This happened
twice in very bad places. Once while she was trying to modify her website
online.. another when she was designing a pamphlet on a web based designer.
Both times she lost several hours worth of work.

2.) Internet stopping: Today the internet simply stopped working. I'm at
work so I don't know what the error message was... she rebooted and it did
not repair the issue. Both the other toshiba and the Macbook we have are not
having issues getting on the wireless network. She says a wizard came up to
guide her through the problem but an error came up saying she didn't have
access. I gave her the Key and she still can't get it working.

I can probably get internet up an running again when I get back home.

Never had any problems with XP.

Kind Regards,
Andy


"Adam Albright" wrote:

> On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:55:05 -0700, aabreu
> <aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
> >
> >Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
> >T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
> >
> >My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on this
> >laptop instead.
> >I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord the
> >cheapest prices is almost $200.
> >Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
> >I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
> >operating system.
> >
> >Kind Regards,
> >Andy Abreu
>
> You need to shop around a little. First decide if your want the full
> retail version or some OEM version. You should be able to find a
> version for about $100 or less depending on vendor and the version you
> want. Some come with Service Pack 2 already part of deal.
>
> http://www.nextag.com/Microsoft-Wind...92/prices-html
>
> A big downside is you'll need to start from scratch. All your
> installed software will be lost and you'll need to reinstall it.
>
> Chances are much if not all the software that came preinstalled on
> your laptop doesn't have CD/DVD's for you to reinstall from. So in
> effect you would also be throwing all that away too.
>
> Something else to consider, will your laptop's hardware work with XP?
> Maybe, maybe not. Generally not a good idea to do what you want.
> Better to keep Vista and everybody knows how I feel about it. Still
> rolling back isn't a good choice for most people either.
>
> What EXACTLY doesn't your wife like about Vista?
>
>

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:25:01 -0700, aabreu
<aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Well... first of all... thanks for all the quick replies.
>
>Wife not happy... so i'm not happy.
>
>Specifically... quirky things keep happening every day...
>
>1.) internet explorer keeps seizing. Happens every day. This happened
>twice in very bad places. Once while she was trying to modify her website
>online.. another when she was designing a pamphlet on a web based designer.
>Both times she lost several hours worth of work.

Perhaps a different browser would work better. Firefox and Opera are
both faster than IE7 and don't have a lot of the unnecessary overhead.
The good news is you can keep your cake and eat it too. You can have
as browsers installed as you wish and just switch back and forth.

She should get in the habit of saving her work every ten minutes or
so, that way you never lose more than a small bit of what you've done.
>
>2.) Internet stopping: Today the internet simply stopped working. I'm at
>work so I don't know what the error message was... she rebooted and it did
>not repair the issue.

Usually the ISP is to blame or surely is suspect. Another good reason
to have multiple browsers. If things seem to have come to stop in one
visit a always busy and fast site like Google and see the second
browser gets through. It if does probably the other browser. If not
then next likely the ISP or your hardware that connects you to the
Internet. Look at event logs which are much better in Vista then they
were in XP and what if anything is listed in the way of any errors.

I would suggest you try resetting your Internet Explorer settings. Click
Start > type 'Internet Options' > open it > go to the 'Advanced' (tab) >
under 'Reset Internet Explorer settings' > click the 'Reset' button
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
"aabreu" <aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:8D3ABD9E-7851-44E3-A235-911C2108C7AB@microsoft.com...
> Well... first of all... thanks for all the quick replies.
>
> Wife not happy... so i'm not happy.
>
> Specifically... quirky things keep happening every day...
>
> 1.) internet explorer keeps seizing. Happens every day. This happened
> twice in very bad places. Once while she was trying to modify her website
> online.. another when she was designing a pamphlet on a web based
> designer.
> Both times she lost several hours worth of work.
>
> 2.) Internet stopping: Today the internet simply stopped working. I'm at
> work so I don't know what the error message was... she rebooted and it did
> not repair the issue. Both the other toshiba and the Macbook we have are
> not
> having issues getting on the wireless network. She says a wizard came up
> to
> guide her through the problem but an error came up saying she didn't have
> access. I gave her the Key and she still can't get it working.
>
> I can probably get internet up an running again when I get back home.
>
> Never had any problems with XP.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Andy
>
>
> "Adam Albright" wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:55:05 -0700, aabreu
>> <aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
>> >
>> >Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
>> >T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
>> >
>> >My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on
>> >this
>> >laptop instead.
>> >I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord
>> >the
>> >cheapest prices is almost $200.
>> >Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
>> >I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
>> >operating system.
>> >
>> >Kind Regards,
>> >Andy Abreu
>>
>> You need to shop around a little. First decide if your want the full
>> retail version or some OEM version. You should be able to find a
>> version for about $100 or less depending on vendor and the version you
>> want. Some come with Service Pack 2 already part of deal.
>>
>> http://www.nextag.com/Microsoft-Wind...92/prices-html
>>
>> A big downside is you'll need to start from scratch. All your
>> installed software will be lost and you'll need to reinstall it.
>>
>> Chances are much if not all the software that came preinstalled on
>> your laptop doesn't have CD/DVD's for you to reinstall from. So in
>> effect you would also be throwing all that away too.
>>
>> Something else to consider, will your laptop's hardware work with XP?
>> Maybe, maybe not. Generally not a good idea to do what you want.
>> Better to keep Vista and everybody knows how I feel about it. Still
>> rolling back isn't a good choice for most people either.
>>
>> What EXACTLY doesn't your wife like about Vista?
>>
>>

Just a suggestion, I would check a few things before assuming it is Vista. It
may be, but before you spend money on XP, be aware that at my firm we use a
LOT of toshibas and they have had a lot of issues, especially with Vista. I
would contact them to verify you have the latest bios/drivers. I would also
try a different internet browser. Perhaps mozilla. Is this your first
machine with IE7 on it? your settings might be having conflicts with the
sites you are trying to work with. Maybe its vista, but look at other
possible fixes before you shell out cash for a new os.

Good luck.

"aabreu" wrote:

> Well... first of all... thanks for all the quick replies.
>
> Wife not happy... so i'm not happy.
>
> Specifically... quirky things keep happening every day...
>
> 1.) internet explorer keeps seizing. Happens every day. This happened
> twice in very bad places. Once while she was trying to modify her website
> online.. another when she was designing a pamphlet on a web based designer.
> Both times she lost several hours worth of work.
>
> 2.) Internet stopping: Today the internet simply stopped working. I'm at
> work so I don't know what the error message was... she rebooted and it did
> not repair the issue. Both the other toshiba and the Macbook we have are not
> having issues getting on the wireless network. She says a wizard came up to
> guide her through the problem but an error came up saying she didn't have
> access. I gave her the Key and she still can't get it working.
>
> I can probably get internet up an running again when I get back home.
>
> Never had any problems with XP.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Andy
>
>
> "Adam Albright" wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:55:05 -0700, aabreu
> > <aabreu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
> > >
> > >Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
> > >T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
> > >
> > >My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going on this
> > >laptop instead.
> > >I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear lord the
> > >cheapest prices is almost $200.
> > >Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
> > >I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
> > >operating system.
> > >
> > >Kind Regards,
> > >Andy Abreu
> >
> > You need to shop around a little. First decide if your want the full
> > retail version or some OEM version. You should be able to find a
> > version for about $100 or less depending on vendor and the version you
> > want. Some come with Service Pack 2 already part of deal.
> >
> > http://www.nextag.com/Microsoft-Wind...92/prices-html
> >
> > A big downside is you'll need to start from scratch. All your
> > installed software will be lost and you'll need to reinstall it.
> >
> > Chances are much if not all the software that came preinstalled on
> > your laptop doesn't have CD/DVD's for you to reinstall from. So in
> > effect you would also be throwing all that away too.
> >
> > Something else to consider, will your laptop's hardware work with XP?
> > Maybe, maybe not. Generally not a good idea to do what you want.
> > Better to keep Vista and everybody knows how I feel about it. Still
> > rolling back isn't a good choice for most people either.
> >
> > What EXACTLY doesn't your wife like about Vista?
> >
> >

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:04:52 -0500, HeyBub wrote:

> aabreu wrote:
>> I bought my wife a laptop for her birthday from Amazon.
>>
>> Toshiba Qosmio F45-AV410 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
>> T5450, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
>>
>> My wife is not happy with Vista... and we would like to get XP going
>> on this laptop instead.
>> I looked on Amazon about getting a copy of Windows XP... but dear
>> lord the cheapest prices is almost $200.
>> Can I get a trade in for XP somehow?
>> I really don't want to pay $200 to get a copy of the previous Windows
>> operating system.
>
> Several responses:
>
> 1. The laptop may not be able to run XP if it has hardware devices that have
> drivers only for Vista. This means that XP, Win98, Win2K, etc., may not run
> at all on this laptop.
> 2. Vista is hooked to the laptop's environment. Vista cannot be extracted
> and sold separately.

Easiest way in the world to find out to be to boot a Linux Live CD - if
that boots, then xp should work. On the other hand, once you've booted the
Linux CD that may wind up being all you need.


>
> Vista on a modern laptop is similar to the keyboard - you just can't
> substitute a DVORAK keyboard for the one on the laptop. You can make the
> existing keyboard emulate a different layout and you can make Vista simulate
> (in many respects) XP.
>
> Bottom line: It may be easier to get a different wife.