[domjones13]

i own a compaq presario cq50 laptop. when i bought it it came with windows vista, but after a year or so vista began to run very slowly, and i asked a friend who "knew" about computers to completely wipe and reinstall with xp (thinking this would run more smoothly than vista). It doesnt .I now realise trying to put xp on was a mistake!

XP now barely runs because all of the drivers are wrong (?) and i have no idea how to get the right ones. the most obvious problem must be something to with a video or graphics driver because just to scroll through folders or down a screen of text takes an age, completely unable to play video.

is there anyway i can restore this laptop COMPLETELY to the way it was when i brought it? including windows vista? or would you recommend keeping xp and finding the right drivers? i have no idea what to do.


any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Hello Dom and welcome to Geeks To Go.

Never speak to your friend again as he knows nothing, he should have advised you on the pitfalls when going back to XP.

Did you ever make any back to factory recovery disks when the machine had Vista on it as I would imagine the machine never came with any disks?

[Wolfeymole]

Hello Dom and welcome to Geeks To Go.

Never speak to your friend again as he knows nothing, he should have advised you on the pitfalls when going back to XP.

Did you ever make any back to factory recovery disks when the machine had Vista on it as I would imagine the machine never came with any disks?

[phillpower2]

Hello domjones13

If reinstalling Vista is not an option please refer to the attached link http://h30434.www3.h...ptops/m-p/83267

NB: You will note that the information at the link supports what Wolfeymole has said about the pitfalls of downgrading newer HP products to XP.

[domjones13]

no i havent made any recovery discs, and no it doesnt come with any start up disc... yeah thanks i found that link last night and downloaded all of the latest drivers, it seems to be running fine now, so i think i will just stick to running xp... if however i did want to go back to vista, is there a way to reset the laptop with out a disc? i did try f11 at start up but it didnt seem to do anything, windows just loaded as normal. thankyou for getting back to me!

[Wolfeymole]

Your best bet is to obtain this Dom and install it as your machine supports Windows 7.

http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_cp_sw_h__1

You will get nothing but problems with XP on a machine that does not support it.

[Ztruker]

This is a bit long but I've used it several times and it works:

If you do not have a Windows Vista installation DVD, you can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here:

Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit).

Only Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 (X64 or X86) download is available, but if, during the install, you do not enter the product key
when initially prompted for it (which you must have to use the download), then you will be prompted to select the version of Vista you
want to install. You can activate once the install is done.

Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Ultimate

Downloaded the Vista X64 or X86 files.

X64:
install.wim
boot.wim
X14-63453.exe

X86:
install.wim
boot.wim
X14-63452.exe

Double clicked on X14-63453.exe or X14-63452.exe. It extractes all the files into a Vista sub-folder.

Downloaded Windows Bootable Image Creator zip then extract the files to a folder:

Open the folder and run WBICreator.exe
Click Next
Select OS Type: Windows Vista
CD/DVD Label: VistaX64 or VistaX86
Setup Location: The Vista folder created when you double clicked on X14-63453.exe or X14-63452.exe.
Output Path: Somewhere with enough free space to hold the .iso file that will be created (X64 = 3,837,112KB, X86 = 3,013,816KB).
Click GO.

When done a VistaX64.iso or VistaX86.iso file will be created in the Output Path you chose.

You can use the .iso as input to a burner program like ImgBurn to create a Vista Install DVD, or you can use it as Input to
Universal USB Installer – Easy as 1 2 3 to create a Vista install flash drive.

I created a X86 flash drive and used it to install a clean copy of Vista Home Basic on my HP DV2200 Laptop. Worked great using the key on the COA sticker of the laptop.

Remember to use the X64 or X86 version of Vista you currently have.

Note: You may need to download drivers for the computer from the manufacturers web site so I would suggest getting the Network (LAN and Wireless) and video/VGA drivers ahead of time so you can install them as soon as you finish installing Vista.