hi there, i realise theres a few threads related to this but i couldnt FIND the exact information i needed so thought id reitterate here.

Ive just purchased a Laptop which comes with Vista preinstalled, and i wish to wipe it all and reinstall XP

the laptop is this

HP G70 212EM Notebook
CPU - Intel Pentium Dual Core T 3400 (2.16 GHz)
Memory - 3GB
Graphics - Intel Graphics Media Accellerator 4500MHD
Hard Drive - 250GB
Optical Drive - Super Multi DVD Writer
Comunication - 56K & LAN & WLAN

I have a copy of Windows XP Professional i wish to install on it. when rebooting it from the setup cd it says somthing about hard drive not recognised, and after having looking into it here (http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01675438) i realise it is somthing to do with the type of hard drive that isnt usually used by XP.

id like to know how best to do this and what the dangers are, as in what would i lose from doing this in terms of performance of the computer. also where can i find the SATA drivers and how best to PUT them onto the laptop, what happens if i disable them etc.

thanks a lot. the main reason i want to do this is because i liked the way XP worked fine for me, and Vista seems a BIT annoyin, plus ive heard a lot of bad things about it, and also to get rid of a lot of the preinstalled HP programs that seem to fill the computer. 1) It has nothing to do with a hard drive that isn't used by XP. It's simply a SATA drive released AFTER XP so XP doesn't have the driver for it
2) You can create a slipstream cd with the sata driver if you like
3) Better yet, forget what you heard about Vista - it's just fine. Try it for a while and see what you think for yourself.At a quick glance it does not appear they have XP drivers for that Model...
Better make sure before you wipe it or you'll have a paperweight.hi thanks for the replies

heres a page i found claiming to have XP drivers for my model of laptop

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=uk&lang=en&product=3879670

does that look like it has everything?

what is a slipstream cd and how does one make it? also where would i find the SATA drivers to include?

also do you know if there are any major problems in doing this?

i think i will give vista a try but just want to know what the implications are in putting xp on, the hp article i linked to seemed to suggest there would be quite a few problems...A keyboard and a network driver aren't gonna cut it i'm afraid...especially with a laptop.
PS. That's the page i was at.

See #3) in Allans post above...fair enough, think thats what ill do, thanks for the help guysYepper.

Although they don't admit this was intentional on their part (the manuf.) this is kinda new to the PC industry...
In years past a downgrade (some would say upgrade in this instance) to an older OS was pretty much a given...
I suspect we'll see the trend continue with the release of Win7...

After all if the manuf. don't have to pay their staff to write Drivers for older OS's think of how much cabbage they are keeping in their pockets...

But Good Luck with Vista...i think you'll find after using it awhile it's a solid OS...they just moved a BUNCH of things around from where you were used to finding them in XP...
I myself run the 64bit ver. and i even experienced a small learning CURVE...

BTW Welcome Aboard !