Hi all,
I have a few couple questions regarding Vista Home Premium that came preinstalled on a new Toshiba Notebook computer.
1.) Is it possible to delete everything on the hard drive and install a fresh copy of Windows XP Pro instead of Vista? I have heard and seen the ads that say you can upgrade a XP machine to Vista, I want to know if I can go in the opposite direction (from Vista to XP)?
1a.) I guess I will have to get the drivers for the hardware - are they different under XP compared to Vista, since the hardware is the same?
2.) Can anyone please tell me about these 16bit, 32bit, 64bit software, (or OSes?), and simply explain what the difference is? Are there any hardware differences on these different "bit" systems?
3.) Is it possible to import Outlook Express E-mails (DBX's), into Vista's Windows Mail?
4.) Under Vista - in Windows Explorer on the status bar - it does not list the total file size of all the files in a particular folder. It did list this info in Windows XP Pro along with the number of 'objects' in the folder. Is there a way to get it to do this in Vista?
Thank you for your help in these matters!
Sincerely, Cin

If Business or Ultimate had been preinstalled, you'd have a right to downgrade, but you do not get downgrade rights with Home Premium.
microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4f4b3cfd-7f4e-46cb-8117-8275f7683d3f&DisplayLang=en
It's your computer. If you want XP you're allowed to buy it - it'll go in. Question number 1a would be best answered by Toshiba support. For Question 2 see the Wikipedia CPU article's Integer range section: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Processing_Unit#Integer_range For Question 3, see Importing from Outlook Express at oehelp: oehelp.com/backup.aspx#OE2WM
"cutie_pyie"

INLINE:
"cutie_pyie"

Yes (to the first part). However, if you want to "roll-back" per se, Microsoft does not support this. Instead, they say you must install XP "clean" - there is not "downgrade path" so to speak, merely a clean install of the XP operating system. So you would have to install XP and re-install all your apps etc. from scratch.

Yes. But some manufacturers are now releasing "Vista" versions .. so you will have to check. You can download most drivers from the manufacturer's websites and then burn them to CD-R so you have them ready. What XP doesn't detect during installation, you can install after.

It's the size of the instructions the OS sends to the CPU and usually the size of the basic integer programmers program with and the basic size of the memory location units. Some CPUs these days can handle 64-bit sized instructions and therefore can handling 64-bit software and operating systems. Unless you need to work with applications that need more than 4GB memory space, just stick to 32-bits and don't worry about it. Yes, I'm on 32-bits myself.

Vista's Windows Mail has an import / export utility that includes the import of Outlook Express store folders.

I don't know. But if you let your mouse hover over the folder in question, you get the size. If you use the Folder "menu tree" (to the left) and select a folder, it will tell you the number of objects or items in the folder.

Hi,
"cutie_pyie"

Ok.

If you own a copy of XP Pro and have a license for it, yes. Be aware that as this is a laptop, you will likely be missing some essential drivers for the hardware. These you should be sure to obtain before attempting the wipe and clean install.

Yes, drivers are nearly always OS specific.

The standard has been 32-bit since the mid-90's. Slowly things are migrating towards 64-bit, but we're not there yet. The 32-bit (x86) version of Vista can run both 16 and 32 bit software. The 64-bit (x64) version cannot run 16-bit software, and requires that all drivers be signed (something that is not required in the 32-bit variation). The "bits" refer to the amount of data that the processor can store in each of its general purpose registers and that it can handle to compute in a single instance. To use x64, all the hardware (motherboard, processors, and added cards) must support this mode. Most currently released software is 32-bit, and running it in a 64-bit machine will not produce faster results.

Yes, you will find a listing for OE under file/import/messages.

A common complaint, I'm sure there will be some third party hacks if there aren't already.

Hope this was.
Best of Luck,
Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP mvp.support.microsoft.com/ Windows help - rickrogers.org

Hello cutie... my replies are after your questions below:

If you do a clean install of XP then you can say bye bye to vista. I congradulate you for your intelligent choice.

That is correct but I am sure that notbook pc has a site that has downloads for all the drivers needed. Take a look before you do anything.

the number of bits is the length of the binary number that the computer uses to do calculations. An example of a 16bit number (digital) is this 1001100010011000 The bigger the length of the numbers the more powerfull the computations can be. To simplify this drastically, the more bits you have the better, however there is a catch... if you go to 64 bit (there are both 32 and 64 bit versions of XP and Vista) then you will have compatibility problems with drivers and some programs might not like it.. However there is also a good thing .. you can have a 64bit capable CPU and run a 32bit OS on it.. If you do that, you have the CPU for future use when more 64 bit drivers come out, and you currently use a 32bit OS to retain compatibility. You can search wikipedia.com Im sure there are articles there that explain all this in detail

Yes

You can enable the status bar in vista too...
You first have to enable the classic menu by pressing ALT and then go to VIEW> Status bar
You may want to see this explorer extension too.. but I have not tested this with vista yet:
Aurionix FileUsage aurionix.com/
Hope this helps....

In article , Cutie pyie wrote:

This is the Catch 22. Many manufacturers are not issuing XP versions of the special files notebooks use for their model-specific features for notebooks delivered with VISTA.
So although you may be able to identify a similar XP model and use its files, you may not.
So I would say don't try unless you do a lot of research on the Toshiba website for your country and can see the XP files you need.
You can get good Toshiba specific advice on the LAPTOP FORUM of Compuserve community.compuserve.com/laptop
you don't have to be a member of compuserve any more but just sign in with an AIM name and give a password. That Forum used to be run by Toshiba and so people know the background although it isn't Toshiba operated any more (although they point to it on their website).