[1337s]

Hello all.

I got a laptop "Acer Aspire 6920G-6A2G25Mn" it came with Vista Home Premium preinstalled so when i turned it on for the first time it started installing it and all the apps that came with it.

Its got 3 partitions C: D: and G:. G being a 5gb partition that has im guesing vista installation on it.

Now my question is can i install XP on C: but still keep the installation of Vista on G: so i can install that Vista again some time in the future if needed and how to do it ? Just format C: and go on installing XP as usual ?

My other question is how do i go about installing Vista again later ? I dont know how to set it to boot from that G: partition and install vista ? Do i just format all other partitions and it will boot from G: ?

I would be very very thankfull if someone could give me a few hints on how to do it. I wouldnt want to screw it up since i didnt get the Vista DVD just got it on the HDD and i wouldnt want to have to pay for Vista again when i want to reinstall it.

Ty.

[temeteus82]

I think that the G: partition is the Vista recovery partition and the Vista itself is installed in C: ...
So if you want to keep Vista use drive D: for XP and you need use Vista BootPro to enable booting to Vista again since XP's boot loader wont support Vista. And if you install XP on it you might face a lot of driver issues. Since Acer has meant it to be used with Vista only.

[1337s]

Vista recovery partition is for what then ? Am i right when i say that i can run Vista setup again from that partition if i format C: and install XP on it ?

Lets forget about XP for now. What about if i wanted to do a reformat and install Vista again after some time as i did with XP like once every 3 months how do i do that when i dont have a Vista DVD that is the main thing i want to know. Do i format all partitions and it will boot from that G: partition and go on installing Vista as it did the first time i turned it on or not ?

They say Vista is preinstalled but it wasnt installed it installed the OS when i first turned it on so it must have had the Vista setup on one of the partitions i guess.

[temeteus82]

Originally Posted by 1337s

Vista recovery partition is for what then ? Am i right when i say that i can run Vista setup again from that partition if i format C: and install XP on it ?

I think so, but I'm not 100% sure about it. But since the G: drive is around 5 GB the size of single layer DVD it makes sense.

Lets forget about XP for now. What about if i wanted to do a reformat and install Vista again after some time as i did with XP like once every 3 months how do i do that when i dont have a Vista DVD that is the main thing i want to know. Do i format all partitions and it will boot from that G: partition and go on installing Vista as it did the first time i turned it on or not ?

I don't have any experience of Vista laptops so I can't say for sure but best way would be to ask Acer about it.

They say Vista is preinstalled but it wasnt installed it installed the OS when i first turned it on so it must have had the Vista setup on one of the partitions i guess.

Yes it was pre-installed. It just finished the installation when you made the first boot.

[1337s]

Ok ty I will have to contact acer but if their support is as good as that of asus i dont think ill ever get a response from them.

Cheers

EDIT: Acer contact page cant be opened lol. So much for support from them.

[Tipstaff]

Something to note about Acer laptops is that they have 2 ways of reinstalling their operating systems.

1) Create recover discs using the ePower software, and using those discs you can reinstall the operating system in case of a hard drive failure, or you want to install a different operating system.

What you need to do is open up the Empowering software, and run the Acer eRecovery Management software. From this software you can create the backup CD/DVDs for a factory image, as well as one specifically for your laptops drivers and software (if you do the factory backup you don't need the drivers/apps one, but sometimes it's worth doing anyways), as well as backup your current settings/data, and one other option that escapes me at the moment.

BTW, all of this is covered in your user manual (if memory serves it's on page 11 or 12), so if you need more detailed info be sure to reference it.

2) Use the recovery partition to reinstall the operating system without the recovery discs. You can access the recovery tool by holding down Alt+F10.

Your best bet would be to make the backup DVDs of your factory image first, and then delete/format the drive during the XP install. You can, however, delete the C parition, and install XP on it while maintaining the G parition, and you should still be able to use the recovery partition to reinstall Vista, but I can't say this with 100% certainty. Again, though, make the recovery discs just in case.

[1337s]

TY very much Mr. Tipstaff

I have read about the eRecovery but i assumed it was something like system restore rather than being able to install the OS all over again.

Anyway TYVM once again

[mamonab]

I too have an acer laptop and while talking to the salesman at futureshop, I asked him if I could change the OS to Windows XP, and he said, even if you succesfully install Windows XP onto the laptop, many parts within the laptop aren't compatible with it as it's only built for Vista. Wouldn't recommend trying that, bud.

[Tipstaff]

Originally Posted by mamonab

I too have an acer laptop and while talking to the salesman at futureshop, I asked him if I could change the OS to Windows XP, and he said, even if you succesfully install Windows XP onto the laptop, many parts within the laptop aren't compatible with it as it's only built for Vista. Wouldn't recommend trying that, bud.

It all depends on the drivers. Some components, such as the modem, sound card, memory card, and such, may not have XP drivers. As such, once you get XP installed there will be components that you will never get working. Sony, for instance, has this very issue with a lot of their laptops. In some cases you can hack a driver to get it to work (such as the built in camera in some of their laptops), but in other cases you're screwed. However, a lot of times you can find the drivers that will work in XP, either from another laptop that manufacturer makes, or from another manufacturer that is using the same components, but is using XP as their OS on that system. Some manufacturers, such as LG, have systems that come with 2 sets of DVDs: 1 for Vista, which is installed, and one for XP, which you can reformat the system to (in LG's case they usually do this with their Vista Business machines).

Any way you look at it, the first thing you should do is find ALL the important drivers for XP, if not all the drivers before you redo the system to XP. If there is something important you cannot find, such as the video drivers, network drivers (wired or wireless), or sound drivers, then I wouldn't bother installing XP unless you can live without them, or have a way around not using those devices (such as installing a network card that has XP drivers for it).

[raiden]

well my laptop's built only for vista home basic.there were only 2 partitions on it.i made 3 partitions on it.i installed xp on c: ,REinstalled vista on d: ,and 3rd was empty for data.so on booting its giving choice of 2 OS.try that way as it worked for me.

[Judas]

with 3 laptops that i did xp installs on.... i didn't delete the c drive.. i just formated it and then installed xp on it.. leaving the D/G drives alone.

at which point the Vista recovery partition was left alone and still worked.... allowing for a seamless install of vista again. (as tipstaff said though, this isn't guaranteed to always work in this manner)

oventually the users that wanted XP on the system got a bit fed up with the lack of support for thier product due to using an os that orginally didn't come with it.