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How do i reformat my computer from vista to xp pro on HP Laptop?

i bought an HP laptop that had originally came with windows vista and i was wondering y would this happen on my laptop but not to my desktop i had bought the Windows xp CD from the store the next day because i didn't like windows vista and then i put in the Windows xp CD to reformat my computer and i know how to reformat my computer but it tells me that (Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Then it says setup cannot continue. To quit setup, press F3. Can Ne1 help i would really appreciate it and give u a lot of props THANK YOU!!!! and please try making it easy steps, step by step would be really helpful once again THANK YOU !!!!

Public Comments

1. you may have to get this program called wipe disk and wipe vista off before you can install xp,it seems to be made not to be down graded but only upgraded,some manufactures do that on some systems!
2. I would certainly contact HP. They will have been asked this question a million times and by now they'll have an answer. It could be that the dirve has be locked by the new Vista Bitlocker feature. It might also be that the drive is not fully installed and won't be until you bring up Vista completely. The copy of XP you bought will not have the HP-specific support utilities that are installed and configured on your Vista build (created by HP). It's not easy to rebuild the right image yourself--it can take several days to accomplish and you might not ever get it 100% correct. hth
3. Read Below you will also need to go to the Hp Support and drivers website and download all the drivers you need for XP and Vista use different drivers http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html
4. This always happens - I've seen it soooo often! lol Right when the laptop boots up, press F2 or whatever button allows you get into the Setup / BIOS I Cant remember 100% where it's at - look under The Advanced Section, and all the Headings under the setup. You should see an option that says SATA Native, or something similar to that - It will be enabled. DISABLE that - and then save changes and exit setup, then you should have no problems loading Windows XP to it. To run a drive in SATA Native mode, you need a proper SATA driver for the hard disk. This is tough to find, preinstallation anyway. Just install windows, then go to HP's website and download all the drivers for Windows XP as opposed to Vista though (Good luck - I did this with mine, and spent weeks finding all the drivers for it. They only had drivers for Vista, not fun!! BUt can be done - I suggest http://www.driveragent.com for any missing drivers) Good luck, hope this helps!