Hello,

I would like to buy a new Dell tablet XT. However, by default it is offered
with Windows Vista, which I absolutely do not want.

I have rung Dell and they are prepared to sell me one with XP installed.

But am I likely to be letting myself into lots of problems? If the XT was
designed to run with Vista, might it have problems with XP?

Please don't persuade me to buy one with Vista - I have Vista on my
Dimension 9200 and it is just full of problems and I am having to reinstall
XP.

So long as you are ok with:
- accepting whatever driver compromises Dell will saddle you with (indeed,
this model is designed for Windows Vista),
- and you are ok with not using the touch input features of the Latitude XT
(which are a large part of the appeal of this particular model),
- and you don't want the improved handwriting recognition in Windows Vista,
- and you don't want to enjoy handwriting personalization, which is only
available in Windows Vista
- and you don't want any of the security and reliability (under the hood)
improvements in Windows Vista

then you should be free to do what you want if Dell will build it for you
that way.


--Hilton Locke


"Rich T" wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I would like to buy a new Dell tablet XT. However, by default it is offered
> with Windows Vista, which I absolutely do not want.
>
> I have rung Dell and they are prepared to sell me one with XP installed.
>
> But am I likely to be letting myself into lots of problems? If the XT was
> designed to run with Vista, might it have problems with XP?
>
> Please don't persuade me to buy one with Vista - I have Vista on my
> Dimension 9200 and it is just full of problems and I am having to reinstall
> XP.
>
>

I have to ask...Did the Dimension 9200 come with Vista on it or did you
upgrade it from XP? I have had some spotty luck with loading Vista on
machines that didn't come with it. Bogged down my Sony Vaio something
fierce, restored it to the factory XP. Loaded it on a Toshiba Tablet and it
ran great, but Toshiba wasn't supporting Vista on it so I lost some of the
needed button functionality, back to XP, darn. Running Vista on two towers
that were upgraded to it, both Dells and it runs fine. Do have a few issues
with some older peripherals, printers, scanners, but hey, they are old. I
blame HP for this, not Vista. Actually I am a bit irritated. The Laserjet
2200DN is supported, but the Deskjet 9650 is not. I could pick up a new B/W
Laserjet dirt cheap, but try to find a color large format inkjet for less
than an arm and a leg.

Now, the HP tablet I have that came with Vista runs fine. My wife's Vaio
that came with Vista runs fine too, even though she hates it. But she's an
admin and hates every new OS when it comes out. Works fine though. So,
basically I have no real issue with Vista, especially when it is what the
machine was designed for and what comes with it.

Take that for what it's worth.

--
Sven
MVP Mobile Devices
"Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:E1BD00A9-CF8A-4B3A-9FE4-E003FAC15A1F@microsoft.com...
> Hello,
>
> I would like to buy a new Dell tablet XT. However, by default it is
> offered with Windows Vista, which I absolutely do not want.
>
> I have rung Dell and they are prepared to sell me one with XP installed.
>
> But am I likely to be letting myself into lots of problems? If the XT was
> designed to run with Vista, might it have problems with XP?
>
> Please don't persuade me to buy one with Vista - I have Vista on my
> Dimension 9200 and it is just full of problems and I am having to
> reinstall XP.
>

My Dimension 9200 came with XP but was sold as "Vista ready" and they sent a
VIsta disc about six months after it was released. I have had huge issues
with Vista, particularly with USB drivers and the sound car driver. I am
about to reinstall XP on my desktop. As I prefer to have the same OS on both
machines, I am leaning to XP on a laptop too.

Also, backwards compatibility of Vista is terrible. A lot of specialist
software I use runs very poorly on Vista, and some really common software
does not work at all (eg Adobe professional 6 and Symantec Winfax).

You are also correct about most HP printers not working - my solution to
that was to make a mental note never to buy an HP printer again as they
never provide drivers for new OS's (I have two perfectly good HP printers in
the loft now, which I can't use because they won't provide drivers)

"Sven" <sejohannsen********.com> wrote in message
news:CE6584F6-F262-4A33-BB99-96162D7467B8@microsoft.com...
>I have to ask...Did the Dimension 9200 come with Vista on it or did you
>upgrade it from XP? I have had some spotty luck with loading Vista on
>machines that didn't come with it. Bogged down my Sony Vaio something
>fierce, restored it to the factory XP. Loaded it on a Toshiba Tablet and it
>ran great, but Toshiba wasn't supporting Vista on it so I lost some of the
>needed button functionality, back to XP, darn. Running Vista on two towers
>that were upgraded to it, both Dells and it runs fine. Do have a few issues
>with some older peripherals, printers, scanners, but hey, they are old. I
>blame HP for this, not Vista. Actually I am a bit irritated. The Laserjet
>2200DN is supported, but the Deskjet 9650 is not. I could pick up a new B/W
>Laserjet dirt cheap, but try to find a color large format inkjet for less
>than an arm and a leg.
>
> Now, the HP tablet I have that came with Vista runs fine. My wife's Vaio
> that came with Vista runs fine too, even though she hates it. But she's an
> admin and hates every new OS when it comes out. Works fine though. So,
> basically I have no real issue with Vista, especially when it is what the
> machine was designed for and what comes with it.
>
> Take that for what it's worth.
>
> --
> Sven
> MVP Mobile Devices
> "Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
> news:E1BD00A9-CF8A-4B3A-9FE4-E003FAC15A1F@microsoft.com...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I would like to buy a new Dell tablet XT. However, by default it is
>> offered with Windows Vista, which I absolutely do not want.
>>
>> I have rung Dell and they are prepared to sell me one with XP installed.
>>
>> But am I likely to be letting myself into lots of problems? If the XT was
>> designed to run with Vista, might it have problems with XP?
>>
>> Please don't persuade me to buy one with Vista - I have Vista on my
>> Dimension 9200 and it is just full of problems and I am having to
>> reinstall XP.
>>
>

Stick with the operating system which best fits your needs and uses, based
on your own judgments. And, don't jump just all over HP.

Compaq and every other company which relies on drivers has always been slow
out of the gate when there are changes. I mention them because their
laptops (related to your situation) back in the Millennium Edition era
(remember that?) were touted as ME ready. Except you had no usage of the
volume control buttons on the keyboard from the time Millennium Edition was
released until the following February, because Compaq never got their act
together.

Yes, there is an honest, acceptable delay of perhaps a few weeks for
companies to get their drivers out, but about eight months? Companies will
NOT write to a beta product on a new operating system, because the target
moves. However, once they receive the final bits in locked down mode, they
should be ready to jump on it.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
http://forums.mobilepcworld.net
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:9C3EA58B-B9E5-4933-87BE-A154476EAA64@microsoft.com...
> My Dimension 9200 came with XP but was sold as "Vista ready" and they sent
> a VIsta disc about six months after it was released. I have had huge
> issues with Vista, particularly with USB drivers and the sound car driver.
> I am about to reinstall XP on my desktop. As I prefer to have the same OS
> on both machines, I am leaning to XP on a laptop too.
>
> Also, backwards compatibility of Vista is terrible. A lot of specialist
> software I use runs very poorly on Vista, and some really common software
> does not work at all (eg Adobe professional 6 and Symantec Winfax).
>
> You are also correct about most HP printers not working - my solution to
> that was to make a mental note never to buy an HP printer again as they
> never provide drivers for new OS's (I have two perfectly good HP printers
> in the loft now, which I can't use because they won't provide drivers)
>
> "Sven" <sejohannsen********.com> wrote in message
> news:CE6584F6-F262-4A33-BB99-96162D7467B8@microsoft.com...
>>I have to ask...Did the Dimension 9200 come with Vista on it or did you
>>upgrade it from XP? I have had some spotty luck with loading Vista on
>>machines that didn't come with it. Bogged down my Sony Vaio something
>>fierce, restored it to the factory XP. Loaded it on a Toshiba Tablet and
>>it ran great, but Toshiba wasn't supporting Vista on it so I lost some of
>>the needed button functionality, back to XP, darn. Running Vista on two
>>towers that were upgraded to it, both Dells and it runs fine. Do have a
>>few issues with some older peripherals, printers, scanners, but hey, they
>>are old. I blame HP for this, not Vista. Actually I am a bit irritated.
>>The Laserjet 2200DN is supported, but the Deskjet 9650 is not. I could
>>pick up a new B/W Laserjet dirt cheap, but try to find a color large
>>format inkjet for less than an arm and a leg.
>>
>> Now, the HP tablet I have that came with Vista runs fine. My wife's Vaio
>> that came with Vista runs fine too, even though she hates it. But she's
>> an admin and hates every new OS when it comes out. Works fine though. So,
>> basically I have no real issue with Vista, especially when it is what the
>> machine was designed for and what comes with it.
>>
>> Take that for what it's worth.
>>
>> --
>> Sven
>> MVP Mobile Devices
>> "Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
>> news:E1BD00A9-CF8A-4B3A-9FE4-E003FAC15A1F@microsoft.com...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I would like to buy a new Dell tablet XT. However, by default it is
>>> offered with Windows Vista, which I absolutely do not want.
>>>
>>> I have rung Dell and they are prepared to sell me one with XP installed.
>>>
>>> But am I likely to be letting myself into lots of problems? If the XT
>>> was designed to run with Vista, might it have problems with XP?
>>>
>>> Please don't persuade me to buy one with Vista - I have Vista on my
>>> Dimension 9200 and it is just full of problems and I am having to
>>> reinstall XP.
>>>
>>
>

Thanks - but you just confirm that I won't ever leap to upgrade OS again.
WIndows 98 and ME were such crap products that when XP came out it was like
manna from heaven. XP was an awesome product! Especially when combined with
Live OneCare when it became a proper stable,s ecure OS.

But Vista has just lost my entire trust in Microsoft ever again. It is just
like ME - full of bloat and crap.Doesn't work properly with OneCare so I
have to install third party virus software and doesn't work with stacks of
hardware and software.

You don't need it, so why would you go there? Years ago, a lot of people in
the gaming side of things complained all over the place because of Windows
XP and having to do a "compatibility thing" to get some of the older games
to play on XP.

My answer then is as it is now, Why if what you've got does what you need?
No one twists your arm, offers you bonus incentives or is going to take out
the trash for you so you'll upgrade. Stay with what works, your choice. If
you leave behind a perfectly good, nice running system who made the
decision? Not Microsoft. LOL!
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
http://forums.mobilepcworld.net
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:CF21968F-51AA-4E79-9DD5-ECD9D24EE386@microsoft.com...
> Thanks - but you just confirm that I won't ever leap to upgrade OS again.
> WIndows 98 and ME were such crap products that when XP came out it was
> like manna from heaven. XP was an awesome product! Especially when
> combined with Live OneCare when it became a proper stable,s ecure OS.
>
> But Vista has just lost my entire trust in Microsoft ever again. It is
> just like ME - full of bloat and crap.Doesn't work properly with OneCare
> so I have to install third party virus software and doesn't work with
> stacks of hardware and software.

Not so sure how awsome XP was when it came out. Remember that was released
in October, 2001. It has been around for a long time, relatively. As far as
backwards compatibility, a lot of that is on the software/hardware vendor.
Not sure you can expect MS to test every piece of software and hardware that
folks have had since they upgraded from whatever to XP. Not sure I would
expect ubiquitous backward compatibility on any major upgrade. If everything
is as it was, what was the upgrade? I have to believe that Vista is more
than a GUI revamp, and so there are things that are different and old stuff
needs to come along, or break. My gripe with HP is that they are supporting
older stuff than my wide inkjet. I expect it is because of the number of
those printers they sold. I can understand it may not be economical to
invest a lot of uncompensatable time on it, though I don't like it.

I have a significant number of HP peripherals that do have Vista drivers
available on their site. Do what makes sense to you, but I can tell you my
Vista tablet (native), is more capable than my XP tablet.

--
Sven
MVP Mobile Devices
"Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:CF21968F-51AA-4E79-9DD5-ECD9D24EE386@microsoft.com...
> Thanks - but you just confirm that I won't ever leap to upgrade OS again.
> WIndows 98 and ME were such crap products that when XP came out it was
> like manna from heaven. XP was an awesome product! Especially when
> combined with Live OneCare when it became a proper stable,s ecure OS.
>
> But Vista has just lost my entire trust in Microsoft ever again. It is
> just like ME - full of bloat and crap.Doesn't work properly with OneCare
> so I have to install third party virus software and doesn't work with
> stacks of hardware and software.

Agree there completely, but the original premise was that Chris wanted a new
tablet, but not the OS it was designed for, and comes on it. To me that is
kind of like getting the latest model car that has fuel injection, and
asking if they can put last year's carburator on it. Probably, but it likely
won't perform as it should. I'm probably giving Dell more credit than they
deserve. Their new Vista Tablets may just be XP Tablets with a bit more RAM
and drive and better video, and the drivers to support that. Question is if
viable XP drivers exist for all the bits on the new tablet. I've always
found laptops/tablets much more difficult to mess with because of the
integration. You are never quite sure just what chip set is in there to pick
just the right driver for the touch screen, video, touch pad, sound etc. If
the unit never shipped with an older OS, it might be touchy to find the
right drivers for that environment. If Dell is willing to ship it that way
though, we would assume they would have, and use, the appropriate stuff.

If anything I would get a model that originally came with XP, if my need was
for XP, rather than one designed with XP in mind and 'downgrade' it.

--
Sven
MVP Mobile Devices
"Chris H" <VistaMobilePC********.com> wrote in message
news:18992091-1236-44CE-83ED-6EE9ACAD7416@microsoft.com...
> You don't need it, so why would you go there? Years ago, a lot of people
> in the gaming side of things complained all over the place because of
> Windows XP and having to do a "compatibility thing" to get some of the
> older games to play on XP.
>
> My answer then is as it is now, Why if what you've got does what you need?
> No one twists your arm, offers you bonus incentives or is going to take
> out the trash for you so you'll upgrade. Stay with what works, your
> choice. If you leave behind a perfectly good, nice running system who
> made the decision? Not Microsoft. LOL!
> --
> Chris H.
> Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
> Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
> http://forums.mobilepcworld.net
> Associate Expert
> Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
>
> "Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
> news:CF21968F-51AA-4E79-9DD5-ECD9D24EE386@microsoft.com...
>> Thanks - but you just confirm that I won't ever leap to upgrade OS again.
>> WIndows 98 and ME were such crap products that when XP came out it was
>> like manna from heaven. XP was an awesome product! Especially when
>> combined with Live OneCare when it became a proper stable,s ecure OS.
>>
>> But Vista has just lost my entire trust in Microsoft ever again. It is
>> just like ME - full of bloat and crap.Doesn't work properly with OneCare
>> so I have to install third party virus software and doesn't work with
>> stacks of hardware and software.
>

Thanks, in the end I cancelled the Dell order before it was confirmed. I'm
not prepared to take the risk of vista, nor the risk of xp on a
vista-designed machine.

It is a bit of a Catch-22 situation. You don't want Vista, which is a shame
because it is really nice. But I probably can pretty much guarantee you
trying to get XP on a machine designed for Vista you're going to be missing
drivers. That, of course, is also the same situation but in reverse of
people who are making Vista work on machines not designed for, nor supported
for Vista.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
http://forums.mobilepcworld.net
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"Rich T" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:C5E8A4AF-8187-4614-B3F4-FC974433C328@microsoft.com...
> Thanks, in the end I cancelled the Dell order before it was confirmed. I'm
> not prepared to take the risk of vista, nor the risk of xp on a
> vista-designed machine.