I would like to install Win XP on a Sony Laptop that has Vista preinstalled. That part is easy. The problem is not knowing if I will have appropriate drivers for all of the hardware items. (Not yet purchased but considering a Sony FE model)

Will Win XP have appropriate drivers?
Will drivers on the furnished Vista formatted restore disk have drivers that will work with Win XP?
Or where should I be looking?

I asked Sony and of course they refused to help.

Thanks in advance.

I would agree with that for the Motherboard but AFAIK Sony still use generic graphics, network and sound components. So, you could have a system with some of the drivers installed and use the XP generic drivers for everything else ....

I did mention that I was considering a Sony FE model. The Sony support web site provides only what appears to be Vista drivers for this model. They also provide what appears to be a download for a Vista restore disk. However, there is no XP drivers.

Hope this advice is not too late, but you might want to check this branch of Sony's FTP area:

ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/PUB/OS/

You should see two subdirectories there, and one is called XPDOWNGRADE. Inside, you will find drivers for about six different model types, unfortunately, FS is not one of them.

I have an FZ180E that I was extremely disappointed with once I discovered that none of my existing software was compatible with Vista. I went through the whole frustration of searching for XP drivers on Sony's support website, and then I discovered their hidden secret. I'm now running XP with no problems. Hope this helps. You might also try snooping around more on that FTP server, the PUB area is pretty big, maybe you might find exactly what you are looking for.

Regards,
Bill.

Bchristian , hi
Thank you so much for the link. I think you used FZ19 link.
But it has no nvidia 8400M GT display driver for xp.
How did you solve this problem?
Thanks.

There won't necessarily be generic Windows XP drivers for brand new hardware that was created well after Windows XP was released.

Given that laptops have proprietary hardware and obviously customized system boards, I would not recommend downloading drivers anywhere but from Sony's web site. If Sony doesn't provide Windows XP drivers, then I'd steer clear of XP on that system.

In Device Manager, what devices are listed for: Motherboard, graphics, sound, network?

If you cannot find xp drivers, then do not install xp. Your nic, touchpad, etc may or may not work. It is up to you if you want to experiment and find out.

FWIW I would just use vista unless you have some proprietary software that will not work AND you must use that software.