Question About Operating Systems With New Laptop?

[iamloco724]

ok heres the question i want to get a new laptop dont know if its going to be hp or dell yet everything comes with vista and thats not what i want i want to use either xp home or xp professional so what i want to know is i have xp oem cds for both of these brands if i get a machine with vista on it can i format right away and use one of these oem cds even though there xp and the machine was packaged with vista

 

[networkgeek]

in theory the Dell oem xp disc should work in the dell laptop and hp with hp laptop.

I know that with Dells the xp OS is pre activated and on install it looks for a dell motherboard. when it finds one it doesnt ask for activation .

that should work

 

[EricB]

check their website for a sata driver. if it isn't posted, you will have to use one of those bootleg copies of windows floating around on the net that have most sata controllers integrated into it