Actual Reality

For those that prefer the speed and stability that Windows XP offers, this guide will help you get it running on the Acer Aspire 6930 laptop. Beware that there are a couple limitations. Firstly, you will only be able to use 3GB of RAM if you use the 32-bit version of Windows XP. Secondly, some features may not work or function the same as they do in Windows Vista. Keep in mind that this laptop was designed to run Windows Vista, and so Acer probably won’t support you if you run Windows XP. With that said, let’s get down to business.

Step 1: Recovery Discs

You should make recovery discs if you haven’t already. In case you change your mind or something goes wrong, you should make sure you have these discs. That way you can at least go back to a working system. Also, it’s a good idea to backup your data now because installing Windows XP will wipe out whatever is on the computer.

Step 2: BIOS Settings

By default the Aspire 6930 uses AHCI mode to access the hard disk. Unfortunately, Windows XP doesn’t have the right drivers to use this mode. The easiest way to get around this is to change the access mode to IDE. Turn the laptop on, and start pressing F2 right away. The BIOS setup screen will appear. Use the arrow keys to go to the “Main” tab, then go down to select SATA Mode, and press Enter. Then select IDE Mode and press Enter. Finally, press F10 to save and exit, and choose Yes and press Enter to confirm.

Technically, using IDE Mode will reduce the performance slightly (although I haven’t noticed the difference). For full performance, you would need to slipstream the AHCI drivers with the Windows XP CD and then proceed with the installation without changing the BIOS settings. There are plenty of guides on the Internet on slipstreaming, like this one, if you’d like to give it a try.

Step 3: Install Windows XP

If you haven’t every installed Windows XP on a computer before, it’s not that hard. Go ahead and turn the laptop on, or reboot it if it’s already on. When you see the black screen with the Acer logo on it, start pressing F12 until the boot menu appears. Then put the Windows XP CD in the CD drive. Choose the CD drive in the boot menu, and press Enter. After a second, you should see some text saying “Press any key to boot from CD…”. Make sure you press a key!

After a couple of minutes the Windows XP installer will be loaded. Just follow the instructions on the screen to go through the rest of the Windows installation. If you’re really unsure of anything, try looking at Microsoft’s guide to installing Windows XP. It’s easy, trust me.

Step 4: Installing Drivers

Now the crucial step to get everything working, installing all the right drivers. Since the laptop was designed for Windows Vista, it can be hard to find all the right drivers for XP. Thankfully, some folks (like myself) have already done all the hard work and collected together the location of most of the drivers.

Here’s what I needed to get everything working:

Video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator drivers from Intel’s website. If you have NVIDIA graphics, you’ll need NVIDIA drivers instead.

Audio: Realtek HD Audio drivers. The XP driver links are right under the Vista Driver links.

Wireless: Intel WiFi Link 5100/5300 drivers. Some models are equipped with a different wireless card, see the section below.

LAN: Atheros L1 Gigabit Ethernet drivers.

Webcam: Windows XP supported it without any special drivers.

Card reader: Windows XP supported it without any special drivers.

Media keys: Volume, play/pause, and Wireless on/off keys worked without any special drivers. For better support, including on-screen feedback when you press the keys, download the Dritek Launch Manager software.

Touchpad: Synaptics touchpad drivers. Required if you want to use the scroll area!

Bluetooth, modem, etc.: untested. You can try the drivers at the links listed in “Other Driver Sources” below.

Other Driver Sources

For the devices that I didn’t test or that my laptop wasn’t equipped with, you may have some luck looking at this page, which has links to a bunch of different drivers. You may also have luck trying Acer’s drivers for Vista, because some will work in XP as well. And finally, you can always try the different manufacturer’s pages, although it can be difficult to figure out which components are made by which company.

Final Thoughts

The Aspire 6930 worked well in Windows XP, and provided a lot better performance compared to in Windows Vista. I also found that the battery life was improved, the hard drive was accessed less, and things just generally worked faster and better. I didn’t have any issues, and all the hardware that I use was supported without any problems. On a cautionary note, though, keep in mind that Windows XP is already 7 years old and will become more and more obsolete as time goes on. So I’d suggest that if you don’t like Vista, but still want a modern operating system, try Ubuntu. It works great on this laptop, offers very good features and performance, and doesn’t cost anything. Its worth a try, regardless of your views on Microsoft Windows.