Hello everyone and thank you in advance for trying to help a lost cause. I purchased a Gateway ML3109 notebook around six months ago, great PC but horrible OS (Windows Vista Basic). The reason why I purchased a notebook is because my old one (HP Pavillion DV6000 w/ Windows XP)just died. The most important feature of a notebook to me is accessing the internet from anywhere in my house wirelessly, with the help of my Linksys router. I am what you would call a computer dummy therefore I will only understand if somebody take the time to explain step by step without computer only knowledgeable verbiage. I researched some old forums such as installing XP on Vista OS (http://www.computing.net/windowsvista/wwwboard/forum/834.html) and I am afraid my level of knowledge is too low to follow the instructions correctly. I downloaded EasyBCD however after that I don't know what to do with it. I've done some research about Windows Vista Home edition (basic, etc) and it appears to have problems with wireless connections. Its incredible that they would permit such crappy product. I am unable to access the internet wirelessly, therefore I contacted a PC tech. and he was also unable to do so. I contacted Gateway and I asked them how can I install XP. They told me that they can't help me because installing a different OS would void my manufacturer warranty (Like I care! They said that they can't help me with the wireless issue therefore they aren't honoring there warranty anyway). After all I asked them to sell me a gateway XP copy for my machine (no matter how much would cost), they told me that they would not sale me a XP copy because my machine should only use Vista Basic. Well, since I purchased a copy of Windows XP professional long time ago, I would like to find out how can I install it in my notebook. Please keep in mind that I already installed EasyBCD 1.7.1.
I don't know what to do now. Please explain as you would, to a two year old. I hope there is somebody willing to pick up my headache. Thanks and sorry.

Hi there;

if i was you mate, i would get rid of vista off you
computer all together and do a fresh install of windows
XP, as i guess you want to have windows XP as your
primary OS (operating system) and not to have to run it
from inside vista using some kind of emulator (software
that allows you to run one OS from inside another).

if you would like a hand with doing this feel free to email
me at lewgrainger@aol.com and ill give you a hand. Im
hardley ever on this site, hence why i have given you my
email.

hopefully hear from you soon, lewis

Lostdesperate

Good luck working with speedmanic232 who obviously doesn't know any better than not to include his e-mail address in a public post.

i_Xp/VistaUser

Thank you speedmanic232 but I would feel more comfortable if you could instruct me from this forum. I am at work and we are not allowed to send or receive emails from here. Please keep in mind that I am illiterate computer wise. Thanks for your kindness. Everybody is welcome to help. Best Regards.

speedmanic232,

Let the ball roll... now show us your workaround.

i_Xp/VistaUser

"They told me that they can't help me because installing a different OS would void my manufacturer warranty"

what a crock of s***. after installing a different operating system you may not be eligible for technical support but you're hardware is still fully covered.

guides to install XP after Vista are legion, try google. If you're happy with virtualization, try VirtualBox, VMware or VPC ... certainly the easiest way to go. advantage: you can have 2 (or more) operating systems running at the same time without rebooting - downside: lower performance, while you have the full power of your CPU and memory available in a virtual machine, the graphics adapter is only an emulation and not really suitable for GPU intensive 3D applications or games.

or do as suggested in response #1, wipe the drive and get rid of Vista altogether if you're not happy with it. but before you start, make sure you have all windows XP drivers ready to install.

here's a good place to start:

http://robbray.com/gateway-ml3109-d...

Thanks The_Oracle,
Should I try to burn those drivers to a CD? Is that what you want me to do?
I'll follow your lead.
Best Regards.

Windows Vista Home Basic Support

Sorry, I forgot to mention. I am poor! That's why I bought this $300. notebook :-)

Cost:$59.00 US per support request after all no-charge support is used.

You are hurting me!
Thanks.

ok ... download all the drivers from the link above (burn to CD, save on a USB stick, etc.)

then boot the laptop from your XP CDROM and follow these instructions:

http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/...

when it comes to partitioning the drive, keep in mind that deleting ALL partitions will destroy a possible gateway recovery partition. if you have no intention to go back to Vista, than it's OK to delete all existing partitions and create one or more new partitions to your liking.

but first of all: uninstall the EasyBCD bootmanager!

Something doesn't seem to add up here.....

First you state that you purchased the Gateway ML3109 notebook around six months ago -- to replace an HP that just died -- with a "horrible OS" pre-installed on it. Couldn't you have returned it back then?

Besides the above, you also never did explain in details what exactly the *wireless* connection issue was. We get it that the notebook is not meeting your expectation, which is that, it be capable of accessing the internet from anywhere in your house wirelessly, with the help of your Linksys router.

So, are you in fact stating that you have not been able to connect to the internet wirelessly for the past six months that you've owned the laptop?

Yes Sir,
One hundred percent unable to access the internet wirelessly via Linksys router or any other available source. This is nuts! No internet wireless success ever with this notebook. Quite frustrating to be honest. The_Oracle sounded like my salvation. I am burning the drivers to a CD-R. The_Oracle is the man.

In what order should I install the drivers?
First FDISK than XP and after all the drivers?

Could it be as simple as setting the wireless to the correct settings and not installing xp?

I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you peanut.

LOL, tnx ... but wait a minute ... are you sure the wireless LAN is active? some laptops do have a switch, others use a Fn key combo (Fn + F2 is pretty common)to turn the WLAN on or of on order to save power when no WLAN connection is needed.

If you are not familiar with Vista & you are able to successfully reconfigure the notebook with XP & connect wirelessly, that's great! Insofar as you are happy with your machine after everything is said & done, I doubt it matters one way or the other. Although, I fail to believe that your machine lacks the capability to connect wirelessly under Vista.

Good luck!

jefro,

I had a tech checking all that. I also went thru the user manual and all. I wish it was that simple. The guy that check my PC expended days trying without any success. The gentleman is the IT guy in the company that I worked for. This guy built 15 pc's for my wife's office around two years ago. The pc's are up and running without any issues. I really trust that gentleman.

Sabertooth,
The machine is wireless enable however according to this tech. is a Vista issue. I am nobody to argue with you guy's since I am pretty ignorant regarding computers however I really trust this guy. I had pc's that Best Buy couldn't fix and he fixed it.

Obviously, you are already on a different path, if you weren't, my next couple of suggestions would have been to update to the very latest drivers for the notebook's wireless adapter & possibly call Microsoft's Professional Customer Service 24/7 line @ 1-800-936-4900 & ask then to email you the free hotfix from Microsoft Article KB930517.

there is no FDISK involved ... simply boot from your XP CDROM and follow blackviper's illustrated installation guide for XP professional.

but here's another thing you may try first: download a linux distro (e.g. Ubuntu) and burn to CDROM. now you have a Live CD allowing you to test your wireless adapter. it could be faulty after all.

Well guys, I follow everything as instructed by master The_Oracle, however there was a little issue. The network adapter and bus drivers would not install. They weren't probably the right ones for my machine. Everything else was working very well. Any further advise from you guys? Please let me know what else I can do. I won't quit until I get it right. Do you guys know how I can find out the exact driver that I should be looking for? You know, for my network bus and adapter. I don't know how to determine which one is the right one for my machine. The machine was lighting fast, I just couldn't connect to the internet because of that driver issue.
Best Regards and thanks.

Download and run SIW (stand alone). in the left-hand navigation bar, scroll down to Hardware and click on PCI.

Witch would be the correct driver and installation tool (I guess)?

http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driv...

My product description is:

Property Value
Card 1
Model TRENDnet TEW-421PC/TEW-423PI 802.11g Wireless Cardbus/PCI Adapter
Status Disconnected
Manufacturer GVC Corp.
Type WIRELESS LAN
Speed 4294 Mbps
MAC Address 00-C0-A8-F4-6F-7D
IP Address 0.0.0.0

Card 2
Model Marvell Yukon 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller
Status Connected
Manufacturer Arima Computer Corp.
Type WIRED
Speed 100 Mbps
MAC Address 00-03-25-47-84-5C
IP Address 24.9.21.10

Let me know what you are thinking.
Best Regards.