How to Install XP on an Inspiron 1721

Microsoft Windows XP can be installed on a Dell Inspiron 1721.

The Dell Inspiron 1721 laptop was produced with Microsoft Windows Vista installed and had no option for downgrading to XP nor driver support for XP. Even though Dell doesn't officially support this configuration it can be accomplished easily using compatible drivers that are readily available on the Internet. With the drivers downloaded and a diskette containing the SATA storage drivers it becomes a standard process to install XP on an Inspiron 1721.

Things You'll Need

• USB floppy drive
• Floppy disk
• Microsoft Windows XP installation disc

Instructions

Create SATA Driver Diskette

1. Download the SATA storage driver program.

2. Run the driver program to initiate the self-extraction process. The self-extractor program will prompt you to choose a destination for the extracted files.

3. Choose to place the extracted files onto the floppy diskette. This diskette now contains the SATA drivers required by Windows XP setup.

Install Windows XP

1. Connect the USB floppy drive to any USB port on the Inspiron.

2. Power on the laptop and press "F10" to enter the boot selection menu.

3. Insert the operating system installation CD into the laptop's CD/DVD drive.

4. Select the CD/DVD drive from the boot selection menu and then press "Enter" to begin the Windows XP setup program.

5. Press the space bar when prompted to "Press any key to boot from CD..."

6. Press "F6" when prompted to do so for the purpose of installing third-party SCSI or RAID drivers. The setup program will then prompt you to insert the drivers into the "A:" floppy drive.

7. Insert the floppy diskette into the USB floppy drive, then press "Enter." The setup program will load in the SATA drivers which you will have to select from a list even though there may be only one item on that list. Then press "Enter" to proceed.

8. Press "Enter" at the Welcome screen to enter the setup process.

9. Press "F8" to agree to the licensing agreement. This takes you to the destination selection screen. Delete existing partitions if there are any.

10. Press "Enter" to install Windows XP onto the only destination available, "Unpartitioned space." This initiates the creation of a primary partition.

11. Press "Enter" to simply allow the setup program to create its suggested size of partition, using all available space on the hard drive.

12. Press "Enter" to install Windows XP onto your newly created partition.

13. Choose to format the file system in the "NTFS" structure and not the "Quick" option. The formatting of the hard drive and automated installation of Microsoft Windows XP will begin.

14. Download the required drivers and install them after the Windows setup program completes the installation of XP.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also download all the needed drivers first and burn them to CD or place them onto a USB flash drive.

• All data on the hard drive is totally destroyed during this process, so back up your files before beginning.

References

• Microsoft: Install Windows XP
• Lenovo: ATI RAID Driver For Windows XP
• Thor Schrock: Dell Inspiron 1721 Notebook--Rollback From Vista To XP
• Get PC Memory: Download Dell Inspiron 1721 Windows XP Drivers