Mar 26, 2009

My New Presario CQ40-340TU Laptop - Downgraded to XP at last!

Last Monday, me and Mai decided to buy our own laptop. Well, it wasn't really a decision. We discussed it before but it was all too sudden for me. I guess I didn't expect that we'll be buying anything this expensive considering our financial situation right now. But, yeah, we did. Call it panic buying, impulsive shopping or whatever but I'm actually enjoying this.

Okay, scratch that last line. Since Monday, I have been trying to figure out how to freaking downgrade this laptop to Windows XP because Vista really sucks. Anyway, below are this laptop's specs. This is a Compaq Presario CQ40-340TU laptop.


So far, I have no problems with its performance. I can do my blogging and graphics design here, plus gaming, of course. But, I haven't really enjoyed this laptop as much as I want to because I just finished downgrading it to Windows XP. I'm very techie but this really frustrated me.

Some people might be asking why I decided to downgrade to XP. First of all, I really hate Vista. But I had the same opinion of XP back when I was still a Windows 98 SE user (eewww). However, I don't think I'll be changing my mind anytime soon.

We got a pretty good deal for this laptop. It came with Windows Vista Starter Kit. So, I thought I'll actually get used to Vista but then I found out there are a lot of limitations with this version of Vista. So, I had no choice. I don't want to shell out a cent to buy a legit Vista installer. And, so, I went looking for guides and Windows XP drivers for all the devices on this laptop.

I was able to successfully slipstream SATA drivers into my Windows XP installer so this laptop is now running on XP (click here for my tutorial and where to get the SATA drivers for this model). I have found and installed drivers for most of the devices. I only have 1 problem - audio and webcam. I'm still trying to figure out where to download it but once I got everything working, I'll post the instructions here. (edit: I was able to get the audio working. See the links at the bottom of this post.)

By the way, Windows Vista Starter was created by Microsoft to prevent piracy by new PC users. But, damn, with all those limits, especially with networking and file sharing, for me, XP is still the best. And I hated that watermark on the lower right side. Sheesh!

And, by the way, Microsoft said they'll no longer support Windows XP. Haller!! Fix all the problems with Vista first before you demand everyone to upgrade to Vista. Oh, Windows 7 is also on its upcoming release. Tsk tsk. I'll stick with XP, thank you very much.

Related Posts:
Tutorials: How I Slipstreamed SATA drivers into my Windows XP installer (downgrade CQ40-340TU from Vista to XP) - Part 1
How to Downgrade CQ40-340TU from Vista to XP - Part 2 - Drivers for XP
Posted by at Thursday, March 26, 2009
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32 comments:

  1. Hi!.. I just read your post about Downgrading your Presario CQ40-340TU Laptop to XP. I have the same model and vista OS, Would you mind if you can share on how did you do it?.. the process and how you slipstream SATA drivers into your Windows XP installer. can you just share your your installer. I hope for your favourable response here in my email jainor_devilla@yahoo.com. Your help will be so much appreciated. Thank You B4!
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  2. Vista OS requires at least more than 1GB of ram, so if you have a gig of ram in your portable and you share some of it in your video its not advisable to run vista unless you will install or add memory modules, but OS wise if you know how to operate vista, vista is a great OS. btw this is only my opinion
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  3. @ a nobody:
    yeah, and my laptop only has 1GB of RAM and i have no plans yet of upgrading. and i'm using Vista Starter version so it's limited. if this was another version of Vista, i would've left it alone.

    @ jainor:
    i'll post the instructions on another post.
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  4. @jainor:
    http://www.justanotherpixel.net/2009/03/how-i-slipstreamed-sata-drivers-into-my.html
    - how I slipstreamed the SATA drivers. I'll post the links to the drivers later.
    ReplyDelete
  5. ohhh, i guess your OEM only includes or install the vista basic edition in your portable, so that way its so limited, i guess downgrading your portable from vista to xp is a wise decision since you only have 1gb of ram and you have a crappy version of vista =)

    off topic: nice to see a techie girl started a blog like this. more power
    ReplyDelete
  6. actually, the laptop package didn't include any OS. they were just offering this Windows Vista Starter version for free along with the purchase of this model 'til the end of the month. and yeah, it was a crappy version of Vista hehehe.

    this isn't really a niche blog but i just post whatever i want to. and just looking back at all the frustrations i had trying to downgrade this to XP, i knew i had to post something here so people won't have to look all over to get it done.

    and to jainor, i downloaded a lot of drivers to see which ones would work and i'm completing the list of links for the drivers. i hope to post it before end of tomorrow. glad to help! :)
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  7. thanks "a nobody". i just realized it... i don't see a lot of techie female bloggers around here hehehe.
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  8. thats the reason im suprised when i saw this blog, hehehe more rants and power to you

    good day,

    a nobody
    ReplyDelete
  9. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?lc=en&dlc=&cc=us&lang=&product=3887301&
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  10. magkano price nito mga tol? i bought one in baguio sa SPEED 29000 may OS na vista
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  11. Julius, tama lang yung price. I bought mine PhP 28,600 @ Ayala Cebu.
    The link you provided only has drivers for Vista. This post and the 2 tutorials I posted were for downgrading it to XP.
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  12. aew bisaya diay ka sir.. naa man xp http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&dlc=&cc=us&lang=&product=3887301
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  13. We have the model.Is there a need to downgrade the bios before downgrading to XP?

    TIA
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  14. @ TIA:
    Same model as in CQ40 or you have exactly the same model? Your message was not complete.
    I don't believe you need to downgrade the BIOS.
    What's the exact model of your laptop?
    ReplyDelete
  15. hi,

    I hope it still open. I am looking a forum that would verify this laptop model has already a fixed audio driver on windows xp.

    I am planning to buy.

    Thanks in advance.

    irvin
    ReplyDelete
  16. @ Irvin:
    There won't be a fixed audio driver for Windows XP for this laptop since this was built for Windows Vista. The only drivers that you can get are XP compatible drivers. That's why I have this post - and I've already listed the steps to get the audio working. Mine's working very well (except for the webcam heheh) so just try the audio patch.
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  17. any news regarding CQ40 340TU webcam drivers?
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  18. i bought my laptop last week lang, so far naman, walang problem, nakpag install ako ng autocad 2009 pero hindi ang staad...

    last nyt was the first time na nakita ng tito ko ito, and he said, uso pa daw ba ang pentium ngaun? tapos nlait lait nya laptop ko... hehehe. wats the diffrence ba ng pentium dual core among others particularly ang centrino duo.
    ReplyDelete
  19. HELP ME NAMAN KASI SINUNOD KO NAMAN UNG STEPS MO HONESTLY PARA MAKAGWA AQ NG INSTALLER NG XP NA BBGAY SA PAREHAS NATING LAPTOP BUT STILL AYAW PA RIN MAG BOOT SEND MO NAMAN SA AKIN UNG FINISH PRODUCT MO PLEASE...... - RON
    ReplyDelete
  20. HELP ME NAMAN KASI SINUNOD KO NAMAN UNG STEPS MO HONESTLY PARA MAKAGWA AQ NG INSTALLER NG XP NA BBGAY SA PAREHAS NATING LAPTOP BUT STILL AYAW PA RIN MAG BOOT SEND MO NAMAN SA AKIN UNG FINISH PRODUCT MO PLEASE...... contact me here please badtrip na aq sa vista di q na magawa ung mga gusto q rito di tulad sa xp- 09153991290 \ 09125363627 RON
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  21. aw. sorry, but i can't do that - send you a working windows xp installer with sata.

    what error are you getting when you try to install it? do you get the windows setup screen? if not, possibly a corrupt installer. have to do that again. make sure the burn time is slowest (3x if you have that) and make sure na you only have 1GB of RAM installed 'coz there were reports na they get an error when they have higher RAM.

    anong nangyayari ba? you can't boot using the cd you made? the computer is booting but gets an error during windows setup? please try to be more specific para i can answer you.
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  22. Great stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m suppressed everything including the links are working. Dude galling mo! I just finished setting up my laptop with your procedures and it worked well! The best!!!!!!thanks!!!
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  23. weeee bilis q nakuha....downgrade q na agad..
    ReplyDelete
  24. weee bilis q na downgrade....pero mahirap..hehe.. ( jap ) from: tandag 09183011736
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  25. how much ram capacity can this laptop support?
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  26. i upgraded mine to 2GB. it has 2 slots for sodimm ram so i think it could handle 3-5GB.
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  27. any issues upgrading to windows 7?
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  28. I haven't tried Windows 7. The only issues you'd have would be compatible Windows 7 drivers for all the devices.

    You can try using the drivers listed here if they'll work.
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  29. hi. i just came across your blog entry on this same laptop as mine. have you ever had blinking problems with your LCD? (in case you still have that laptop with you). i would appreciate any reply. thanks a lot.
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  30. Yes, I'm still using the laptop. It's been with me for over a year and so far, no problems. No blinking issues with the LCD. Why? It could be a factory defect or something if it started a few days after you bought it.
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  31. Hi there ....been using the same model for almost 7 mos. minus the 2 mos nasa service center dahil sa dalawang complication 1st was the defective HDD and 2nd the ODD.... upgraded to a Win7 so far ok naman siya and mabilis...instant upgrade sa 3gb ung RAM... I'm curious on what this laptop can play.
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  32. Hmmm... feedback I've been getting from Windows 7 users who also tried XP and Vista were all negative... That's why I'm still sticking with XP. Might change my mind if 7's already stable. But, thanks for sharing. :)
    ReplyDelete

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