Need help with Motherboard related Vista OS problem
I have a HP m8000y Media Center PC with a DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2400 MHz & a Asus P5BW-LA Motherboard
(I have attached further information relating to the Motherboard and CPU)
This came with an OEM copy of Vista Home Premium.
I upgraded that to Vista Ultimate through Windows Anytime Upgrade so I still do not have a bootable Vista DVD.
I created a partition to install XP but when that did not work I was told that I have to install Chipset drivers so that the Motherboard would be able to recognize/read XP files, etc.
I went to Intel and asked for help.
They directed me to download some information and instructions regarding this.
(I have attached relative portions of what I received)
When I asked them what Chipset drivers that I need to install XP on this machine, they asked me for my Motherboard ID & the Prod #.
I opened my Everest program, copied that information and passed it on to Intel, which is; Motherboard ID: OEM00000 PROD00000000
They told me that since this was an OEM Motherboard that I had to get the drivers that I need from the computer manufacturer.
I told HP this and they sent me 4 drivers (Chipset, LAN, Audio & Video) but after I installed them, the computer crashed.
When I rebooted, I noticed that my Ultimate OS was not operating correctly.
I tried rebooting using "Last Known Good Configuration" but that changed nothing.
So, after several tries, I (after backing up all of my files), inserted the factory System Recovery discs and started again from scratch.
When I told HP that the drivers that they sent had caused unrecoverable malfuctions, that said that they were sorry but since I have upgraded the OS to a retail version that they would no longer provide me with their Help & Support.
When I told them that I was forced to remove Ultimate and restore the system to it's original OEM Home Premium they said that XP has all of the drivers to run that software. (an attempt to redirect)
When I told them that this was not the issue and that I need to know whom I need to speak with there about getting the appropriate drivers for this OEM Motherboard, they gave me no meaningful directions or solutions.
So after I found out that, Intel can't help me and the people at HP Help and Support won't, I began looking for alternative solutions.
I was told, within another posting here, that installing a second hard drive (a Personal Media Drive) might allow me to run my XP okay from there.
However, I was also told, by someone else, that since the Motherboard controls/runs all of the drives that it still needs to have the appropriate Chipset drivers to run XP on this machine.
I have 2 websites that I have had to suspend (for 3 months now) because my hardware peripherals and the majority of my software does not work with Vista.
Being a layman with much of computer technology, I am confused and really at a loss for what I need to do to resolve this.
Can anyone help?
With appreciation,
Charles
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