Hello again s.d.davis !
Everst couldn't find the motherboard chipset but by looking in the vista drivers list on
Acer's website you can see that it's called mcp67m. These drivers should work :
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRA...2-101-29.shtml
The chipset drivers usually contains the video, audio and network drivers. In case those devices don't work properly we'll use the
unknown device identifier to find out more once we're in XP.
Wireless network adapter :
ftp://ftp.work.acer-euro.com/noteboo...XB62(WHQL).zip or
http://www.atheros.cz/download.php?a...007EG&system=1
Acer Crystal Eye webcam (there seems to be 2 different models, better make sure which model you have using the unknown device identifier first) :
Suyin or
Bison
Not sure about your card reader, modem and bluetooth device so we'll take care of that later.
The HTS542516K9SA00 Hitachi hard drive is a SATA drive which could cause problems if the XP CD can't recognize the SATA controller, but it seems to be using some kind of microsoft driver so let's give it a try. If the XP setup program can't find your hard drive come back here and tell us about it.
Make sure you've created the Vista recovery disks (factory default image and application backup image) before trying to install XP or you may end up with a half-working system and no way to return to Vista. Refer to the laptop's manual (you can download it from
here under technical documentation). Make sure you have another computer to connect to the internet since you won't be able to surf with your laptop until the proper network drivers are installed.
Start by downloading all the above drivers and softwares and copy them on a CD or on an external drive. Also download the installer for the antivirus program you'll use (I recommend Antivir, Avast or AVG). Use XP's default firewall for the time of the installation.
You'll need a retail XP SP2 CD (if your XP install CD doesn't have SP2 then create an XP SP2 CD by
slipstreaming the service pack in it) and your own XP product key.
Boot the laptop on the XP CD (press F2 to enter the BIOS utility and change the boot sequence to CD-rom first), press enter to setup windows now, select the partition where Vista is currently installed, format it and install XP. If you see another partition in the list it's probably a recovery partition. Don't touch it as it can come in handy should you need to restore the computer to Vista one day.
Once you're in Windows XP, start by installing the drivers for the mcp67m chipset then install the antivirus, make sure XP's firewall is on and install the wireless drivers. Tell us how it goes and if you're able to connect to the internet.
Once that's done go to the device manager (start => run => devmgmt.msc) and tell us about all the unknown devices you may have there. Use the unknown device identifier utility to find their vendor and model.