I recently purchased a dell Inspiron computer with Windows Vista. My dell printer won't work with Vista and several of the 'help progs' given by my server-AOL-are unavailable. I would dearly love to reinstall Windows XP and have even purchased said software but am apprehensive as to whether the XP will negate Windows Vista(which I hope it will!) I'm beginning to realise it's not just a matter of loading XP software. Can anyone help? I can play fun trivia on my computer but a technology expert I'm not!
Very grateful for any advice.

Not sure about the 'help progs' part but it could be that you just need to install the correct Vista driver for the printer. This may be on the printer installation disk supplied with the printer. If it isn't, go to Dell's site and look for the 'Support' or 'Driver downloads' section and find the driver. If you have difficulty with this, post the model number of the printer here.

If you really want to go back to XP and have a full installation disk, it would be a case of putting the XP installation CD into the CD drive and then starting the computer. This will start the installation process. It could be that you'd first need to go into the computer's BIOS settings and change the boot sequence for this to happen.

The installation process will format the hard drive (wiping out Vista) and then start installing the XP operating system. However, when XP is up and running, it would still be necessary to install the printer on the system using the appropriate driver. This usually needs doing whatever the printer or operating system. Windows 7 may be better at running printers without the need to install an additional driver but I think Vista and XP will always need it doing as an extra.

My own inclination would be to persist in getting Vista working properly, rather than go back to XP. If the above seems a more involved than you are prepared to go, perhaps consider seeking local help, or take the computer and printer to the shop where the computer was bought and ask for their help.

Edit: Typo

Thank you for your advice. I had installed the printer on my new computer and kept getting an error message. Contacted Dell-was put through to some people called Yoyo who said they'd make my printer compatible with the comp online for a fee of £79.I declined! I had paid £100 for extended warrantry but apparently it doesn't cover that. Still trying to find something it covers!I'll install xp as I am also unable to download updates for windows vista. Needless to say I will not be buying any more Dell products in the future.
Thank you once more for your quick reply and knowhow.

Sorry to read that you're still experiencing problems. Just before you give up on Vista, do you have any computer knowledgeable friends who could help?

A question about the XP disk that you have. Has it been previously installed on any other computer?

No. The XP is brand new.I've tried to download what windows says is important for vista ie Vista sp2 but my computer just won't install it. Each time it has been unsucessful.

Fine about the disk. The only reason I asked was because some try to transfer an OEM installation disk from one computer to another. An OEM XP installation disk is tied to the computer it came with and isn't transferable. If it had been installed elsewhere, it might have lead to problems with activation and WGA checks. Just a thought that might have saved you some trouble. It doesn't apply though.

I recently had the same problem - my computer was no longer compatible with my old printer. It was an Epson and they had the new software on their site. It was as easy as even for a tech dunce like me. Can you google your computer type and see if anyone else may have fixed the problem?

I'm sorry that you're having problems with your Dell computer and Vista. I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1420 last year with Vista and hated it for the first few months. I was able to download for my printer, though, so I can understand that would be a problem. If you can get your printer to download, I think that you'll really like Vista.

Well, Windows 7 is coming out in a month or so...

That's true. The trouble is that the 22nd of October (Windows 7 release) is the date given for a possible postal strike here. If it goes ahead, I might not get my pre-ordered copies of Windows 7 quite as soon as I'd hoped.