Re: Edward Mendelson on Tamedos

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "Avrom Fischer"  on
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:51:23 -0400

Dual booting is very awkward. Installing a different graphics
driver (for XP) is not rocket science. If you don't like it,
you re-install the Win7 driver. Dell probably makes it absurdly
easy.

Click Start button ==> Run ==> devmgmt.msc ==> Display Adapters.
This should tell you which graphics adapter you have in your PC.
Then go to Dell's support site ==> Downloads and Drivers (or
something like that), enter your PC model number and maybe
serial number, and look for a graphics driver among the
available downloads. Indicate that your OpSys is WinXP, not
Win7. It may (or may not) reference the name of your actual
graphics adapter (which is why you found out what it is).
Download the latest graphics driver package for XP (an EXE
package rather than a ZIP package, if possible). Then ALSO
download the latest driver package for Win7, so you can revert
if you want to.

Install the XP driver (run the package, and follow instructions
-- there will probably be a warning that the XP driver is older
than the currently-installed driver, just click the "duh" or "so
what" button), then reboot. Everything will look the same,
except that now, when you start a DOS command line session, or
you start XyWrite (or WP), if you Alt-Enter you'll toggle into
real full-screen.

The only potential wrinkle is that Dell declines to let you do
it, because it queries your current operating system and detects
a mismatch. I've never seen that myself, but I'm told it can
happen sometimes. In which case, nothing ventured, nothing
gained, and certainly nothing lost...

Now, I probably should hasten to add that if you don't
understand these guidelines, or you are uneasy, or anything,
then don't do it. But if you think setting up a dual boot
system is easier, or less technical, boy! think again. It's a
bear.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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