Fresh Install Windows XP on HP Pavilion DV6500

NOTE: I found a website that goes through every driver you need and gives you great detail in every step of this process:
http://www.nogodforme.com/HPDV6500T.htm

I just bought a new HP Pavilion DV6500 laptop. It came with Windows Vista Home Premium (I would've preferred Windows XP, but it wasn't an option). I tried Vista for a while and I never really came to like it. It was slow and really not all that impressive, so I decided to downgrade to XP Media Center.

SIDENOTE:
Before I downgraded I tried to install Ubuntu on my new laptop. I put the Live CD in and tried to run it, but it just kept running into problems. After trying many workarounds that I read about it still wasn't working, so I tried another method. I created the partitions with GParted and installed Ubuntu with the Alternate CD. It installed but would not boot correctly. After that I was frustrated so I deleted the Ubuntu partitions from within Vista. That was a mistake because that was where GRUB was located, so I couldn't boot Vista anymore. Not a big deal because I was downgrading anyway.

Continuing on: when I inserted the Windows install CD I had procured, it would load up when I booted, but then it kept telling me that it couldn't detect my harddrive. After reading about this, I found out the Windows CD didn't contain the correct driver to let it recognize my SATA hard drive. Here is my fix:

1. Download nLite from the internet
2. Download your SATA driver from your computer manufacturer (for HP Pavilion DV2500, DV6500 and DV9500 you can download from this website)
3. Open nLite and point it to the DVD drive your Windows CD is in
4. In the nLite options click the add driver option
5. Unzip the driver you downloaded (if it was compressed)
6. Point it to the driver you downloaded when asked (for the computers I mentioned earlier, point it to the iaahci.inf file)
7. Create your new .iso file in nLite
8. Burn your .iso file to a blank DVD (you can use ImgBurn to burn it)
9. Boot your computer from the DVD and it should work!

Helpful Websites:

http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windows/t-85807-HP-Pavilion-dv6565ca-HD-SATA-driver.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml

My Life

Being an engineering student takes up the majority of my time, but with my free time I find interesting things to do.

I recently bought a hamster from a local pet store. I named her Bear, after Bear Grylls of course. She has a small cage and an incredibly loud wheel that she runs on for hours every night. I'm going to add onto her cage soon, and get a much quieter wheel.

I watch two shows on TV that i "DVR." The first one is Entourage, which I think is about the greatest show ever. Watching an episode of that never fails to make me laugh. All of the characters in that show are just awesome. The second is Man vs. Wild. I think Bear Grylls is "The Man" and watching that show just makes me want to go hiking in some remote forest or something. I do think that show can be a little dramatic sometimes, but it makes it more interesting to watch.

After trying Ubuntu(Edgy) about 5 months ago, I fell in love with Ubuntu Linux. It is much more user-friendly, and it just amazes me. I think it is so cool, how so many people donate their time and make an awesome operating system that is free. When I updated to Feisty Fawn, I was even more amazed with Ubuntu. Feisty had tons of upgrades that made Ubuntu a ton better. I can't wait for Gutsy to be released to see how much more Ubuntu evolves. I am going to buy a laptop soon, and I am thinking about getting a Dell that comes preloaded with Ubuntu, just to show my support(even though I would probably get a Dell anyway).

I just recently bought a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet from Buy.com for $140. I read mixed reviews about it, but I thought it was cool how it ran a Linux operating system(called Maemo). The 770 has turned out to be pretty fun. I haven't had any major problems with it, besides memory(which I am in the process of fixing) since it comes with so little on it. The 770 is great to play with, and since it runs Linux, it can do about anything you want it to. I will write a full review about it later.

At school, we have wireless internet in all of the buildings, but they require you to use software called Odyssey, which, of course, is only available for Windows. I emailed our tech staff and asked them why I couldn't get on with a Linux operating system. They pointed me to a U of L wiki written by an engineering student that gives exact directions on how to use the wireless at school is you're running Linux. I was amazed and excited, but I am currently trying to figure out how to do that using my 770.

These were all just random things going through my mind.

First Post

To start off this first post I just wanted to say a little about myself. I am a student at the University of Louisville and I am a Mechanical Engineer. I am taking classes this summer, so those take up most of my time, but I do get to do other things. This blog will mostly contain random thoughts I have and I will also describe my adventures with gadgets/electronics/programs. I love electronics and computers. They amaze me.

I have recently been flashing my two routers(a WRT54G and a WRT54GL) with DD-WRT and then I set them up as a WDS so that I don't have to mess with wireless on my desktop computer. I just plug it into the router in my room, and I get internet from the other router in the living room. DD-WRT gives you tons more options on your router than stock firmware and it was really easy to flash on there with the vast amount of tutorials out there. I bought a TREDnet wireless router on Buy.com a week ago for only $10 and I would love to flash DD-WRT on there, but I don't think that is possible. Bummer.

I have installed Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn as my operating system of choice on my computer. Windows now only starts occasionally, when I have a specific need for it(which is rare). Ubuntu is an amazing operating system. Although there are problems with it, such as sometimes being more complicated than Windows, I love using it. I am attempting to learn how to use the terminal to get things done in Ubuntu. I installed Maple 10 on it today with a few problems, but nothing that a quick search on the internet couldn't fix. I visit ubuntu.com about everyday to read up on tweaks and ways to have Ubuntu run the way I want it to. I would love to actually contribute to Ubuntu, but I definitely don't have the programming know-how to do any good. I know there are other ways to contribute, and I am going to look into those. I think open-source software is a great thing and it greatly helps us to move forward in software development, since some corporate software developers don't always put out a high-quality product, so open-source gives a good alternative. Plus it's free!

Just as an afterthought, I was browsing the internet yesterday looking for a suitable background for my Ubuntu desktop, when I came across the perfect image. It describes my exact feelings. Ubuntu Calvin pissing on Windows.


This makes me want to design some Ubuntu art, even though I am not artistically inclined at all. I'm sure Gimp can assist me in my efforts.