He'll have to buy xp and then he can format the drive and install xp or he can dual boot the two. Here's a guide to dual booting vista and xp.

It sounds like it may be a heat issue.The lap top can get really hot if not dangerously hot. Have the computer guy check and see if the fan for the CPU is working properly.

Yes he can do either a dual boot with vista and xp on the pc by having a partition created on the hard drive to put the xp on, or he can wipe vista off and put just xp on, or overlay xp over vista as a downgrade, the only problem that can occur is that you need drivers but that shouldn't be that difficult to take care of by a professional if they know what they are doing.

Now if you do not currently have a copy of xp that can be legally put on that pc you would need to purchase one, they are still available if you search around but MS did stop putting it out for sale recently so if he wants a copy he should get one soon. If you take it to a shop that is licensed to install windows they can install it for you from their discs.

But in short yes it is possible in fact many pc's are not available brand new with vista loaded on them but with xp as an option to "downgrade".
Let me caution however that I would never expect a lay person to take on this task, it needs to be done by someone with OS install and partition knowledge.
Here is the step by step instructions on how to dual boot vista and xp.
Dual Boot Vista and XP with Vista already installed
some sources tell you that a partition program has to be purchased to use but that is not true I use the free open source Gparted or Qparted, they come on every free linux live cd or you can get it here.
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
and a really easy old school method of taking care of the boot loader:
to remove any boot loader boot a win98se boot floppy or CD and get a dos prompt then do:
fdisk /mbr Done!

IT is actually easier if it were to have xp installed first then put the vista on but it can be done. I know all this is just geek to you but just to help you see that it is possible so if someone is telling you it isn't move on to someone else!

one thing I would absolutely do before you change anything is go get the free belarc advisor tool, install it and let it run, it will then give you a full list of everything on your pc make a hard copy because should you need that info later to say look for drivers etc you will have it all handy.
Belarc'

To get rid of vista and downgrade to xp here is a google search result for that one.
Vista to XP

Hi. I am so relieved to hear that this can be done - by the right professional - which probably isn't the guy we use (although he has a great reputation locally - his wishy-washiness about this concerns me). We do have the name of another professional who is highly regarded. Unfortunately - both these guys are out of the country til August (I think both at the same computer training program).

Daylilydazed - are you thinking that the computer just shutting off is an overheating issue? Thanks for the tip to have the fan checked. I do know that my husband keeps the laptop on the coffee table and reaches over (not great for the back, but better for the lap and laptop).

Raven- wow are you knowledgeable - and generous with your time to explain things. True - I can't quite grasp what you are saying - but it is clear that this is doable - and what you write should be clear to the right computer tech guy. I think when we interview? computer guys, I might run this by them (or have it in my hand so I can see if what they say corresponds). And I'll have my husband run Belarc' - that's something I never even heard of.

also good to know that we better scramble to find XP.

Bob - I'm not really sure what the pros and cons of a dual boot are. Is there any reason he's want to keep the Vista on? Is there a risk in removing it - or is the thought that Vista is a preferable operating system for some tasks?

Thanks.
Lynn.

If the computer shuts down under Vista what assurance does hubby have that this issue will not repeat itself with XP loaded? None! You need to find out why the machine quits, Daylilly is probably right in that it could be a heat issue. Does he have the laptop on his lap or a thicker tablecloth thus preventing the cooling system to work efficiently?

Dual booting was a wonderfully novel idea in the days of Win 95 & Win 98 but the fun soon wears off. Every time you boot there is a need to select the operating system or walk away during the 30 second count down.

Perhaps it needs a simple change of mindset regarding Vista. It is not that difficult a system to use in my mind and sooner or later everyone will need to go to it or it's replacement because XP machines will be too obsolete. After a year he should be modestly comfortable with the computer. Cure the shut downs and move ahead rather than an expensive retreat.

Hi, Owbist. I had just finished showing my husband the earlier responses and I said that there was somebody else very knowledgable here (you) who would probably also provide useful feedback.

I appreciate the perspective about changing his mindset regarding Vista. I misunderstand before what my husband meant when he said his computer shut down in the middle of things. The computer itself is not shutting down. It is whatever program/file etc. he is working on that shuts down in the middle while Windows automatically updates itself. And he loses whatever he was working on (emails, word files, etc). This doesn't seem to be an overheating issue after all. But this seems like a pretty screwed up way for his computer to handle automatic updates. Is that a Vista feature (which he seems to think)? I know there is a way to prevent automatic updating (which I did in order to avoid the automatic XP SP3 update). But I haven't gotten so far as to know how to see what updates are available. I thought my computer would automatically alert me - but nothing this week (maybe there have been no updates this week). Should my husband set his computer to not automatically update - but just notify him of available updates - and then he can install when it's convenient? Would that solve his problem? With my XP I was getting automatic updates but it never shut down my work in the middle in order to do it. Is this an aspect of Vista - or his computer setting?

Thanks.
Lynn.

There's nothing wrong with Vista and I think you should look a little deeper for your problem.

I went with my girlfriend last week and she purchased a Toshiba Satellite laptop with Vista Home Basic Edition, 2GB RAM, 200GB Hard drive.
First thing I did was remove Norton 360 through control panal/uninstall and then install AVG Anti-Virus.
She wanted Photoshop installed, no problem.
Next was Microsoft Office 2007, started installing and bam computer shuts down completely.
I think heat, you know that they are always warm on the bottom, but no as long as there is a little clearance on the bottom for air, they'll run for hours and days on end.
Decided to uninstall the trial of the preinstalled Student Microsoft Office thinking there was a conflict with the Pro version I was trying to install, went to control panel/uninstall and tried to remove the student version, bam again computer shuts down completely.
Did a search on the internet for vista shuts down and the best info I could find was that it's programs running in the background causing conflicts.
I remembered the Norton Removal Tool and downloaded, ran and removed all traces.
Went to msconfig and took a look at the programs running at startup and thus running in the background, installed CCleaner ccsetup209_slim.exe, my preferred tool (Tools/Startup) for disabling startup and unnecessary programs from running in the background.
After that Microsoft Office installed perfect and the machine has never shutdown again.
Next time I have the laptop, all the bundled software is coming off, who needs it.
So what I'm saying is that there is a conflict with a program that's running in the background and whatever you're doing at the time the machine shuts down.

Duel boot is fine, you'll need an XP disk, $100 or less.
Make a separate partition to install it on.
Really very simple, less than an hour if you know what your doing.
With a duel boot, you're given the choice or either booting into XP or Vista or set one as the default.

I have both, doesn't matter which I use, both perform equally.
First thing I'd do is remove all the bundled software that came with the machine that you don't need, especially Norton that comes preinstalled with the Toshiba Satellite and get a good Anti-Virus program.
You should also have Vista Service Pack 1 installed by now.

Just to add, go to Toshiba.com or Toshiba.ca>Mobile computing>Support find your model and get all the XP drivers, utilities, common modules before you start and burn them to a CD. If he his bound and determined to go with XP, I would go the dual boot method until at least he is sure that everything is working perfectly with XP. Also, if he hasnt done so yet, make sure that the restore CD/DVDs have been made for Vista. Instructions should be in the user manual if the laptop did not come with restore CD's(How to create restore CD's)

First and foremost, Protools HD 7.4 is NOT compatible with Vista yet. The LE and M-Powered version is.

The very first thing someone wanting to dual boot a Vista pre-installed system with XP should do is make sure that all the drivers are available. Contrary to popular belief, not all are. New laptops may not have XP SATA controller drivers available and that might prevent it from recognizing the hard drive when trying to set up XP. Check with Toshiba.

It would be beneficial if you have the Vista install DVD. If your system has the restore information preloaded on a separate partition only it may make setting up the dual boot more difficult. Installing XP on a system with Vista will cause XP to overwrite the Vista boot information with its own boot.ini which Vista does not use. You will want the Vista DVD to repair its boot information after installing XP.

You should also know whether or not wiping out Vista and installing XP or setting up a dual boot system will void your manufacturers warranty.

One good way of determining whether or not your 'computer guy' knows what he is doing for sure is to check if he has a Microsoft Systems Certified Engineer (MSCE) certification. It's not a necessity but may give you piece of mind.

Just a quick thanks for all the additional info (I have to take my daugher and her friend to the pool).

Klaa - I am so thrilled to find someone who knows about Protools. I got him the LE version- which should work with Vista (although in May digidesign wouldn't swear to it - but suggested there would be no problem). As my husband gets up and running a bit, he may have specific Protools LE- Vista questions. Any other wisdom you have about that before he gets started would be much appreciated.

I think we will try this other highly recommended computer guy - also out of the country for 2 weeks - and have him try to fix the issues that cause the computer programs to shutdown midstream. Then maybe my husband can proceed to load the Protools LE and start learning it.

Thanks everyone.
Lynn.

I noticed you said that the program shuts off, not the computer itself, for windows updates. It might be a very good idea to disable the automatic updates and go get them manually, when he has the time to do that and see if that makes a difference. If that is all it is, he wouldnt have to do a thing to the puter, but use it. Good Luck :-)Cat