Vista Nub here

I am very new to vista, and i hate it to be honest. But I have downloaded steam and installed HL2 and CSS onto a vista computer. Every time i start either one up it goes through the opening scene and ten closes and gives me a Valve engine error. I have ran HL2 through "Can You Run IT" and it said that I passed both min and recommended, so I know the lappy can handle it. does anyonehave any suggestions?

Run it through administrator.

Is it possible to switch my computer from Vista to XP?

If it was XP originally and you still have the Windows disc or a backup then you can just reinstall Windows XP over it. It will, of course, wipe everything off the computer.

i have vista and i love it. the best computer i ever had.

If it was XP originally and you still have the Windows disc or a backup then you can just reinstall Windows XP over it. It will, of course, wipe everything off the computer.

But if it was built on Vista? Could I move all my files onto my external hard drive and then somehow switch it?

Depends on if the XP drivers needed for your hardware are available. On laptops that can be a bit iffy.. but on desktops you can almost always install XP.

lol vista

create a partition, install virtual machine.

that way you have the best of both worlds.

A bit of heaven and hell

I am very new to vista, and i hate it to be honest. But I have downloaded steam and installed HL2 and CSS onto a vista computer. Every time i start either one up it goes through the opening scene and ten closes and gives me a Valve engine error. I have ran HL2 through "Can You Run IT" and it said that I passed both min and recommended, so I know the lappy can handle it. does anyonehave any suggestions?

specs?