Re: XP Upgrade

Bill Martin wrote:
If I buy a retail XP upgrade box, can I apply it to "upgrade" a Vista machine? Or does Microsoft prevent that from working?



No, of course not. Transitioning from a current OS to an older OS is a *downgrade*, and, to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come up with a way to do that, short of formatting the partition and starting from scratch. You'll need to obtain a full version of WinXP.

However, there could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of which you should be aware. First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an OEM-installed operating system and replacing it with another will almost invariably void any and all support agreements and, sometimes, even the warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there may be the additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new computer. (An OEM CD and license from some previous computer will not do, for legal and usually technical reasons.)

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.


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Bruce Chambers

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: installing xp over vista
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    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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    ... First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work properly. ... It may very well be the WinXP installation CD doesn't include drivers to support your specific IDE or SATA controller. ... After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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