Re: Install XP on a Vista laptop?


"VanguardLH" <V@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:HdmdnVKJa8EDf8vVnZ2dnUVZ_gqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"VanguardLH" wrote in
<news:hMadnTEhjLyrfcvVnZ2dnUVZ_rvinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>:

"JMF" wrote in <news:#v0lkQ7zIHA.3968@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

I bought XP Pro for my desktop.

Now I'm in the market for a new laptop. The new laptops seem only to
have
Vista on them.

I'm curious about removing the OEM Vista and replacing it with my XP Pro
that I bought.

That means you will have to wipe Windows XP Pro from your desktop since
you only have 1 license of it to have it installed on 1 computer.

That raises two questions:

- am I allowed to take the XP Pro that I bought and also install it on
my
laptop?

No ... however ...

If and only if you have the Ultimate or Business version of Vista OEM on
your new laptop, you have downgrade rights to install Windows XP. How
you downgrade depends from whom you got the OEM version of Vista on your
laptop. If it is a generic OEM version, one process that I've seen
mentioned is to do the Windows XP install (format the OS partition and
install a fresh copy of XP) and then activate but use the phone number
to call a Microsoft rep by giving them the Vista product key for which
they will give you back a product code to activate the XP install.
Otherwise, you have to contact whomever is the OEM for whatever brand of
laptop that you got to ask them how to downgrade.

- what kind of trouble am I asking for (and I'm sure there is trouble,
ranging from "some" to "plenty") by replacing the original OEM Vista
with XP
Pro?

None if you follow their licensing.

Just to clarify: you have 2 Windows licenses. One will be used by your
desktop (Windows XP). The other license is the Vista license (which you
can use to downgrade to Windows XP). So you are allowed to use the
Windows XP installation media on the laptop but you are NOT using its
license there. Instead you are converting your Vista license via
downgrade rights to a Windows XP license.

Be aware that some laptop manufacturers don't provide Windows XP drivers
for their hardware. They may have designed their laptop to be usable
with Windows Vista and they only supply Windows Vista drivers. This can
result in losing hardware usability or some of its functionality when
you downgrade to Windows XP. You need to check if the laptop's hardware
has Windows XP drivers for it all.

Thanks, VanguardLH. Now I think I recognize what you're referring to from
the Dell Computer site, where they seem to talk about the "XP Downgrade."
Now I see how the licensing system works. I'm sure (well, not sure, but it
would be pretty bad if it wasn't true ...) that if a manufacturer offers the
downgrade then they must offer the drivers.

Thanks again,

John


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Retrofitting XP on Dell
    ... Vista Home Premium. ... He would like to have Windows XP Pro or Home. ... However Dell have many XP driver downloads for his laptop, so the driver part of the problem is probably OK. ...
    (comp.sys.laptops)
  • Activation Error
    ... I have been running Vista for a little while now. ... I started to look into it and realized my copy of Windows ... Validation Status: Invalid License ... Download unsigned ActiveX controls: Disabled ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup)
  • Re: Additional Windows Vista License
    ... If you installed Vista from a CD that shipped with your laptop in a VM, you will not be able to activate it period, your license doesn't allow it to be installed in a VM, only on the computer it shipped with. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.general)
  • Re: XP home -> Pro
    ... The OEM Windows XP Professional license that was preinstalled on your stolen ... laptop is non-transferable to a different computer. ... While running Windows XP Home, insert the Windows XP Pro CD in the drive and select ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: XP and Vista
    ... My laptop was pre-loaded with Vista Home Basic. ... you're in violation of your OEM license agreement. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup)