I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
something useful?

You'll need to contact the manufacturer of your laptop and see
if they have Windows XP drivers available for your laptop's
hardware. If they do, then you need to purchase a full version
of Windows XP, reformat your hard drive, install Windows XP,
then install the laptop manufacturer's Windows XP drivers.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"nemo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:9cb4740e-bce7-479a-bba4-(E-Mail Removed)...
I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
something useful?

On Thu, 9 Oct 2008 06:42:30 -0700 (PDT), nemo <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> something useful?


Bear in mind that to do that, you need XP drivers for your hardware.
Particularly with a laptop, they are very often not available. Before
trying to do this, check with its manufacturer to find out if the
drivers exist.

Assuming that they exist, how do you get a copy of XP for *this*
machine. The same way you get one for any machine. You buy one. Yes,
you can still buy it.

Also note that downgrading is not possible. If you install XP, you
have to install it cleanly, losing everything that's on the machine.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

"nemo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:9cb4740e-bce7-479a-bba4-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> something useful?

Since the Vista Home Premium license does not provide for downgrade
rights like the Vista Business and Ultimate licenses do, you'll have to
purchase a copy of XP (if you can find one). But first, you need to
make sure the laptop manufacturer has XP drivers available for your
model, otherwise you are out of luck entirely.

--
Zaphod

Arthur: All my life I've had this strange feeling that there's something
big and sinister going on in the world.
Slartibartfast: No, that's perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the
universe gets that.

"nemo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:9cb4740e-bce7-479a-bba4-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> something useful?

You may well be looking for trouble if you try to change operating systems.
In my limited experience, computers are designed around an operating system
(not the other way around). Note that if you do instal XP, your warranty
might be voided.

Please tell us in detail why you are "not impressed" with Vista and how it
gets in the way of your work.

I've actually come to like Vista (on machines with enough resources to run
it). There are a lot of tweeks on Vista to customize it.

Get back to us.

"its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "nemo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:9cb4740e-bce7-479a-bba4-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
>> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
>> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
>> something useful?
>
> You may well be looking for trouble if you try to change operating
> systems. In my limited experience, computers are designed around an
> operating system (not the other way around). Note that if you do instal
> XP, your warranty might be voided.
>
> Please tell us in detail why you are "not impressed" with Vista and how it
> gets in the way of your work.
>
> I've actually come to like Vista (on machines with enough resources to run
> it). There are a lot of tweeks on Vista to customize it.
>
> Get back to us.
>
>
>


Your hardware warranty will not be void.
That is an insane myth that just won't go away.

They will only "support" the OS that was pre-installed.
If you buy a PC with Vista on it...they won't answer XP problems.

--
Ens causa sui
Fit caedes omnibus locis

You'll need to actually buy a retail copy of XP. However, having said that I
would contact the PC manufacturer's technical support to make sure that XP
drivers are available for 'all' the hardware on your PC. It is pointless
wasting more money on XP (assuming you can get a copy) if there are no XP
drivers for your hardware. Better to find out first before spending any more
cash.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"nemo" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:9cb4740e-bce7-479a-bba4-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> something useful?

nemo wrote:
> I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> something useful?

Take the lap top back and get your money back. Then get a laptop from
someone like Dell that offers XP.

Alias

On Oct 9, 11:15*am, Alias <iamal...@gmailREMOVE.com> wrote:
> nemo wrote:
> > I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. *I'm not
> > impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. *So how do I get
> > a copy of XP to put on this machine? *How do I "downgrade" to
> > something useful?
>
> Take the lap top back and get your money back. Then get a laptop from
> someone like Dell that offers XP.

Dell doesn't offer XP any more. I was about to buy a Dell laptop a
couple of months ago and they said they would not be selling XP after
two days. He described what a zoo it was there with all the ordering
going on and the long lead times so I decided to opt out of a Dell.
Besides, I got a lot more laptop in a 17" Toshiba at a much lower
price.

Now, to get XP from Dell you have to buy Vista Premium which cost an
extra hundred bucks more!

At this point I am thinking of finding a friend who has an OEM copy of
XP. Then MS will have already gotten their money from me for running
their OS on this machine and I will get what I want.

If you don't have the time to learn Vista, then you might be better off
selling your Vista machine and buying an XP machine on Ebay. Putting XP on a
machine that was designed for Vista may cause more problems than you have now.
--
oscar

....Right click is your very good friend...


"nemo" wrote:

> On Oct 9, 11:15 am, Alias <iamal...@gmailREMOVE.com> wrote:
> > nemo wrote:
> > > I bought a laptop that came with Vista Home Premium. I'm not
> > > impressed and it really gets in the way with my work. So how do I get
> > > a copy of XP to put on this machine? How do I "downgrade" to
> > > something useful?
> >
> > Take the lap top back and get your money back. Then get a laptop from
> > someone like Dell that offers XP.
>
> Dell doesn't offer XP any more. I was about to buy a Dell laptop a
> couple of months ago and they said they would not be selling XP after
> two days. He described what a zoo it was there with all the ordering
> going on and the long lead times so I decided to opt out of a Dell.
> Besides, I got a lot more laptop in a 17" Toshiba at a much lower
> price.
>
> Now, to get XP from Dell you have to buy Vista Premium which cost an
> extra hundred bucks more!
>
> At this point I am thinking of finding a friend who has an OEM copy of
> XP. Then MS will have already gotten their money from me for running
> their OS on this machine and I will get what I want.
>