How do I go back to the original version of Vista from Ultimate?

[Arpad]

I made a mistake of trying to upgrade to the Ultimate version of Vista. The
laptop came with the basic version. I thought I had three licenses available.
I only had one and I already used it. Now I cannot use the laptop at all. I
do not need the Ultimate version so I do not want to pay for another license.
Vista now only allows me to select one of the many choices of purchasing a
license. Is there a way to get rid of the Ultimate version and go back to the
original one? Can I do that without loosing the data I have on the HD?
Thank you in advance

 

[Malke]

I made a mistake of trying to upgrade to the Ultimate version of Vista.
The laptop came with the basic version. I thought I had three licenses
available. I only had one and I already used it. Now I cannot use the
laptop at all. I do not need the Ultimate version so I do not want to pay
for another license. Vista now only allows me to select one of the many
choices of purchasing a license. Is there a way to get rid of the Ultimate
version and go back to the original one? Can I do that without loosing the
data I have on the HD? Thank you in advance

AFAIK you can't go back without doing a clean install. Back up your data and
restore your laptop to factory condition. Refer to the laptop manual or the
laptop mftr.'s tech support website for how to do that on your specific
model laptop.

Malke