how do I remove Vista and install xp instead

[Guest]

I have seen lots of advice here for people that upgraded to Vista and then
wanted to go back to XP. My question is how do I take Vista out of a
computer that wasn't upgraded from xp at all. I bought my Dell about a week
ago with Vista already on it and I want to put use xp instead, so do I have
to wipe the hard drive completely or, just install xp and just use xp from
now on, what are my options and the best way to do it? I looked on MS
website for info. Are there any links one of you might have that I can get
help from? Thanks

 

[robert.stojanov]

I have seen lots of advice here for people that upgraded to Vista and then
wanted to go back to XP. My question is how do I take Vista out of a
computer that wasn't upgraded from xp at all. I bought my Dell about a week
ago with Vista already on it and I want to put use xp instead, so do I have
to wipe the hard drive completely or, just install xp and just use xp from
now on, what are my options and the best way to do it? I looked on MS
website for info. Are there any links one of you might have that I can get
help from? Thanks

Well first you have to know that if your Vista is an OEM and if you go
to X your license will gone, that's for sure.
To transfer to XP but your Boot CD XP and boot from it. Trough the
install process u have to choose to format the drive I assume that u
have only one drive without the partitions. Format the drive and
install the XP. This works )

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

XP cannot install to a Vista formatted volume due to minor changes in the
implementation of NTFS, so what you will need is a clean install. First,
you'll need a full version disk of XP with Product Key, then boot the system
with the CD and start setup. At the point where you choose the installation
location, delete the existing system partition/volume. Then create a new one
from the free space, format it (quick format is ok here), and proceed to
install. Some caveats:

a) All data and programs that currently exist on the drive will be erased by
the above actions. Backup data to removable media (do not use Vista's backup
program, just copy data). Programs will need to be reinstalled from their
original installation media - something you may not have with a preinstalled
system.

b) Dell will likely not support the machine in this state without downgrade
rights, and you should also check that they can supply supporting drivers
for all the hardware under XP as some of it may not be native to an XP
retail disk. Dell will likely require you to put Vista back on for any
warranty service. You may want to check with Dell to see if downgrade rights
are available to you as this would allow you to obtain an XP disk from them
that supports the machine's hardware and not invalidate the warranty.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[mikeyhsd]

first ting to do is to talk to dell on their policy on downgrading.
they may not have drivers.
they may no longer provide support.

if you are satisfied that you can proceed. here is a link to a ms article on downgrading.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=933168&SD=tech



(e-mail address removed)



I have seen lots of advice here for people that upgraded to Vista and then
wanted to go back to XP. My question is how do I take Vista out of a
computer that wasn't upgraded from xp at all. I bought my Dell about a week
ago with Vista already on it and I want to put use xp instead, so do I have
to wipe the hard drive completely or, just install xp and just use xp from
now on, what are my options and the best way to do it? I looked on MS
website for info. Are there any links one of you might have that I can get
help from? Thanks

 

[Guest]

Hi,

XP cannot install to a Vista formatted volume due to minor changes in the
implementation of NTFS, so what you will need is a clean install. First,
you'll need a full version disk of XP with Product Key, then boot the system
with the CD and start setup. At the point where you choose the installation
location, delete the existing system partition/volume. Then create a new one
from the free space, format it (quick format is ok here), and proceed to
install. Some caveats:

a) All data and programs that currently exist on the drive will be erased by
the above actions. Backup data to removable media (do not use Vista's backup
program, just copy data). Programs will need to be reinstalled from their
original installation media - something you may not have with a preinstalled
system.

b) Dell will likely not support the machine in this state without downgrade
rights, and you should also check that they can supply supporting drivers
for all the hardware under XP as some of it may not be native to an XP
retail disk. Dell will likely require you to put Vista back on for any
warranty service. You may want to check with Dell to see if downgrade rights
are available to you as this would allow you to obtain an XP disk from them
that supports the machine's hardware and not invalidate the warranty.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

Thank you for the advice, I wasn't even thinking about the warranty. I'm
glad you guys mentioned that. I love Vista, but my husband isn't sure about
it so that's why I was asking. I'd rather keep Vista on here so it's better
for me. hehe

 

[Michael Solomon]

Thank you for the advice, I wasn't even thinking about the warranty. I'm
glad you guys mentioned that. I love Vista, but my husband isn't sure
about
it so that's why I was asking. I'd rather keep Vista on here so it's
better
for me. hehe

Well, now that we have all the facts, I think you should ask your husband,
if he thinks men are smarter or otherwise superior to women, why then can he
not figure out how to use Vista when you can??? I'll bet he'll want to use
Vista too, after you put that question to him!<VBG>

 

[Guest]

hello i wonder if any body can help me.
im a student, i use a new dell inspiron 1501 with XP on it
a friend of mine gave me a copy of vista his dad had bought him and said try
it i did it installed fine appart from i had to upgrade something to grt the
little red cross over your sound thingy.
anyway obvious problem i dont have a product key, i dont really want to do
an illeagal hack and i cant afford a key so i would like to go back to the
way things where. i cant do system restore because vista loses them on
install.
i dont have an XP CD however i do have my XP product key on a sticker on the
bottom of my laptop.
how can i go back? will i lose anything?

 

[Michael Solomon]

hello i wonder if any body can help me.
im a student, i use a new dell inspiron 1501 with XP on it
a friend of mine gave me a copy of vista his dad had bought him and said
try
it i did it installed fine appart from i had to upgrade something to grt
the
little red cross over your sound thingy.
anyway obvious problem i dont have a product key, i dont really want to do
an illeagal hack and i cant afford a key so i would like to go back to the
way things where. i cant do system restore because vista loses them on
install.
i dont have an XP CD however i do have my XP product key on a sticker on
the
bottom of my laptop.
how can i go back? will i lose anything?

You can't go back without wiping your system but you can at least save your
data files to some removable media before going back. As to XP, if your
Dell didn't come with a CD, it should have come with a recovery procedure
that would restore to factory fresh condition; you'll need to check your
documentation or see if you can find information on the Dell website for the
procedure for your model.

 

[Tim]

hello i wonder if any body can help me.
im a student, i use a new dell inspiron 1501 with XP on it
a friend of mine gave me a copy of vista his dad had bought him and said try
it i did it installed fine appart from i had to upgrade something to grt the
little red cross over your sound thingy.
anyway obvious problem i dont have a product key, i dont really want to do
an illeagal hack and i cant afford a key so i would like to go back to the
way things where. i cant do system restore because vista loses them on
install.
i dont have an XP CD however i do have my XP product key on a sticker on the
bottom of my laptop.
how can i go back? will i lose anything?

You really should have started a new thread. More people will read it.

Guess you have learned a lesson about using unlicensed software. If you
knew you couldn't afford it, why did you do it in the first place?

I have purchased many Dell PCs over the years and have *always* received
Windows CDs with them. I would first check again to see if you have
tucked it away someplace "safe".

If you can't find it, contact Dell and ask if they can sell you a
replacement disk. Or perhaps you have a friend with another Dell Windows
XP PC who has not lost track of their Windows XP re-install disk. You
could borrow their CD and install using your XP product key.

Either way, you need to acquire (legally) a Dell Windows XP install disk
in case you need to re-install again at a later date.

Tim

 

[Tim]

hello i wonder if any body can help me.
im a student, i use a new dell inspiron 1501 with XP on it
a friend of mine gave me a copy of vista his dad had bought him and said try
it i did it installed fine appart from i had to upgrade something to grt the
little red cross over your sound thingy.
anyway obvious problem i dont have a product key, i dont really want to do
an illeagal hack and i cant afford a key so i would like to go back to the
way things where. i cant do system restore because vista loses them on
install.
i dont have an XP CD however i do have my XP product key on a sticker on the
bottom of my laptop.
how can i go back? will i lose anything?

....forgot to answer your last questions.

How can you go back? Find your Windows XP CD, put it in your CD-ROM
drive, boot from the CD and follow the prompts. You will want to format
the partition and install a "clean" copy of Windows. If you need more
extensive instructions, Google it...there are plenty of "how-to" web
sites that even include screen shots of the entire process. Something
tells me you will need that.

By "anything" I assume you mean your data (documents, music, pictures,
etc.). No, you will not lose anything as long as you backup said data to
some external device (USB external hard drive or CD) *prior* to
installing Windows XP. If you do not backup your data, then, yes, you
will lose everything.

Tim

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

As long as you have a windows.old folder containing the original XP install,
then you can use the procedure described here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168

Without it, there is no way back without starting clean with an XP CD and
Product Key.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

Thank you for the advice, I wasn't even thinking about the warranty.
I'm glad you guys mentioned that. I love Vista, but my husband isn't
sure about it so that's why I was asking. I'd rather keep Vista on
here so it's better for me. hehe

If it is just the newer GUI that he doesn't like or feel comfortable with he
can always "dumb down" the visual effects so that Vista has the appearance
of the old Win98 GUI by selecting the "Classic theme", he can do the same to
the taskbar/start menu as well.

 

[John Barnes]

Follow Rick's advice and if you don't have the .old folder, you may have a
recovery partition or recovery disk instead of an XP CD. Make sure if you
go that route that you back up all your data that you want to save to a
secure place. You will have to reinstall all your programs. A recovery
disk can usually be purchased from the manufacturer for a nominal price if
you have wiped the recovery partition and didn't make the CD initially as
usually recommended.

 

[Guest]

I told him about the warranty thing and so he said no way. He doesn't want to
mess with that and he said he's getting more used to it the more he uses it.
But I will also tell him about changing it to look like 98. Can you also make
it look like xp too though?

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

I told him about the warranty thing and so he said no way. He doesn't
want to mess with that and he said he's getting more used to it the
more he uses it. But I will also tell him about changing it to look
like 98. Can you also make it look like xp too though?

SNIP SNIP

I am afraid not you either have Vista, Vista Aero or Classic (Win98) unless
you can find third party theme that suits your needs. Look at
http://www.vista-skins.com/
http://www.myvistathemes.com/
http://www.vistastyles.org/

If you Google for " Vista Themes " you will get over 2 Million hits, so
there are a few chioces.