Can I "upgrade" Vista to XP Pro using XP Pro Upgrade package

[ggull]

I have an unopened XP Pro Upgrade package I got long ago for a project but
never used.

Is there some way I can take a new over-the-counter desktop with Vista, and
convert it to XP Pro using this disc? (Or laptop for that matter.)

On a related note, is there anything suspicious, any real gotchas, about the
super-cheap XP Pro full version offers that come with a disclaimer like:
"...you are purchasing the software that does NOT include any COA label or a
sticker from the manufacturer & comes on a CD ,There is no technical support
provided by the software manufacturer. You can still get automatic updates.
You will receive the Full version on CD & a volume license key number
only..."

 

[Tom [Pepper] Willett]

Of course it's suspicious. Blatant pirated copy, where the volume license
key will most likely not work.

:
: On a related note, is there anything suspicious, any real gotchas, about
the
: super-cheap XP Pro full version offers that come with a disclaimer like:
: "...you are purchasing the software that does NOT include any COA label or
a
: sticker from the manufacturer & comes on a CD ,There is no technical
support
: provided by the software manufacturer. You can still get automatic
updates.
: You will receive the Full version on CD & a volume license key number
: only..."
:
:

 

[John John (MVP)]

No, Vista cannot be "downgraded" to Windows XP. You will have to
install XP cleanly and you will need a cd from a previous Windows
version to be able to cleanly install XP. As for the software without a
COA label you are purchasing XP without a license, you would not be able
to activate this software, the VLK is probably bogus, especially if it
is sold as a single key product, VLK licensing is meant to be used by
users who have to install or upgrade Windows on many pc's, these aren't
meant to be sold individually or for users who have just a few pc's to
upgrade, it smells fishy.

John

 

[VanguardLH]

"...you are purchasing the software that does NOT include any COA label or a
sticker from the manufacturer & comes on a CD ,There is no technical support
provided by the software manufacturer. You can still get automatic updates.
You will receive the Full version on CD & a volume license key number
only..."

That is an illegal sale. Someone is slicing up a volume license. All
licenses withing a volume license are to be use within the same
organization that purchased the volume license. If this is an eBay
seller, report them to eBay for pirating software (same if they are
using Craigslist or some other online auction or sales site). If this
is their site then report them to their domain's registrar and to their
upstream provider.

 

[VanguardLH]

No, Vista cannot be "downgraded" to Windows XP.

Not completely true. The following Microsoft document shows which
versions of Windows Vista (OEM) have downgrade rights.

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...cbd-699b0c164182/royaltyoemreferencesheet.pdf

 

[John John (MVP)]

Yes, that is true, there are certain downgrade rights available, but
will the OP be able to take his upgrade XP cd and stick it in the
computer and have it see the Vista installation and actually install XP
without supplying further previous proof of ownership of a qualifying
product, will Vista qualify? I'm not sure how that would work with
Vista already installed.

John

 

[ggull]

Thanks, guys. This is illuminating, and I had wondered myself how the
upgrade XP disc would recognize Vista.

It seems like the crux may be that rather than a simple XP Pro disc, what I
have is a system with manufacturer installed XP Home, and the upgrade XP Pro
disc (which I had gotten to upgrade an Me system, but went for a new system
instead and never used). So I don't really have the full "downgrade media".
And XP Home is not one of the allowable downgrades, even if I were to try
installing it from system recovery discs (the link provided is a bit unclear
on exactly how you downgrade using an OEM or Volume License copy that
doesn't come with full installation media, as most of them don't).. only XP
Pro. Hmm.. I wonder if it would work to upgrade the current XP Home
system to XP Pro; then if I could make system recovery/restoration discs for
this upgraded system, and use them to downgrade the Vista? Yikes.

But now I'm wondering what, exactly, is the difference between "downgrade
rights" and simply installing XP anew, and then reinstallilng Vista Business
when you do want to migrate? Is it that you can use a previously activated
OEM license, for instance, from another machine? (And would the previous XP
computer then be unusable?)

 

[Xandros]

see in line:

I have an unopened XP Pro Upgrade package I got long ago for a project but
never used.

Is there some way I can take a new over-the-counter desktop with Vista,
and convert it to XP Pro using this disc? (Or laptop for that matter.)

You will need a "qualifying version of Windows" in order to do a clean
install with your Upgrade version of XP. Vista is not a qualifying product.
Only previous versions of Windows i.e. Windows 9x, Windows Me, Windows 2000
or Windows XP Home Edition will satisfy the XP Pro Upgrade installer.
Getting your hands on an old Windows 98 CD for a few dollars would be a good
option. You will need to delete the partition that houses Vista, reformat as
NTFS and install XP. During setup the XP installer will ask for a qualifying
version of Windows, briefly insert the Windows 98 (or other qualifying
version) and the request will be satisfied. Installation should complete
normally. Be forewarned that you may find it a bit troublesome to find XP
drivers for the new desktop. If you know how to search for drivers and help
forums you should be able to find drivers though.

On a related note, is there anything suspicious, any real gotchas, about
the super-cheap XP Pro full version offers that come with a disclaimer
like: "...you are purchasing the software that does NOT include any COA
label or a sticker from the manufacturer & comes on a CD ,There is no
technical support provided by the software manufacturer. You can still get
automatic updates. You will receive the Full version on CD & a volume
license key number only..."

The Volume License Key belongs to the company or organization that
originally purchases the license. A Volume License is non-transferable.
Enough said on that matter.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have an unopened XP Pro Upgrade package I got long ago for a project but
never used.

Is there some way I can take a new over-the-counter desktop with Vista, and
convert it to XP Pro using this disc? (Or laptop for that matter.)

Only if you have an older (than WinXP), qualifying OS assigned to the
computer to qualify for the use of the WinXP Upgrade license. And then
it'll require you to format the hard drive and start afresh.

On a related note, is there anything suspicious, any real gotchas, about the
super-cheap XP Pro full version offers that come with a disclaimer like:
"...you are purchasing the software that does NOT include any COA label or a
sticker from the manufacturer & comes on a CD ,There is no technical support
provided by the software manufacturer. You can still get automatic updates.
You will receive the Full version on CD & a volume license key number
only..."

Considering that the CD is useless without the CoA (except as a
replacement for a lost of broken CD, yes. Without a CoA, you have no
license to use the software. Add the fact that the very expensive (and
never legitimately sold in lots of less than 5) Volume License is
mentioned in the same blurb, and you have a glaringly obvious scam.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[ggull]

You will need a "qualifying version of Windows" in order to do a clean
install with your Upgrade version of XP. Vista is not a qualifying
product. Only previous versions of Windows i.e. Windows 9x, Windows Me,
Windows 2000 or Windows XP Home Edition will satisfy the XP Pro Upgrade
installer. Getting your hands on an old Windows 98 CD for a few dollars
would be a good option. You will need to delete the partition that houses
Vista, reformat as NTFS and install XP. During setup the XP installer will
ask for a qualifying version of Windows, briefly insert the Windows 98 (or
other qualifying version) and the request will be satisfied. Installation
should complete normally. Be forewarned that you may find it a bit
troublesome to find XP drivers for the new desktop. If you know how to
search for drivers and help forums you should be able to find drivers
though.

Thanks! .. this may prove very useful. I have an old computer collecting
dust that I believe came with an actual Windows 98 disc (is OEM ok?) instead
of 'restoration' discs. I'll have to check, and if not, as you say, I see
thay can be picked up cheaply on ebay, or at least cheaply compared to a new
XP Pro. .
Any references for the "search for drivers and help forums" part?
I consider any new computer project without a learning curve to be hardly
sporting.

The Volume License Key belongs to the company or organization that
originally purchases the license. A Volume License is non-transferable.
Enough said on that matter.

Thanks to you and the many others who confirmed my doubts.

 

[Twayne]

Thanks! .. this may prove very useful. I have an old computer
collecting dust that I believe came with an actual Windows 98 disc
(is OEM ok?) instead of 'restoration' discs. I'll have to check, and
if not, as you say, I see thay can be picked up cheaply on ebay, or
at least cheaply compared to a new XP Pro. .
Any references for the "search for drivers and help forums" part?
I consider any new computer project without a learning curve to be
hardly sporting.




Thanks to you and the many others who confirmed my doubts.

I suspect you are about to do a lot of finagling and in the end won't be
able to activate your XP. In fact, there is even a fair possibility
that by now or shortly if not yet done, any related COA you find will
be reported as pirated on top of that and ONLY a good COA is going to do
you any good. I'd check the illegal COA list before submitting it if I
were you; but even so I suspect activation problems are goign to stop
you.
IMO you need to get your money back and spend it honestly elsewhere.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thanks! .. this may prove very useful. I have an old computer collecting
dust that I believe came with an actual Windows 98 disc (is OEM ok?)

Only if that's the same computer on which you're planning to install
WinXP Upgrade. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware
(normally a motherboard or hard rive, if not an entire PC) and is
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM
license, once installed, is not legitimately transferable to another
computer under _any_ circumstances.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Xandros]

Thanks! .. this may prove very useful. I have an old computer collecting
dust that I believe came with an actual Windows 98 disc (is OEM ok?)
instead of 'restoration' discs. I'll have to check, and if not, as you
say, I see thay can be picked up cheaply on ebay, or at least cheaply
compared to a new XP Pro. .
Any references for the "search for drivers and help forums" part?
I consider any new computer project without a learning curve to be hardly
sporting.

As Bruce stated an OEM version has restrictions however it will satisfy the
request for your XP Upgrade installer. It will not pose any problems with
activation or the like. If you can sleep at night for this illegal action
then live with it. Of course some folks can't.

As for finding drivers do a google search for "XP drivers <yourhardware>" or
visit the manufacturer's site to see if they have them.

 

[ggull]

I suspect you are about to do a lot of finagling and in the end won't be
able to activate your XP. In fact, there is even a fair possibility that
by now or shortly if not yet done, any related COA you find will be
reported as pirated on top of that and ONLY a good COA is going to do you
any good. I'd check the illegal COA list before submitting it if I were
you; but even so I suspect activation problems are goign to stop you.
IMO you need to get your money back and spend it honestly elsewhere.

Sorry if I gave the impression I had purchased this product.
In casting about for a way to get upgraded hardware without going to Vista I
checked on the price of new XP Pro full version, and noticed a link to this
vendor, and wondered if it really were too good to be true or if it were
somehow legitimate. (I notice Amazon is selling an OEM version of XP HE for
half the price of full XP, which seems legitimate subject to the licensing
restrictions.) I would be very cautious before handing them my credit card
number!

 

[ggull]

As Bruce stated an OEM version has restrictions however it will satisfy
the request for your XP Upgrade installer. It will not pose any problems
with activation or the like. If you can sleep at night for this illegal
action then live with it. Of course some folks can't.

Thanks for all the advice, guys. As to this old computer, I found the
paperwork (haven't located the actual disc yet) and it looks like it came
with a full version .. of the latest, hottest system, Win 95, which
according to the box, the XP Pro upgrade won't work with.

I think I'm set for now, but will post back if I have further questions
later.

 

[Xandros]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. As to this old computer, I found the
paperwork (haven't located the actual disc yet) and it looks like it came
with a full version .. of the latest, hottest system, Win 95, which
according to the box, the XP Pro upgrade won't work with.

I think I'm set for now, but will post back if I have further questions
later.

Actually XP Upgrade will accept a Windows 95 CD to satisfy the request for a
qualifying product.

 

[Xandros]

Sorry if I gave the impression I had purchased this product.
In casting about for a way to get upgraded hardware without going to Vista
I checked on the price of new XP Pro full version, and noticed a link to
this vendor, and wondered if it really were too good to be true or if it
were somehow legitimate. (I notice Amazon is selling an OEM version of XP
HE for half the price of full XP, which seems legitimate subject to the
licensing restrictions.) I would be very cautious before handing them my
credit card number!

I never got that impression from you. Your post was clear.

 

[ggull]

"ggull" <[email protected]> wrote

As to this old computer, I found the

Actually XP Upgrade will accept a Windows 95 CD to satisfy the request for
a qualifying product.

Good to know. Thanks.