Upgrade and Downgrade

[Rachel]

I have a new laptop with Vista Home Premium and I want to downgrade to XP Pro.

I have read that with the Business or Ultimate editions that I can phone
customer support and do a downgrade to get an XP key if I give them my
unactivated Vista key.

Since I don't have Business or Ultimate, can I do an upgrade to that and
then downgrade to XP Pro (as it will be cheaper than buying the non-OEM XP
Pro)?

 

[Gary Mount]

I think what you have read is an urban myth.
The company that you bought your computer from might allow an exchange to
XP, but that would have nothing to do with Microsoft.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

This is not even remotely correct. If you are allowed to downgrade your
computer that right, as well as the necessary software and drivers, need to
be provided by your computer manufacturer. Otherwise you can buy your own
copy of XP but good luck with drivers and hopefully installing it won't void
your warranty.

 

[Rachel]

I'm pretty sure that changing the OS will invalidate my warranty.

I have the drivers and everything I need to do the install to XP, I'm just
trying to work out the cheapest way to do it legally.

Gary: What part of my post is an urban myth?

 

[Malke]

I have a new laptop with Vista Home Premium and I want to downgrade to XP
Pro.

I have read that with the Business or Ultimate editions that I can phone
customer support and do a downgrade to get an XP key if I give them my
unactivated Vista key.

Since I don't have Business or Ultimate, can I do an upgrade to that and
then downgrade to XP Pro (as it will be cheaper than buying the non-OEM XP
Pro)?

General information about replacing Vista with XP:

A. On an OEM (HP, Sony, etc.) computer:

1. Go to the OEM's website and look for XP drivers for your specific model
computer. If there are no XP drivers, then you can't install XP. End of
story. If there are drivers, download them and store on a CD-R or USB
thumbdrive; you'll need them after you install XP.

2. Check with the OEM - either from their tech support website or by calling
them - to see if you will void your warranty if you do this. If you will
void the warranty, you make the decision.

3. If the OEM does support XP on the machine, call them and see if you can
have downgrade rights and have them send you an XP restore disk. This will
be far the easiest and best way of getting XP on the machine.

4. If XP is supported on the machine but the OEM doesn't have an XP restore
disk for you, understand that you'll need to purchase a retail copy of XP
from your favorite online or brick/mortar store.

5. Also understand that you will need to do a clean install of XP so if you
have any data you want, back it up first.

6. If none of the above is applicable to you because you can't run XP on
that machine (see Item #1 above), return the computer and purchase one
running XP instead.

B. On a generic/home-built computer (from non-OEM company) - You will need
drivers for all your hardware. See the second link below for more details:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke

 

[PvdG42]

I'm pretty sure that changing the OS will invalidate my warranty.

I have the drivers and everything I need to do the install to XP, I'm just
trying to work out the cheapest way to do it legally.

Gary: What part of my post is an urban myth?

Pardon the interruption...
Rachel, any reference to Microsoft supporting the OEM software you received
installed on your laptop, rather than all support coming from the laptop
manufacturer, is an urban myth.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a new laptop with Vista Home Premium and I want to downgrade to XP Pro.

It's your computer, so the choice is, ultimately, yours. (Although
it would have been a lot simpler to have just purchased the laptop with
WinXP installed, to start with.)

However, there could be a couple possible adverse repercussions of
which you should be aware. First and foremost, if the specific computer
model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be
no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's
diverse components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer
about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an
OEM-installed operating system and replacing it with another will almost
invariably void any and all support agreements and, sometimes, even the
warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before
getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the
computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there may be the
additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new
computer.

After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part
of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of
boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific
device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the
backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are
WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed.

I have read that with the Business or Ultimate editions that I can phone
customer support and do a downgrade to get an XP key if I give them my
unactivated Vista key.

There's certainly no downgrade "rights" in any Vista Home edition
license. And as for Vista Business or Ultimate, it depends entirely
upon the specific type of license you have; in general, you'd need to
have one of the Open or Select Volume (sometimes mistakenly called
"Corporate") license. As you have an OEM license, your only recourse
would be to see if the computer's manufacturer is willing to exchange
licenses for you.

Since I don't have Business or Ultimate, can I do an upgrade to that and
then downgrade to XP Pro (as it will be cheaper than buying the non-OEM XP
Pro)?

Trust me, buying a down-gradable Volume license (sold in minimum lots
of 5) for Vista would not be cheaper than buying a single retail license
for WinXP.


--

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

 

[Rachel]

Thanks Malke and Bruce

I understand now about the whole downgrade thing. I'm going to buy a retail
pack of XP Pro and install that. I've got all the drivers I need so I'm
hoping it will go smoothly.

And you're right - it would have been easier to just buy a laptop with XP,
but for what I wanted, buying one with Vista and buying the XP pack
separately turns out cheaper in the end anyway.

Thanks again,
Rachel

 

[Robert J. Lafayette]

If you give Vista a chance you may discover its positive aspects and not go
with a downgrade.

I bought a new computer with Vista Home Premium.

I learned that if I took my time, learned all I could and admitted my
mistakes with my attempting to tweak Vista,

and if I applied MS suggested fixes,

then,

short of having other proprietary software that does not run in Vista there
is hardly a good reason to downgrade. And problems with downgrading are
enormous to say the least from what I read in forums.

If possible, I suggest you practice learning Vista slowly, the same way
folks learned XP when it first came out. And, then too, there were many
complaints about XO and how horrible it supposedly was.

Vista SP1 may also resolve issues you are experiencing.

And most forums are terrific with great fixes to well explained Vista
issues.

My suggestion learn and stay with Vista. MS will not be downgrading Vista
so it is reasonable to presume it will be here for a while, and something
even more advanced then Vista may be on the horizon, when we the consumer is
ready for it.

Robert