vista to XP PRo

[Lenny]

Hi,
Nearly all the laptops that I am interested in at the moment only come with
Vista installed but I would like to have XP Pro in the machine instead. Can
I buy a machine with Vista installed and 'downgrade' to XP Pro for free.
What version of vista would I need and is it an easy change?
Cheers
Lenny

 

[Alias]

Hi,
Nearly all the laptops that I am interested in at the moment only come with
Vista installed but I would like to have XP Pro in the machine instead. Can
I buy a machine with Vista installed and 'downgrade' to XP Pro for free.
What version of vista would I need and is it an easy change?
Cheers
Lenny

Dell has them with XP and Ubuntu or both ;-) They will probably put XP
Pro on any of their laptops for you.

Alias

 

[Daave]

Nearly all the laptops that I am interested in at the moment only
come with Vista installed but I would like to have XP Pro in the
machine instead.

Which notebooks are you considering?

Did you know that several major manufacturers are now offering a choice
to go with XP instead? You need to navigate to the Small Business part
of their sites. For instance:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/latit_d520?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=FamCustom

Dell Latitude D520

 

[DL]

You cannot downgrade an MS operating sys.
Other than dual boot, you would have to clean install.
It certainly would'nt be free.
Of course you would have to ensure your laptop manu supplies winxp drivers
for the specific laptop, they may not; and any such downgrade would possibly
render any warranty or support invalied.

 

[Lenny]

Hi Thanks for the info. I much prefer the Sony Viao range of laptops over
the dell ones and they were really what I was hoping to get but notice that
they seem to be only supplying with Vista at the moment (In the UK anyway)

 

[Ron Martell]

Hi,
Nearly all the laptops that I am interested in at the moment only come with
Vista installed but I would like to have XP Pro in the machine instead. Can
I buy a machine with Vista installed and 'downgrade' to XP Pro for free.
What version of vista would I need and is it an easy change?
Cheers
Lenny

OEM Licenses for Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate do
include downgrade rights to use Windows XP Professional.
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...4d-4a6d-aed9-f2c1f8f23e14/downgrade_chart.doc

In order to use these downgrade rights you will have to acquire a
Windows XP Professional OEM installation CD and a product key to
install it with. The product key can be one that is already in use on
another system. When it is installed do not attempt to activate it
over the Internet, as that will create a licensing conflict problem
for the other system. Instead do a telephone activation and tell the
Microsoft representative that you are downgrading from OEM Windows
Vista and need a new product key for the XP.

Also you should be aware that downgrading in this way will almost
certainly invalidate the new computer warranty on the laptop. And
yoy may have problems obtaining the proper Windows XP drivers for it,
especially if it is a very new model.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[RA]

Hi Thanks for the info. I much prefer the Sony Viao range of laptops
over the dell ones and they were really what I was hoping to get but
notice that they seem to be only supplying with Vista at the moment
(In the UK anyway)

It appears that Sony is not producing or supplying XP drivers for the new
laptops so that they will only function with Vista.

 

[Lenny]

Thanks for that reply Ron, It isn't looking so good for me and Sony then.
Pity.

 

[Harry Ohrn]

As you can see here
http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/cp_113501_brand_sony.html there appears to
be a number of Sony Viao models that ship with XP installed.

 

[Daave]

Also you should be aware that downgrading in this way will almost
certainly invalidate the new computer warranty on the laptop.

If this is so, it certainly doesn't make any sense. Hardware isn't being
messed with, and the manufacturer already provides a means to restore
the PC to its original factory condition. Or does the right to downgrade
prevent the owner to revert to Vista?

 

[ray]

Hi,
Nearly all the laptops that I am interested in at the moment only come with
Vista installed but I would like to have XP Pro in the machine instead. Can
I buy a machine with Vista installed and 'downgrade' to XP Pro for free.
What version of vista would I need and is it an easy change?
Cheers
Lenny

Have you checked DELL - they are offering xp as an option on a lot of
their machines.