Vista - Downgrade to XP

I have spent the last few DAYS trying to find hidden files, restore points,
cleaning the disk, turning off the restore function, listing flies with the
comand prompt and trying several other sugestions to free up hard drive
space. I can accout for ~35 GB of stuff. The drive shows ~58 GB used and ~28
GB free. 2 Days ago only ~ 46 GB was used. It is a 100 GB drive. Somehow I
have managed to add ~12 BG of stuff taking up space in the 2 days I have been
trying to free space up. I tried the restore function and I think that caused
another huge chunk of disk space to be taken up. I just cannot seem to get a
completed view of what is on my hard drive and where.

I have a 4 month old Lenovo T61 think pad. Could this be downgraded to XP
and how?

It seems more easy on my old laptop runing XP, to see all the files and
clean them up.
--
ND Dad

If you're willing to shell out the cash for XP and void you're warranty you
probably can.

"ND Dad" <NoSpam@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E5F30089-CAFF-41D4-A404-3581A9D50B13@xxxxxx

There is no automatic downgrade "Vista to XP" right unless your laptop
manufacturer offers it, nor is there any way whatsoever to simply
"downgrade" Vista to XP. You'd need to do a clean install of XP and hope
that you could find the drivers and other software you need.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] rgharper@xxxxxx
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/


"ND Dad" <NoSpam@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E5F30089-CAFF-41D4-A404-3581A9D50B13@xxxxxx

ND Dad wrote:
Call Lenovo and find out.

General information about replacing Vista with XP:

A. On an OEM (HP, Sony, Lenovo 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.

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

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

Richard G. Harper wrote:Entirely correct. Now, what, as an MVP (or am I wrong?) do you propose
to handle the extensive list of boffo problems in Vista?

Q

Thanks. I will check the vendor first. If it is possible I will downgrade to
XP.
Do you know of any software that will scan my drive and tell me what where
stuff is? Someone must have figured out a better way to clean up Vista by now.
--
ND Dad


"Malke" wrote:

"ND Dad" <NoSpam@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E5F30089-CAFF-41D4-A404-3581A9D50B13@xxxxxx
Run Disk Cleanup now and again. Don't forget to go into Disk Cleanup's 'more
options' to clean up excessive restore points.

When your hard drive approaches 75% capacity, think about getting a USB
external drive and move documents etc to it..

--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

Google Desktop works with Vista, here's a link:
http://desktop.google.com/
This uses disk space to help you find things - I don't think you want it.

If you do a Lenovo PC System Recovery, after backing up any data
you cherish to CDs or DVDs, you'll clean up Vista. If you still yearn
for XP after that, you'll have at least practiced installing an OS, and
can evaluate the chore of switching to XP more realistically.

"ND Dad" <NoSpam@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:334E9A7A-11C8-4245-84B8-B32580F41E07@xxxxxx

Seek assistance? And yes, I am an MVP - the sig says so. :-)

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] rgharper@xxxxxx
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/


"Quaoar" <astro_quaoar@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23VSRlwPcIHA.4312@xxxxxx

Good News...Lenovo offers an XP Downgrade recovery set. The following is per
their website.

"The Windows XP Recovery CD set provided by Lenovo does not require any
online activation from Microsoft. It is as if it came on the system's preload
and contains all required drivers, language support, and applications in
addition to the Windows XP operating system software. See Downgrading to
Windows XP for more information about downgrading your system to Windows XP."

This sounds fairly stright forward to use.

--
ND Dad


"Malke" wrote: