Vista - Upgrade and Downgrade

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)?

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.

"Rachel" <Rachel@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4C0C4B04-9F34-42A7-82E3-550AA396DF1F@xxxxxx

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.

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Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] rgharper@xxxxxx
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"Rachel" <Rachel@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4C0C4B04-9F34-42A7-82E3-550AA396DF1F@xxxxxx

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?

Rachel wrote:
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/...alling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

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

"Rachel" <Rachel@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:CC3707BB-2E97-4110-87FB-782DCB753868@xxxxxx
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.

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

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


"Malke" <malke@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uVeBAawcIHA.5984@xxxxxx