Windows Vista Downgrade

  • Thread starter Thread starter Johnny
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J

Johnny

I bought a new computer with Windows Vista Home Premium. I heard that I can
downgrade this to a windows XP license.

What version of Windows XP do I qualify for? What is the downgrade
equivalent for all versions of Windows Vista?

Thank You
 
Hi,

If you qualify, it would have to come from the system manufacturer.
Generally, only Business and Ultimate will offer downgrade rights, but there
are exceptions. You need to contact the system maker and inquire.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
 
Johnny said:
I bought a new computer with Windows Vista Home Premium. I heard that I can
downgrade this to a windows XP license.

What version of Windows XP do I qualify for? What is the downgrade
equivalent for all versions of Windows Vista?

Thank You
Click to expand...


There are certainly no downgrade "rights" in any Vista Home edition
license, unless the computer manufacturer offers them. 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.


--

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
 
Make sure to check on driver availability when you check with the OEM about
downgrade possibilities. Odds aren't good anyway.
 
John Barnes said:
Make sure to check on driver availability when you check with the OEM about
downgrade possibilities. Odds aren't good anyway.
Click to expand...


I know of no device/peripheral manufacturer that does not have drivers to support XP.
 
John Barnes said:
But, many MOBO drivers aren't available, especially for portables.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow.... Mobo drivers are for the Mobo and not OS specific.
At least, not before VISTA. I've had no such issues. On-board chips for
audio and video are still considered OEM and drivers are provided by the
chip Mfgr.. I'm still installing Win 98SE (some issues beginning to crop up),
Win2K and XP on brand new motherboards. Is there a study site for this
where I can learn more if I do encounter issues?

DM
 
David said:
I'm not sure I follow.... Mobo drivers are for the Mobo and not OS specific.
Click to expand...


Actually, most motherboard drivers *are* OS-specific, nowadays. Have
been since the advent of Win2K.




--

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
 
Bruce Chambers said:
David Morgan (MAMS) wrote:
Click to expand...
Actually, most motherboard drivers *are* OS-specific, nowadays. Have
been since the advent of Win2K.
Click to expand...

The only issues I'm having with putting Win98SE on a brand new MoBo are
related to memory. All mobo drivers have loaded without issues regarding
the OS. I'm open to some resources for more knowledge.... I do tire of
seeing people told that XP will not mount on a PC sold with VISTA. It's
like they are being scared into keeping VISTA, and I have encountered
zero issues replacing VISTA install with XP.

DM

 
David said:
The only issues I'm having with putting Win98SE on a brand new MoBo are
related to memory. All mobo drivers have loaded without issues regarding
the OS.
Click to expand...



Sorry, but any experiences regarding Win9x are completely irrelevant to
discussions of any of the WinNT-based operating systems, of which Vista
is simply the latest generation. Comparing WinXP to Win9x is a lot like
comparing a Lexus to a Yugo -- any similarities are entirely superficial
and mostly coincidental. WinXP, like Win2K before it, is not nearly as
"promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any old hardware
configuration you throw at it. On installation it "tailors" itself to
the specific hardware found. This is one of the reasons that the entire
WinNT/2K/XP/Vista OS family is so much more stable than the Win9x group.

I'm open to some resources for more knowledge....
Click to expand...


There've been dozens of posts, in this newsgroup alone, from people
who've tried downgrading Vista machines (laptops most commonly) to WinXP
and who've been unable to obtain WinXP-specific device drivers.

I do tire of
seeing people told that XP will not mount on a PC sold with VISTA.
Click to expand...


I haven't seen anyone categorically told that WinXP "will not" install
or work properly on a machine designed for Vista, but there are cases
where it can't be done, and people should be warned of the potential
problem.

It's
like they are being scared into keeping VISTA, and I have encountered
zero issues replacing VISTA install with XP.
Click to expand...


Was your mother trying to scare you the first time she told you not to
play with fire?


--

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
 
I concur.

Bruce Chambers said:
Sorry, but any experiences regarding Win9x are completely irrelevant to
discussions of any of the WinNT-based operating systems, of which Vista is
simply the latest generation. Comparing WinXP to Win9x is a lot like
comparing a Lexus to a Yugo -- any similarities are entirely superficial
and mostly coincidental. WinXP, like Win2K before it, is not nearly as
"promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any old hardware
configuration you throw at it. On installation it "tailors" itself to the
specific hardware found. This is one of the reasons that the entire
WinNT/2K/XP/Vista OS family is so much more stable than the Win9x group.




There've been dozens of posts, in this newsgroup alone, from people who've
tried downgrading Vista machines (laptops most commonly) to WinXP and
who've been unable to obtain WinXP-specific device drivers.




I haven't seen anyone categorically told that WinXP "will not" install or
work properly on a machine designed for Vista, but there are cases where
it can't be done, and people should be warned of the potential problem.




Was your mother trying to scare you the first time she told you not to
play with fire?


--

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
Click to expand...
 
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