Vista to XP Downgrade - Comments Page 2

Hi, I just bought a new HP laptop model V3600 bundled with vista home basic. Currently, if i downgrade to XP. Would it be possible to re-install back to HP later on?It seems to be downgrade to XP will cause some of the hardware failure. And i just want to temporary use the XP OS around half year.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If HP provided a "Recovery CD" then you should be able to return to the factory new software state. To be safe, you could make a backup image on an external drive, and then restore it later on.

Two questions:
(1) The last word that I have heard from some big manufacturers is that XP will be available on some models through mid-2008. Do you know if the downgrade rights will be available after that time.
(2) I began looking for a laptop for my daughter a short time ago. I have heard horror stories from some people who have bought machines with Vista installed and were unable to downgrade to XP, due to newer hardware not having XP drivers. (Kind of the reverse from people with XP periplerals who cannot get them to run under Vista.) Are there any resources available to tell us if a new laptop loaded with Vista is downward compatible with XP? Thank you!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I think the best resource for that would be the PC vendor. Aside from that, a Google search might turn up something on a forum.

Bob, you need to clarify your information in the Vista to Xp downgrade article. I contacted Hp in regards to the information on your site, and they said that the information that you have provided, is not accurate, and they do not offer any form of support for this downgrade, what so ever.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It seems that HP has discontinued (or changed their mind) about providing XP recovery discs. Sorry...

One thing you didn't mention was to gather as many XP drivers for the components on your machine as possible before doing the rollback. In case you can't connect to the internet, having the drivers on hand can be invaluable.

If no XP driver is shown for any of your hardware you may have a problem. Check both the computer manufacturer's web site and the component's web site for drivers.

How and whom can I get a xp disc so as I can down grade from Vista. At My age (72) vista is more than I can bare. Thank You

If you have a driver issue after blowing out vista and installing a fresh xp go to the computers'
manufacturer web site (if necessary on another computer) and download all the drivers for your machine and the xp operating system. Put them on a flash drive and upload them to your machine. Install them in each of the devices and you will be fine.

hi, i have tried to downgrade my new acer laptop that comes with vista home, i try to downgrade it by using windows xp pro, but it has an error saing that the harddrive could not detected, or like it cant see where the hardisk was.

Thank you for the information on the down grade. I bought an IBM laptop T60 with Vista and Office Pro installed from Levono. Vista Seems to work fine for me, BUT I have just a couple printer and a wireless connection. No fancy hardware. OUTLOOK 2007 is an abortion and Bill Gates needs to be Spanked, Big Time. I'm wondering if I can get a down grade for OUTLOOK 2007 back to 2003 and I do not know if 2003 will even work on VISTA. I'm wondering if I down graded from VISTA to XP, if that would help OUTLOOK from FREEZing? Great site Mr. Rankin.... keep on keeping on.

When you downgrade, will Microsoft invalidate your Vista key? Eg. What if you want to re-install vista in the future?

EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't see how Microsoft could do that. You paid for the Vista license...

I've written a how to downgrade on a sony laptop
http://vistadowngrade.blogspot.com/