Vista or XP?

With all the talk of the upcoming discontinuation of Windows XP coinciding with the release of Vista SP1. It seems to me that Microsoft is really pushing the Vista platform to all Windows users who haven't made the switch yet, I would have said upgrade but then with all the problems Vista users have been having, a lot of them wouldn't really call it that. To be fair though, the Vista interface looks a lot better than Windows XP and it does seem to be more secure (almost to a fault!). However, stability and speed seem to be its downfall. Windows XP is just a speedier, more stable OS than Windows Vista will ever be and it does all this with lower specification CPUs and a lot less memory.
So if you already have Vista and aren't too happy with it, we have good news for you. You can go back to Windows XP by following one of 2 methods below.

No Reformat Method
Of the two approaches to downgrading Windows, the first is more convenient, as it doesn't require you to wipe your hard drive. You will need a genuine Windows XP installation CD; if all you have is a recovery disc, use the "Start from Scratch" process that follows.

Before you proceed, make sure you have several gigabytes of free space on your boot drive (usually C:). Take a moment to back up your entire hard drive; if you have Vista Business or Ultimate, you can do so with the Complete PC Backup and Restore tool, making it easy to get back into Windows should this process hit a snag.

Start by booting to your XP disc: Just insert the disc into your drive and turn on your PC, then press the spacebar when it says Press any key to boot from CD... If you don't see this message, you'll have to enter your PC's BIOS setup screen and change the boot options so that your CD drive appears above your hard drive in the boot sequence list. Consult your PC's manual for details. (If you can't boot from your CD, you can download free XP Setup boot disk files by searching for Q310994 at support.microsoft.com.)

When XP Setup starts, press R on the first page to open the Recovery Console. If you are asked to choose a Windows installation, type a number (usually 1) and press Enter.

In Recovery
In some cases, you may be asked for the Administrator password at this point. If you don't know it, you'll have to boot back into Windows Vista, open the Start menu, type lusrmgr.msc, and press Enter. Open the C:\Users folder, double-click on the Administrator account, and turn off the Account is disabled option. Open the Start menu again, type Control userpasswords2 into the Search box, and press Enter. Next, click the Reset Password button, choose a new password, and start over.

Now. at the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands to prep your hard disk for XP:
fixboot
fixmbr
cd \
ren windows winvista
exit

When your PC restarts, boot onto your XP CD once again, and then proceed with setup normally.

When setup is finished, you'll have to move everything manually. This includes your documents, the contents of your desktop, and any other personal data that you'll need from Vista's now-defunct C:\Users folder into XP's C:\Documents and Settings folder. You'll also need to reinstall all your applications and device drivers, and eventually delete the abandoned C:\Winvista folder.

Start from scratch
Without a true XP Setup disc, you won't have the luxury of the Recovery Console. Your other option is to use your PC's recovery disc, applicable, of course, only if your PC originally shipped with Windows XP.

Going Virtual
Before you begin, you'll need to back up any files you want to keep. Unfortunately, you can't use any of Vista's built-in backup software for this, because XP doesn't include any tools that can read Vista backups—understandable but a shame. Your best bet is to copy your data onto an external hard disk manually (via a USB or eSATA connection) so that you can easily get it back once XP is up and running. Make sure you back up the entire C:\Users folder, which will catch your Documents directory, anything on your desktop, and application data such as stored e-mail.

Recovery procedures vary widely, so consult your PC's manual for details. Typically, the recovery software wipes the hard drive clean and then places a preinstalled copy of Windows onto the drive, complete with all the drivers and demo software that you got with your PC when it was new. When it's done, hook up your backup drive and copy your files back into position.

If you don't have a recovery disc, then you'll have to purchase the Windows XP software and license from a vendor. An alternative might be to purchase a used one from craigslist or eBay. Once you have it, simply boot up your system from the CD drive (with your setup disc in it) and follow the instructions.

Another helpful tip is to take down your hardware specs (make and model) before you get rid of Vista and make sure that the drivers you currently have work in Windows XP, if they don't - then you might have to download XP drivers for your hardware before you do the downgrade.

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