How to go back to Windows XP/2000 after you have upgraded to Windows Vista

How toRevert back to XP From Vista

Reverting from a clean install of Vista to clean XP install(Not an Upgrade - Easy)

1. <LI>Using a DVD/CD or USB thumb drive make sure to backup any files you want to keep from your existing Vista install or move them over to a non-system partition (anything but the C: drive).</LI><LI>Reboot your computer with your XP cd in the drive, and wait for the screen to say "Press any key to boot from CD", and press any key. Some Bios may be set to automatically boot from cd while others may not do anything and continue to boot Vista. If this is the case you will need to enter your computers BIOS by pressing "Del" or another primary key during bootup. This will allow you to change the boot sequence of your startup from 1. HD 2. CD ... to 1. CD/DVD 2. Hard drive. This means it will look for a CD/DVD to boot before looking on the hard drive for a boot partition.</LI><LI>Follow the on screen prompts to reinstall XP.</LI>

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Reverting from an Upgrade to Vista from XP- Back to XP (Difficult)

This describes how to manually restore a previous Windows installation on the computer to replace the current Windows Vista installation. To do this, you must use the command prompt, and you must type specific commands at the command prompt to rename and to move folders between the different versions of Windows.

CAUTION: This is a fairly lengthy procedure, although not very hard. I would only suggest doing this if you do not have your XP CD/DVD anymore. And orignally upgraded to Vista from a pre-installation of XP on the computer you bought.<H3 id=tocHeadRef>Step 1: Determine whether there is a Windows.OLD folder and whether there is sufficient free space on the Windows hard disk</H3>

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>loadTOCNode(2, 'whattotry');</SCRIPT><TABLE class="list ol"><TBODY><TR><TD class=number>1.</TD><TD class=text>Click <STRONG class=uiterm>Start[/b], and then click <STRONG class=uiterm>Computer[/b]. </TD></TR><TR><TD class=number>2.</TD><TD class=text>On the <STRONG class=uiterm>View[/b] menu, click <STRONG class=uiterm>Details[/b].</TD></TR><TR><TD class=number>3.</TD><TD class=text>In the <STRONG class=uiterm>Free Space[/b] column, note how much space is available for<STRONG class=uiterm> Local Disk (C: )[/b] under the <STRONG class=uiterm>Hard Disk Drives[/b] area.</TD></TR><TR><TD class=number>4.</TD><TD class=text>In the <STRONG class=uiterm>Hard Disk Drives[/b] area, double-click <STRONG class=uiterm>Local Disk (C: )[/b], and then determine whether the Windows.OLD folder exists.

Important If the Windows.OLD folder does not exist, you cannot follow the steps in this article to restore the previous Windows installation to this computer.</TD></TR><TR><TD class=number>5.</TD><TD class=text>Right-click the <STRONG class=uiterm>Windows.OLD[/b] folder. </TD></TR><TR><TD class=number>6.</TD><TD class=text>Windows Vista will determine the size of the folder after several seconds. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Determine whether the Windows.OLD folder is smaller than the free space that is available for <STRONG class=uiterm>Local Disk (C: )[/b] in step 2.

Note

 

What was it about an upgrade to Vista that meant you gad forfieted your XP license since it can't be used again once upgraded from ?

 

This is different from 2000 or XP, which will allow you to install from an upgrade disc if you merely provide the media from an older version of Windows during the install. While I belive the reasoning behind this was theft and the fact that sinceperson A now has upgraded and paid a lower price for the upgrade instead of the full version they should now not be able to re-install or distribute that older version.In end it comes down to theft and an attempt at limiting license fraud by MS.

There is at least a suitable workaround for being able to install fresh using an upgrade disc w/ out losing your XP license.

The solution lies within Vista's ability to let you install it as a 30 day trial, from the upgrade DVD. You can simply skip entering your CD key, then re-running the installer after it is finished and entering your key then. Unfortunately, it means installing Vista twice in a row. You don't save time, but it may save you a few angry phone calls or a trip to the store if you end up having to do a complete reinstall. MS has still not commented on why they implemented these new, easily frustrating, install “features”.

So I've never tried this, but theoretically you could not have a previousOS installed, and still pay a lesser price for an upgrade disc and still end up being able to use it.