Now the first question you might be asking when you read this article is 'Why would anyone want to downgrade their laptop from Vista to XP?' There are many reasons, but the most common one is speed and stability. Windows Vista is noticeably faster than Vista on the same hardware. Also, Windows Explorer crashes more often in Vista than in XP.
In this article we will take a look at how we can downgrade Vista to XP in the simplest way. There are actually a few options for doing it, so we will run through three of them here.
Option 1: Perform A Windows Recovery
One way to downgrade to XP is to perform a Windows Recovery. Now, this approach is more convenient because you don't need to wipe out your hard drive.
The flip side is that it is generally not as 'clean' as the other option (the Start from Scratch option below).
Let's look at what you need to do:
Back up your entire hard drive.
The first and most important thing to do is to back up your entire hard drive in case anything goes wrong with this process. If you have Windows Vista Business or Ultimate, there is a Complete PC Backup and Restore tool you can use. Also, make sure you leave Several free GB of hard disk space on the boot drive after performing the backup.
A safer (and my preferred) way is to copy your data onto an external hard disk. You can easily copy it all back once XP is up and running. Ensure that you back up the entire C:Users folder, which will include your Documents directory, your desktop files, plus application data such as e-mail.
Back up your entire hard drive.
The first and most important thing to do is to back up your entire hard drive in case anything goes wrong with this process.
If you have Windows Vista Business or Ultimate, there is a Complete PC Backup and Restore tool you can use.
Boot up using your Windows XP disc.
Insert your Wnidows XP disc into your optical drive and turn on the laptop. You can then press the spacebar when you see the message Press any key to boot from CD .... Now, if you don't see this message, you need to go into the laptop's BIOS setup screen and change the boot options. Your CD drive should appear before your hard drive in the boot sequence list.
Open the Recovery Console.
Once Windows XP Setup starts, you should press R on the first page and open the Recovery Console. When asked to choose a Windows installation, type 1 and press Enter.
At this point, you might be asked for the Administrator password. This is where it gets a bit tricky. If you don't know the Administrator password, you can get it this way:
* 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, then press enter
* Click the Reset Password button, choose a new password, and start over
That gives you the Administrator password and you should be able to proceed with the downgrade.
Prep your hard disk for XP. Next, we go back to the Recovery Console command prompt, and type the following commands.
fixboot
fixmbr
cd
ren windows winvista
exit
Allow your laptop to restart, and boot using your Windows XP CD again. The Windows XP setup will start normally.
Move your documents. Once the Windows XP setup completes, you will have a working Windows XP operating system. However, you will need to move some files manually. Most importantly, these would be your documents, the your desktop contents, as well as any other data in Vista's redundant 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.
And that's it ... if you've followed through this far, you will have downgraded Windows Vista to Windows XP successfully, without re-formatting your hard drive.
Option 2: Start From Scratch
The second way to downgrade to XP is to start from scratch. This method has the advantage of being a very 'clean' install. That is, your laptop won't be loaded with remnants of Vista, mixed up with XP. Everything in there will be pure Windows XP.
Here's how we do it:
Back up your entire hard drive.
As before, the first step to do is to back up your entire hard drive in case anything goes wrong with this process.
Just copy your data onto an external hard disk - you can copy it back once XP is up and running.
Perform a Clean Windows XP install.
The procedure here varies widely, depending on your laptop. You should consult your laptop's manual for details.
Typically, the laptop software will wipe out the hard drive and put in a preinstalled copy of Windows XP onto the drive.
This image should come with all the drivers and demo software that you got with your laptop when it was first purchase.
When the install is done, simply hook up your backup drive and copy your files back.
Option 3: Dual-Boot Configuration
Now, consider a third option. What if you have some essential application or device that simply won't work with Vista. You also don't want to downgrade to XP.
What do you do in this case? One option is to perform a dual-boot. Be warned, however, this option is an advanced option, so you should have some idea of dual-booting before you try it out.
You will be installing XP alongside Vista, so you'll need a second hard drive, or a second partition on your primary drive.
You should start off booting from a Windows XP Setup disc, then install the operating system on that second drive.
Once you have done that - DO NOT panic when Vista won't start. Just simply reinstall Vista's boot manager.
Boot off your Vista Setup disc, and click Next on the first page.
On the Install Windows page, click Repair your computer.
You'll be prompted to choose between Windows XP and Vista each time you turn on your laptop.
Conclusion
Right! I hope this article has given you some idea of how to downgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP. The downgrade does indeed make good sense if you're having problems adjusting to Vista. However, you should also take into account that new software is being tuned for Vista. And legacy Windows XP support will disappear very soon. In any case, if you feel the downgrade is still needed, try one of the above options. I hope they work for you!
By Gary Hendricks
Gary Hendricks runs a website about laptops. Visit his website at Best-Laptop-Guide.com to learn more about selecting the best laptops and accessories to suit your needs.
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