Admittedly my one experience with Vista was a terrible ordeal and I’m still not sure whether it was the OS or the hardware, but I haven’t touched a Vista machine since then so my opinion is slightly flawed. I never had any issues with XP other than the usual and I’d gladly pick up another XP machine, but I’ve been under the impression that the downgrade has only been available to OEMs. Well, CNET Asia made a few phone calls and it turns out that everyone is privy to the downgrade. Awesome. You simply need to call customer support and give them your Vista serial number and in return you’ll be given an activation code for Windows XP Pro, x64 or the tablet PC edition. Just make sure you have a copy lying around somewhere.
Downgrade your Vista to XP [Crave Asia]
I think this is a bad idea… People need to give themselves a chance to get used to it. Not just be like, “where’s X on Vista, ah screw it, I’m downgrading”.
I can understand when people need to downgrade to XP for crucial software that doesn’t yet support Vista, but otherwise, just give Vista a chance.
I’ve been using Vista since it went retail (Jan. 30, 2007) and I’ve never had a problem with it. Since then I’ve installed it on 2 other computers and bought a laptop with Vista installed on it. There’s been no problems on any of those 4 computers.
i have a home pc with Vista Home edition, and other pc’s with XP, all on the same network, the pc’s running XP cant see Vista, and Vista cant see the others. The XP pc’s can see eachother. ive spent many hours trying to figure this one out. its not happening. Any ideas on this?
Check with your Router or Switch manufacturer to see if there is a Firmware upgrade for your device. It may not be compatable as is with the Vista system.
Vista was not designed with the intermediate home user in mind. It’s fine if you’re content to let everything run with the default settings, but it’s very user-unfriendly when it comes to making changes of any kind. You’re stuck with the two extremes of running with the “Windows-for-Idiots” defaults or diving into a hopelessly complicated maze of procedures. XP was much easier to personalize. Most home users just don’t have the time or experience level to learn their way around an OS as convoluted as Vista.
Besides, consumers should have the right to run whatever OS they want on their machines, not have it chosen for them by the Microsoft Cartel. It’s called freedom of choice, a concept the folks at MS don’t seem to grasp.
The software is for sure more advanced & i dont want to change it, but how on earth i can only access the internet thru a dial up, problems with the wireless & the broadband, moreover, i couldn’t access the network at my office. Every software should be matching with Vista, i got a new Vaio laptop with vista installed on mid of August from US & still wasn’t to sort the internet problem out, i m based in Cairo, Egypt.
EXACTLY WHEN WILL WE ALL SEE AND KNOW THAT FIRES AND CKT CITY AND BEST BUYS SERVICE DEPARTMENT WILL BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT **VISTA TO XP DOWN GRADES ON A REGULAR BASIS????..
THESE STORES CONTINUE TO SELL VISTA PRE LOADED UNITS ..WHAT GIVES ?? TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS … SHOUT IT OUT LOUD FOR ALL TO KNOW ..
FIRE DOGS AND GEEKS ARE NO F GOOD..
YES TO A MICROSOFT DOWN GRADE ADVISOR !!!.
WHO AMONGEST US CAN USE THE MMC AND THE DEVICE MANAGER TO HELP THERE WAY TO SUCESS .
PLUG AND PLAY … SIGNED DRIVERS ??
I LOVE COMPUTERS YES I DO !!!.
Vista sucks, even today, with all the “fixes” programs constantly crash, even MICROSOFTS ERROR REPORTING SERVICE CRASHES, LOL
And when I tried to downgrade my vista ULTIMATE, I was told by the lady on the phone when I went to activate my XP version, that I didn’t have a valid XP KEY. She SAID I NEED TO PAY FOR A VALID XP KEY.
IF I HAVE TO PAY FOR A COPY OF XP, THEN ITS NOT DOWNGRADING, ITS REINSTALLING.
THEY ARE NOW TRYING TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE YOU CAN DOWNGRADE VISTA, …
But in all REALITY, you cannot, you MUST PURCHASE a 150$ COPY OF A VALID XP.
How is this a downgrade, or how is this considered NOT charging me for the downgrade, (like they advertise users of vista premium can apparently do for “free”)
Microsoft is an over-grown beast that needs its head chopped off and split into two competing companies.