Article on Windows Vista

Downgrading From Windows Vista to Windows XP

By Christopher Dolliver

Vista Insight

I've both heard and read a lot of complaints about Windows Vista but have rarely seen specific references to the editions or versions people are having specific problems with. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit full editions and then there are also many OEM versions.

While this article addresses the general topic of downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP, it also covers some of the issues revolving around problems incurred by Windows Vista users and possible solutions. It is not however an all-in-one solution to any user’s specific problems.

Which edition and version(s) are you running? It’s imperative that you know which edition and version you are running in order to better address your specific problems. Once you know exactly which edition and version you’re running you can then conduct searches and inquiries for your specific system’s resources. You should also have your system set-up to automatically update via Microsoft with their on-going updated drivers as they become available. The drivers will also include hardware drivers for your system from relevant suppliers.

There are without any doubts compatibility issues with the 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. From past experiences with 64-bit operating systems I can safely say that this is the norm. The architecture is still relatively new to the open market and as such it’s not widely adopted yet. Being such, it can take 6 months or so before new hardware drivers are readily made available on the market.

Even with SP1 the Windows Vista 64-bit system still has a lot of hardware compatibility issues, this should almost be alleviated with the release of SP2 (check with Microsoft for release dates). Those who chose to ride it out won’t be disappointed in the end, as the trend for newer software and hardware will fall in suit with 64-bit versions.

The Windows Vista 32-bit versions on the other hand are a very different story. Being more widely accepted and on the market longer, they can work great if installed and configured correctly with SP1. In fact, they can work well enough to completely do away with other systems like Windows XP and will be in the forefront of compatibility.

If you’re using a Windows Vista 32-bit version and you’re a heavy gamer you might want to use something like Crysis. By putting all of its settings on high you can obtain close to the same frame rates you did with Windows XP.

Who knows? You might even come to appreciate the extra level of security that Windows Vista provides by isolating the user from administrator level privileges. This is something that Windows Vista actually makes more manageable than Windows XP or previous versions of Windows. Windows Vista also has a wealth of other advantages over Windows XP that you will come to appreciate once you’ve mastered how to use them. Check Microsoft Help for more information and instructions on usage of those features.

You should always make a thorough assessment of why you feel it necessary to change from one system to another. In this case, why are you considering downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP? You should always start with the following basics to improve performance and to optimize any system before scrapping it. In short, give it a real chance before making any hasty decisions.

Performance: The biggest problem with poor performance is due to memory. All editions and versions of Windows Vista have a minimum memory requirement of 512 MB and 1 GB to take advantage of certain premium features, such as Aero graphics. The maximum amount of memory depends largely upon the edition and version you have chosen: Needless to say, if your PC has only 512 MB of RAM it will operate slower than if you had more memory.

Windows Vista and Memory Maximums

Version of Windows Vista Maximum addressable memory

Any 32-bit version of Vista Approximately 3.3 GBs

Home Basic 64-bit 8 GBs

Home Premium 64-bit 16 GBs

Business 64-bit 128 GBs

Ultimate 64-bit 128 GBs

Tips: A good rule of thumb is to always at least double the minimum ram requirements for an OS. For optimum performance add more ram and constantly tweak and maintain your system. This can be done very easily these days by using various automated system tools set to run at different times throughout the week or even monthly. There are also adjustments that can be done in Windows Vista to improve performance without adding memory. Check with Microsoft to see a comprehensive list or check Windows Vista’s Help.

Downgrade Process

Tip: Consult the Microsoft End-User License Agreement that came with your computer software for information on downgrading and then check the Microsoft network for any amendments on authorized downgrading before starting to downgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP.

Are you ready? Brace yourself for what could turn into yet another long and bumpy ride! The outcome of the downgrade process may leave your computer in an unknown state, its functionality may be diminished, and you may still need to get your hands on Windows XP compatible application software, drivers, or even hardware if you purchased your system with Windows Vista already installed or bought hardware after Windows Vista being installed on your system. Most of all you will probably need SATA drivers for the hard disk.

If you haven’t done any investigative work or just don’t know enough about your computer system’s hardware or Windows Vista version, etc. you shouldn’t continue. You could be doing yourself a big disfavor if you proceed without knowing the necessary information about your system and the tools required. If you’re not certain of something you should do more investigation, consult an expert before proceeding, or have an expert do it for you.

Now that you’ve finished all of your investigative work, exhausted all of your resources, and tried just about everything else, you’ve still concluded that the best thing for you to do is to downgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP. You’re 100% certain that you’ve had enough and you’re ready to throw in the towel on Windows Vista and have a quick blast to the past by reentering into the land of Windows XP once again.

You’ll be on the way back to Windows XP quicker if you’re one of those people that always plays it safe and took the time to make that Windows XP Recovery CD set. The set is bootable and will install the complete preloaded image of your operating system, drivers, and applications back on the system to a state before Windows Vista was installed. If you have a set of original Windows XP disks they will also do, but you’ll still have to do a lot of installation of other software later.

The steps that follow outline the general process of downgrading from a Windows Vista operating system to a Windows XP operating system. There may be more steps involved that you will need to take depending on your individual computer hardware, application software, peripherals, etc.

Keep in mind that any software and/or drivers that were installed with Windows Vista or after its installation will be 100% lost! As this boot process will reformat the hard drive, remove existing disk partitions, and erase any user data, settings and applications.

NOTE: Skip step 2 if you had Windows XP previously installed on your current system configuration.

PROCEEDURES:

1. Making a Windows Vista System Recovery CD Set: These may be needed in the event that the operating system downgrade to Windows XP is inadequate. Alternatives to making a System Recovery CD set are to use: a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, or to take an image of the entire hard drive using a utility like Acronis TrueImage or Symantec’s Norton Ghost. Any one of these methods can be used to reinstall Windows Vista to its former state in the event that the downgrade to Windows XP is unsuccessful. In which case you will need to decide whether to find another suitable alternative for your OS or to keep Windows Vista.

2. Preinstalled Versions of Windows Vista: Before installation of Windows XP, find a chipset driver that is compatible with Windows XP and copy it to CD or another form of media. If your system also came with a video card, not on-board video, then also download Windows XP compatible video drivers. These files can be found on the chipset or video card manufacturers support websites.

3. Back Up: Before inserting your first Windows XP Recovery CD or other media you should backup any data on separate media and reinstall any XP software and your data once the system has been downgraded to Windows XP and is running satisfactorily. In addition, if you are not able to find a Windows XP driver for a particular hardware component, you may need to purchase and install a new hardware component that is compatible with Windows XP.

4. Compatibility of Windows Vista Applications: Your Windows XP environment must be checked for compatibility with Windows Vista applications. Check online, manuals, Help files or other sources. Plan how to acquire Windows XP compatible versions of your applications or replacement with equivalent alternative application software before proceeding.

5. Updating the Chipset: Insert the media with the latest chipset driver package for the Windows XP operating system. The chipset contains the core driver functionality for onboard components like: networking and sound. Use the CD, or other media source created in step 2 to install the files during the installation of Windows XP. If you made a CD and are installing XP by CD you may need to swap the CDs several times to get all of the updated drivers installed. Follow the Windows XP installation prompts. Alternatively, you can boot your system with the drivers CD loaded before installing Windows XP. This should install most, if not all, of the drivers.

6. Installing Windows XP: Install a genuine Windows XP operating system according to the installation instructions that came with it if your system came preinstalled with Windows Vista. Otherwise, use your Windows XP Recovery CD Set or other form of media to reinstall it on your system. Follow the required installation instructions. NOTE: You should be aware that you can overwrite Windows 32-bit system, but should not attempt to overwrite a Windows 64-bit system. Due to parsing concerns the latter should be uninstalled and the hard drive reformatted before any new installations made.

7. Network Set Up: Set up and configure your network via your provider. Ensure that your local connection is protected with either Windows Firewall or another firewall application like: Symantec’s Internet Firewall.

8. Windows Live Update: Connect to the internet and use Windows Live Update to install all critical updates which must include Service Pack 2 for XP (if not already installed at this point). The installation of Service Pack 2 for XP is crucial for many components to function properly. Some drivers simply will not install unless Service Pack 2 for XP is first installed. Your system will need to reboot to continue.

9. Checking Hardware Components: Reconnect to the internet and check each hardware component to see if it’s functioning properly. If any component isn’t functioning properly download and install the latest drivers for those components. Note: Most drivers should be automatically installed by XP after installing Services Pack 2 which may require additional reboots of your system. Just follow the installation instructions and reboot as you install – do not use the “Wait Until Later” option as it can cause drivers to have I/O conflicts and in turn hardware to malfunction later on. TIP: Open Device Manager and then view the hardware component names to quickly obtain required hardware drivers while connected to the Internet. Update all of the hardware names with a yellow exclamation point on their icon. You do this by a right-click on the component name, and then clicking Update Driver. This will start a search for the appropriate driver. Continue the process until all of the yellow explanation marks have been removed. Remember to reboot as required.

10. Getting Started with Windows XP: If you are able to find all drivers, you are done and can start using your software applications. If you didn’t use a Windows XP Recovery method be sure to install any additional high priority software first, such as anti-virus software, if not already done, because you will have to continue to revisit the internet for even more downloads and updates for your software applications as you install them.

Utilities

If you think that you still may need help with your system downgrade form Windows Vista to Windows XP, or just to simplify and make the whole process go a little smoother, you may want to check out any or all of the following utilities. You may also decide to try one or more of these utilities on your XP system for other reasons such as: compatibility issues, more reliability or simply for monetary savings.

Powersuite

Powersuite is an all-in-one windows boot disk/recovery system suitable for:
Windows 98/ME/2K/2003/XP/NT/Vista. You can use it to boot up any computer; fix and install Windows; optimize and speed up your system; clean up history and protect privacy; recover data and passwords; partition and format the hard drive(s); clone and backup your system; and more.

For more details visit: http://www.theonebootcd.com/

Acronis Disk Director Suite 10

Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0 is one of the easiest and most convenient partition manager and hard disk toolkits on the market. It brings together the most popular disk management functions, partition recovery tools, and boot disk manager for Windows XP and Windows Vista desktop systems.

For more details visit: http://www.Acronis.com/

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite is an award-winning tool that provides a total security system that is trusted by millions of users worldwide. It gives the simplicity that novices want without compromising the thorough security needed to keep your data and system safe. There are some free components available as well as trail versions.

For more details visit: http://www.zonealarm.com/

Norton 360 Version 2.0 All-in-One Security

This is just one of many packages that Symantec has to offer. It has software ranging from individual programs to package deals or suites to protect the infrastructure of personal computers all the way up to corporate networks. Symantec has been protecting computers for about 25 years and is one of the most widely trusted security providers in the field today.

For more details visit: http://www.symantec.com/

avast! antivirus v4.8

avast! antivirus v4.8 from ALWIL Software is available for free to non-commercial, home use and has more than 50 million users worldwide. It represents a multi-award winning solution to virus protection, with anti-spyware and anti-rootkit software built in for added security.

For more details visit: http://www.avast.com/

Disclaimer: This article has been written with purely good intentions and is intended as a guide to assist Windows Vista users with the downgrade to Windows XP. Users that follow any or all instructions do so of their own free will. They do not and can not hold the author, distributor, or any other persons distributing this document accountable or liable for any problems or malfunctions arising from usage of any information contained within this article with regards to their Windows Vista and/or Windows XP operating systems and/or of any part of their computer systems.

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