Switching from Vista to XP

[Citrus]

I'm seriously considering making the switch. My older desktop is running Windows XP Home Edition on a Pentium 4 with a 2.4GHZ processor and 512MB of RAM and I think 80GB of Hard Drive.

My somewhat new laptop is running Vista Home Premium with an Intel Core Duo, 2GHZ processor, and 1GB of RAM and it's a 32 bit operating system with 140GB of hard drive.

Is there ANY reason why I shouldn't switch? Because the only things I'll miss are the nice looking visuals of vista and my DVD software that only works on vista. But I have an adobe program that will work the same way and I have Burn Aware.

If there are no really bad reasons not to switch I'll back up all my files and try to figure out how to switch operating systems. Unless someone out there knows how to or has a link.

I'll try to answer any questions you might have.

I'm switching cus I'm getting annoyed with everything crashing just so you know.

[The_Count]

im not sure about how to switch. but i know the cheapest way. On your old desktop PC somewhere there should be a serial number/activation code for XP. all you need is a backup disc of the exact same operating system ie windows xp home edition SP2 if thats what it says on the little label on the pc and then use that activation code. :) thats how i installed windows xp on my mac, cos i never use the old pc anymore so whats to stop me using that copy of windows on a different computer.

and good idea to switch back to XP. vista = fail

[toppie34]

vista is not a fail person above me also i would just switch because you will still have the same things on it and it will run pretty much the same maybe sometimes it will run slower because of the nice looks but i mean you get the cool looks

[Citrus]

Would this be a dumb idea for backing up?

A lot of the stuff on my computer right now is freeware (not illegal actual free stuff like audacity and Celtx) and personal files (documents, video footage, music) I only have like 4 actual programs that I have on CD's and those I can easily replace and put back to regular settings. So I was thinking of just backing up my personal files and making a list of anything I want to put back on my computer when I get XP. I've got a set of backup discs from when I first got the computer (the computer was basically untouched so it was factory state). If I just back up the actual vista software and keep any codes I might need for it and back up my personal files could I just wipe the memory completely before I install XP?

[Vaughn Whynot]

i hated vista at 1st
but if you have a good enough computer to use it ....its a dream
there are alot of great features with xp including a program thing called window blinds
thats you can make your xp look like vista
might be a idea if your going back to xp and you like the vista look

[Citrus]

My laptop came with vista on it and I loved it at first. But if I try to work on a movie in Adobe Premier it crashes. And if I have more than 3 applications (not counting internet) open at once the computer will freeze. I go to the desktop and try to open like 5 high perfomance programs and it works fine. And the desktop isn't as good as my laptop hardware wise.

[Vaughn Whynot]

thats crazy
i can run halo,sony vegas,itunes,windows messenger and firefox plus everything else (mail clients,anti virus etc.) and it runs super fast

[Citrus]

Yeah if I try to play Halo on mine when something else is going on the game lags incredibly. But if I have nothing else going on I can pwn people in online.

[Vaughn Whynot]

hmmmm
well i would make a back up and then try xp on the laptop
and if it doesn't work then bring it back to vista
in vista (you probably know) but it was a back up manager that you can burn a disc to boot back to vista

[Citrus]

yeah I'll try that out later this week when I have a little more time.

[Vaughn Whynot]

indeed
hope everything goes well

[Citrus]

thanks me too.

[DaiMoGui]

The first thing I did when I got my new laptop last year was to wipe Vista off and put XP back on. I would say stay with what your happy using. I went from 98SE to XP, I skipped ME all together. And now I hope to do the same thing with Vista, I'll hold on to my XP until they come up with the next OS that is worth something. Seriously, when you look at requirements for anything that uses Vista, it usually takes more RAM and CPU than it does to run the same software under XP. I was at a Best Buy and saw a laptop running Vista when it first came out. I opened Mine Sweeper and watched as the CPU cycles were totally pegged. WTF? I was thinking, this game has been around since Win 3.11 and it saps the CPU like that.

But, I guess I am resistant to change as you can see by my story about 98SE.

Good luck with your decision, make sure to download all your hardware drivers for XP, and burn them before you reformat. Especially your LAN driver, so you can get back online and get the rest of your driver.

-DaiMoGui

[Citrus]

The first thing I did when I got my new laptop last year was to wipe Vista off and put XP back on. I would say stay with what your happy using. I went from 98SE to XP, I skipped ME all together. And now I hope to do the same thing with Vista, I'll hold on to my XP until they come up with the next OS that is worth something. Seriously, when you look at requirements for anything that uses Vista, it usually takes more RAM and CPU than it does to run the same software under XP. I was at a Best Buy and saw a laptop running Vista when it first came out. I opened Mine Sweeper and watched as the CPU cycles were totally pegged. WTF? I was thinking, this game has been around since Win 3.11 and it saps the CPU like that.

But, I guess I am resistant to change as you can see by my story about 98SE.

Good luck with your decision, make sure to download all your hardware drivers for XP, and burn them before you reformat. Especially your LAN driver, so you can get back online and get the rest of your driver.

-DaiMoGui
Thanks for the info. I would be fine burning XP to cd's right? Cus I don't have a DVD burner on my desktop.

[DaiMoGui]

That should be fine, the driver should be pretty small anyway, you could just put it on a USB stick drive. All of the drivers shouldn't take much space. It's just one of those thing I overlooked before that pissed me off. "I could fix you computer if I could get online, but I can't get online because I don't have the LAN driver. And the only way for me to get the driver is to be online." This really sucks when your sitting at your friends house and now nothing works. Just go to the website of your laptop maker, go to the driver section, and then grab all the XP drivers. That's what I had to do for my HP.

-DaiMoGui

[Citrus]

Thanks again!

[sonnyfromda02]

I thought about downgrading my laptop to XP, but after a week of playing with Vista, I was hooked. I haven't had any software crashes from it, and I honestly haven't really touched my desktops, (both run XP), in a while. The only thing I don't like about XP is the fact that my old video camera drivers don't work on it, and my printer doesn't have the correct drivers for Vista. If you really want to go back to XP, you should be able to burn a 2 DVD set of back up for Vista though.

[ciwi286]

If you like what vista looks like there is always This (http://www.rotteneggs.com/r3/show/se/223032.html) option.

[Vaughn Whynot]

If you like what vista looks like there is always This (http://www.rotteneggs.com/r3/show/se/223032.html) option.
yeah its like window blinds

[ciwi286]

Its just a guide on how to use the software. (same software I find when I google "windows blinds xp")