How can I downgrade from Vista?

I have a 4 year old PC originally installed with XP.

I purchased and installed a Vista Premium upgrade
as my laptop also had Vista installed.

I now have a netbook on XP and want to reinstall XP into
my PC.

When I install the OEM Recovery disc with XP home edition
on it, it tells me there is a later windows programe installed.

Can someone tell me if or how I can downgrade to XP from
Vista with the original Recovery disc. I have the Key numbers
for the original installation of XP.

Help would be appreciated.

Bill Roberts wrote:

> I have a 4 year old PC originally installed with XP.
>
> I purchased and installed a Vista Premium upgrade
> as my laptop also had Vista installed.
>
> I now have a netbook on XP and want to reinstall XP into
> my PC.
>
> When I install the OEM Recovery disc with XP home edition
> on it, it tells me there is a later windows programe installed.
>
> Can someone tell me if or how I can downgrade to XP from
> Vista with the original Recovery disc. I have the Key numbers
> for the original installation of XP.

You need to boot from the XP installation disk, not try and do it from
within Windows. Insert the XP CD into your optical drive and restart the
computer. You probably will need to change the boot order, making the CD
drive first. Some BIOSes have a keypress to give you a temporary boot order
menu, some don't. If yours doesn't, go into the BIOS and set the boot order
from there.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ