Installing Windows XP on a Vista PC?

I have a laptop with Windows Vista pre-installed in it (I received no CD when I bought it). I also have a Windows XP CD, and I want to install Windows XP on the Vista laptop, without creating a new partition OR formatting the Hard Drive. So I want to replace Windows Vista with Windows XP, and keep all the files stored in my PC. How can I do this?Installing Windows XP on a Vista PC?
Can not be done. Microsoft considers the move from Vista to XP to be a downgrade and has designed the XP installer so it will not run if Vista is on the computer.



There is actually a very practical reason for doing this. Vista is able to run with some XP files still present. So you can upgrade to Vista over the top of XP and Windows will still run. But XP is NOT able to use Vista files. So if you were to install XP over Vista, the ';Vista Only'; files left behind by both Windows and your other programs would cause Windows to crash.Installing Windows XP on a Vista PC?
Well I don't think you can because Switching to a new server would have to take a external drive to put your files on.



Right here is where you buy them.



http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.
Can't be done use the method you want to use.



First, there is a restore partition on your computer that contains the files and data the is required to do a ';reinstall to factory settings';. This partition is usually called ';D';. You need to burn this partition to a DVD so that you would be able to reinstall Vista when the time comes. And it will come because MS is dropping more of XP support all the time, and the program will soon go the way of Win98.



Second, back up all personal data.



Third, now just install XP. You may want to do a drivers search first. Once you find all of the XP drivers needed for your computer, burn them to a disk.



Note: Just about all computer manufactures no longer supply system restore disks. Instead they put the files that used to come on disks on a partition on the hard drive. They also supply instructions on how to burn these files to a bootable disk, usually a DVD, in case you need to recover from a major system crash.



Last, you can not ';replace'; an operating system by just installing over the existing system. You ';must'; format the partition that contains the OS that you wish to remove first, and then you can install the OS that you want.
You cant.. The best I can offer is you keeping SOME programs like Vista Games, %26amp; some other stuff. But Vista in General will NOT mix with XP. There are XP/Vista Hyrbrids that mix from both Versions. If you are interested in that please mail me. Other than that that isnt a option UNLESS you run VMWare which allows you to run a pair of ANY Platforms. But thats doing what you dont want to do. Either way you must start over in one sense of the word.
You cannot do this while downgrading your OS. Windows XP has no knowledge of Vista, as it was created before Vista. Recoding it to recognize a newer Windows OS would be a major pain, so they'll never do that either.

The only way to keep your files is to do it the hard way. Copy them to external hard drive or DVD, format your hard drive and install XP. Copy them back to your drive and you're set, after getting drivers and the like set up.
its now a vista pc its just a pc witha an operating system of vista. thank god your getting rid of vista