Downgrade from windows 7 to xp

[woknam66]

I'm contemplating upgrading from xp to the windows 7 beta, and I have a couple of questions.

1. Will I be able to downgrade back to xp, and is there anything I will have to do before or during the windows 7 install in order to downgrade?

2. When I originally bought my laptop, it had windows xp home installed, then the hard drive got corrupted. I decided that since I had nothing important installed on the hard drive, I would just but a new one, and install windows xp professional on that. So the copy of windows that I have on my laptop is not the one that came with it. What I'm wondering is, will I be able to activate windows 7 after I install it and how?

Useful information about me:

Version of windows is not the original one

Hard drive is not the original one

Hard drive size is 60 gb and has two partitions: One about 45 gb for windows xp professional and one about 15 gb for ubuntu 8.10

I have a dual-boot system

I have access to a 160 gb external hard drive

[Dencandy]

I suggest you think carefully before replacing XP with Windows7 Beta. Windows XP is a tried and tested OS over several years. We all know it's not perfect but it's now fairly stable & there's a lot of people with experience of using it whom you can go to for advice.

Windows 7 is Beta. That means it's still being tested and MS are not yet offering it for use to the general public. It's certainly not yet being offered as an upgrade from XP. So you'd be taking a big risk if you used it as a replacement for XP while it's still in Beta.

You say you have an external hard drive. Why don't you download it to that and use it from there if you want to experiment with it, rather than replacing XP?

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I agree with Dencandy's assessment.

Install Windows 7 on a separate partition, or in Virtual PC, but do not replace your working XP system. There is no guarantee that you can uninstall Windows 7, and get a working XP system back. Unless, of course, you take a full backup of your system.

[-pops-]

If you have downloaded the Windows 7 that is currently available you will see it comes with a number of warnings about not using it on an important computer.

I would suggest, as Dencandy says, that you think very carefully before installing. If you do decide to go ahead, the instructions offered by Microsoft give all the details of how to install.

If you have not downloaded Windows 7 yet, be quick in doing so as it only available for a short time. DO NOT get your copy from anywhere other than the real Microsoft site.

[andsome]

I concur with the others. If you need to ask advice on Windows 7 why risk it? :D

[woknam66]

Dencandy:

You can download the Windows 7 beta.

Why don't you download it to that and use it from there if you want to experiment with it, rather than replacing XP?

Because then I won't be able to access any of my programs.

Pat Willener:

I don't have enough free space on my computer to make another partition to install Windows 7 on, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to run any of my programs from XP on it.

All:

Will Windows 7 will activate fine even though I'm not using the version of windows that came with the computer?

Also, if I backup my partition that contains xp professional onto my external hard drive with a program like carbon copy cloner, upgrade to windows 7, hate it, and want to downgrade, can I just easily copy the files from my external hard drive back onto my xp partition on my laptop. What I'm worried about is that my laptop was supposed to come with a 60 gb hard drive, but it says that it's only 55 gb, and I'm not sure if the last 5 gb contain a hidden partition with necessary files on it that I can't access.

Also, would making a recovery disk to restore windows to it's current state (before upgrading to windows 7) be of any use to me, and if so, how would I make one?

Also, XP isn't my main operating system, Ubuntu 8.10 is, so if I accidentally completely screw up my XP partition to the the point where it is completely unusable, I would be slightly disheartened, but I wouldn't care THAT much.

So please, instead of trying to convince me not to switch to Windows 7, just tell me what I need to do before I upgrade so that I would be able to safely downgrade if I hate Windows 7, and how to downgrade.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I don't have enough free space on my computer to make another partition to install Windows 7 on, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to run any of my programs from XP on it.

I've heard (but I still haven't tested it myself) that you can run programs on Windows 7 that are actually installed on XP.

If you want to go ahead and (temporarily) replace XP, then the best backup would be an image backup, as Acronis True Image does.

If you don't want to invest in a professional backup program, then you can make an Automated System Recovery with the ASR Wizard (Windows XP backup program). That will let you restore your system from whatever state your XP partition is in.

[-pops-]

Be aware that the version of Windows 7 available at the moment will cease working in August 2009. It is vital that you make provision for this.

Have you downloaded the software yet? During the registration for download there is a comprehensive installation manual available. It is important to read this. There is also further instruction on the email sent after registration.

The current version of Windows 7 does not need "activating" per se but it does need a product key which, again, is provided with the download.

[woknam66]

Pat Willener:

I'd rather use a free bakup program, like carbon copy cloner. Does ASR come automatically with xp, and will I be able to access it from windows 7 later? Also, like I mentioned earlier, is there a hidden partition on my hard drive that contains necessary files that I also need to backup?

-pops-:

I know that the windows 7 beta will expire in august, but I am planning on buying a new computer before that. I was originally planning on getting a mac, but I've heard from a lot of tech shows that windows 7 is a lot like OS X. So one ofnthr reasons that I want to use windows 7 is to help be decide between a mac or a pc. I've already downloaded a copy of windows 7 and installed it as a dual-boot system on a different computer, so can I use the same disk to install windows 7 on a different computer? Also, where can I find the product key?

[-pops-]

You can install the beta version on multiple computers (this will not be so with the full, completed version).

The product key is given in an email when you register your interest in the software - together with a download link. If you have W7 already, you should have these. The product key is a 5 x 5 alphanumeric code.

When I mentioned it didn't need activating in a previous post, I mean that it didn't need the activation registration with MS - all this one does is complete the installation for you. The software can be installed as many times as you wish on as many machines as you wish.

[woknam66]

Ok, I got the product key. I'm almost ready to upgrade, just a couple more questions:

1. If I backup my partition that contains xp professional onto my external hard drive with a program like carbon copy cloner, upgrade to windows 7, hate it, and want to downgrade, can I just easily copy the files from my external hard drive back onto my xp partition on my laptop. What I'm worried about is that my laptop was supposed to come with a 60 gb hard drive, but it says that it's only 55 gb, and I'm not sure if the last 5 gb contain a hidden partition with necessary files on it that I can't access.

2. Would making a recovery disk to restore windows to it's current state (before upgrading to windows 7) be of any use to me, and if so, how would I make one?

3. Does Automated System Recovery come automatically with xp, and will I be able to access it from windows 7 later? Also, like I mentioned earlier, is there a hidden partition on my hard drive that contains necessary files that I also need to backup?

[Boris]

Also, like I mentioned earlier, is there a hidden partition on my hard drive that contains necessary files that I also need to backup?

What make and model of PC is it ?

[woknam66]

Dell Inspiron 6000, and I think it's from around 2002-2003.

[y2khardtop]

don't install Vista or Win7 on a computer that old.....you won't be able to use any of the "pretty" stuff, and without that it's no better than XP.

I don't know why folks make backups so complicated......just copy your users folder (Vista) or you my documents folder (xp) and you are all set. Unless you put data in unusual places, you docs/users folders hold all of your data (docs/photos/music etc).

Unless you have a new, perfectly running, never hanging install of Windows, I'd never try and make an image for backup. A fresh install and reload of your data (from above) is the better solution

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

3. Does Automated System Recovery come automatically with xp, and will I be able to access it from windows 7 later? Also, like I mentioned earlier, is there a hidden partition on my hard drive that contains necessary files that I also need to backup?

Yes, ASR is part of XP. It will create a boot floppy, from which you can launch the restore. You cannot restore while Windows 7 is running.

[Dencandy]

ASR will copy all necessary system files, hidden & not hidden. The discrepency in the amount of disk space is probably partly due to one measurement taking account of directories, indexes, etc and the other one not doing so. Assume the smallest figure as the amount of space you can actually use.

[Boris]

Also, like I mentioned earlier, is there a hidden partition on my hard drive that contains necessary files that I also need to backup?

What make and model of PC is it ?

Dell Inspiron 6000, and I think it's from around 2002-2003.

See this :-

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/syst...om/D5181bk5.pdf

It does appear to have a hidden restore partition as standard.

Page 73 tells you how to initiate the recovery process.

[woknam66]

Pat Willener:

Does ASR restore my computer the the way it was when I originally got it?

I don't have a floppy drive, so will it let me use a CD, DVD, or (preferibly) flash drive?

Is there a way to restore if I have Windows 7?

Dencandy:

Are the "two measurements" you talked about Dell and Microsoft? Is the difference of 5 gb really just Windows incorrectly calculating the total amount of space that my files take up? Did Microsoft really mess that up?

Boris:

That restores my computer to the way it was when I originally got it, which seems pointless if I want to keep all of my files....

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

ASR will restore the system to the point it was when the ASR was taken.

There *may* be a way to create a bootable CD-ROM or DVD from your ASR backup, but you will have to make it yourself - ASR does not support it. The data will have to come from the %windir%\repair folder.

As I wrote earlier, you cannot restore the ASR backup (or any backup) while Windows 7 is running; it must be done from an independent boot disk.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

P.S. [to everybody interested in the Windows 7 beta] Windows 7 beta is no longer available on the Microsoft website; the 2.5 million downloads that were allotted have been exhausted. Also, according to Microsoft, there will be no other beta release; the next will most likely be a Release Candidate.

[Dencandy]

Dencandy:

Are the "two measurements" you talked about Dell and Microsoft? Is the difference of 5 gb really just Windows incorrectly calculating the total amount of space that my files take up? Did Microsoft really mess that up?

There are different ways of describing the memory capacity of a disk & the memory used and free. There seems to be no universally agreed method for doing it. I doubt that Microsoft incorrectly calculated the amount of space that your files take up, they just used a different method. But without knowing the methods which Dell & MS used to do the calculation, I can't say. You'd need to enquire from them.

As I wrote earlier, it safest to assume that the smallest figure for memory still available, and the largest figure for memory actually used, are correct.

There are programs available which will accurately calculate the precise amount of space allocated to each folder and the precise amount of free memory and will descibe the methodology they use. I don't know any myself but you'd find some if you did a search on the internet. If you download anything to do the calculation, remember to make sure that it's from a reputable source.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

It all comes down to kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, etc.

In the strictly metric world

• 1 kilo = 1,000
• 1 mega = 1,000,000
• 1 giga = 1,000,000,000

In the world of computers, the above numbers are nonsense - they don't fit into the byte concept, and the hexadecimal system is used instead of decimal. So here

• 1 kilo = 2¹⁰ = 1,024
• 1 mega = 2²⁰ = 1,048,576
• 1 giga = 2³⁰ = 1,073,741,824

So, if you have a disk that contains 60,000,000,000 bytes, the manufacturer will most likely offer it as a 60GB disk, whereas it really is (60,000,000,000 ÷ 1,073,741,824) only some 55GB.

[woknam66]

I realized what the difference was about 2 minutes ago. Anyways, nevermind about all of this, I just found out that microsoft doesn't upport upgrading from XP to windows 7. So because of microsoft's laziness, they have officially lost a customer.

[andsome]

I realized what the difference was about 2 minutes ago. Anyways, nevermind about all of this, I just found out that microsoft doesn't upport upgrading from XP to windows 7. So because of microsoft's laziness, they have officially lost a customer.

I don't in all honesty think that this is a case of laziness. Windows 7 is a Beta program, released for testing by experts. You can hardly expect a company to release such a program at an early stage of development and then wet nurse non experts through teething troubles. No doubt full support will be available when it is finally released for all to use. If you try out a Beta program, you must be prepared for problems, and be competent to deal with them.

[woknam66]

I don't think it was laziness either, but it was still a bad decision that probably lost them many customers.