[antiherodave]

i hate windows vista which i installed in my new machine thinking i would like it. but know i hate it! i can't do the things i used to do on my old machine which was a dell 4600 dimension desktop(ancient). i had windows xp home edition in it with serivce pack 2. can someone please help me get rid of vista and install XP home sp2. everything in my new machine supports xp so someone PLEASE HELP ME!!! P.S. the tech guy that installed my bios (i built the machine but was lost when it came to BIOS) ask me why i didn't put XP in it because he had to download a driver for my harddrive to make it work with vista. i want to wipe everything clean and just start with the xp home sp2 cd like it is a brand new computer. someone please help??!!!!

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Hello,
This is an easy solution.
While you are backing up your data to removable storage (flash drive, CD, DVD, external hard drive) Go out and buy a legal copy of Windows XP (full version or OEM, not upgrade) You may have to go to a website like tigerdirect.com to find a copy of XP.
Install the Windows XP just like you did Vista,
And then install all of your programs,
And then restore the data that you backed up.

[hfcg]

Hello,
This is an easy solution.
While you are backing up your data to removable storage (flash drive, CD, DVD, external hard drive) Go out and buy a legal copy of Windows XP (full version or OEM, not upgrade) You may have to go to a website like tigerdirect.com to find a copy of XP.
Install the Windows XP just like you did Vista,
And then install all of your programs,
And then restore the data that you backed up.

[antiherodave]

i have a xp service pack 2 cd from my old computer, i'm a newbie and i had to take my machine to a shop to have the bios done once i built it because i got stuck. if you could give me instructions on how to remove vista and install the xp home edition service pack 2 i would be extremly gratful. thanks in advance, antihero dave.

[antiherodave]

my copy of xp is legal and i have the product key so where do we go from here???

[antiherodave]

and i don't have anything on my new machine that i need to back up. i moved all the files i wanted to keep on my old machine to an external hard drive. so how to uninstall vista, reinstall xp is all the info i need (step by step please!).

[hfcg]

i have a xp service pack 2 cd from my old computer,

You can not legaly use a copy of Windows that is "from" another computer.
You will have trouble activating this copy of Windows.
Knowing that you wish to use a copy of Windows illegaly, I would be commiting a crime if I helped you.
I realy do not need legal problems.
I am sorry.

Edited by hfcg, 22 November 2008 - 01:24 PM.

[antiherodave]

it is not a copy! it is the reinstallation CD from my old system.

[antiherodave]

how can this be illegal when i own both systems, have license keys for both systems, and can swap anything i want from one computer to the other????

[hfcg]

When I said copy, I did not mean that you made it.
You may not swap anything from one computer to another.
Any program that states in the EULA that it is for one computer can not be swapped to another computer.
The key code that you have is for that one machine only.
It is tied to the motherboard.
You may not use it on another computer.
You do not own it. (you own a one computer license)
When it was installed a number was created based on your motherboard. If the number does not match you can not activate it.

[wannabe1]

Hello antiherodave...

Licensing issues can be tricky sometimes.

Are the re-installation disks you have from brand name machines such as Dell, HP, Compaq, etc...?

If they are, these are referred to as OEM disks. The operating system and key from these disks are tied to the hardware on which it is originally installed and cannot legally be transferred to another machine. Another type of OEM disk is that which is purchased with qualifying hardware. These are usually plainly marked as OEM versions. They, too, are tied to the hardware on which they were originally installed. Essentially, OEM operating systems live and die with the machine they are first installed on.

If, on the other hand, your disk is a retail version that was purchased through Microsoft or another retail outlet, it's licensed to you and not to the hardware. Retail versions can be legally installed on any machine you own so long as it is installed on only one machine at any given time. These disks will be labeled with the Microsoft holographic label.

While a retail version may require a phone call to Microsoft for activation when you transfer it to another machine, it will activate. The registration number for the previous machine will be deactivated and the new one registered to you for the new hardware. You may do this as often as you wish.

As hfcg advised, an OEM version that is transferred from one machine to another will likely not activate with Microsoft...which will eventually lead to the operating system becoming nonfunctional. Even by phone, Microsoft will not activate an OEM version that's been transferred to a new machine. The only way around this is to use the original motherboard...then it will be seen as a hardware upgrade and not a new platform.

So...determining the kind of disk you have will also determine whether you can legally transfer the operating system to a different machine or not.

Does this help or just add to the confusion?

wannabe1

[antiherodave]

thx wannabe1,
and i am sorry if i seemed a little short with everyone. i have just been going crazy cause some of the programs i really liked are not vista compatable (soulseek). and to not stray from the subject, yes wannabe1, you really cleared things up for me. the reinstallation cd was for my old system so i guess i am stuck there. i am stuck with the vista cd i got from new egg for 100 bucks and i am having nat trouble and port forwarding problems. buying a new machine has been one big mistake. thx everyone for the help and listening to how bummed i am!!

[antiherodave]

ok, maybe more of the programs work with vista than i thought, but can someone help me with this port forwarding problem?????PLEASE!!!!! i have a couple of programs that require ports to be open. i had problems with my old machine until i realized that my cable modem had a firewall in it that was blocking the ports. i fixed this on my old comp and never had any more problems. now i have this new comp that has vista and the ports wil not open. they are open on my cable modem, they are allowed programs on my windows firewall. i don't get it. if i could fix this problem then vista would not be so bad. someone please help, it's killing me!!!!!!!!

[hfcg]

Hello,
From the other post I see that you are using utorrent. may I ask why?

• Click the start button.
• Select control panel.
• Open Network and sharing center.
• Make sure that network discovery is on and password protected sharing is off.

[antiherodave]

why would i wany to do that?

[antiherodave]

want to do that?