I ordered Vista, but now I think I want XP. What do do?

[Misha]

Hi.

I ordered a T61 a couple of days ago, and looking forward to getting it. When I placed the order, I asked for Vista Ultimate as my OS.

I’ve never used Vista before. Since placing the order, I’ve read up on Vista, and the bad stuff I’ve read has made me wary. I’m inclined to run XP on the machine, and maybe consider upgrading to Vista after SP1 comes out.

A couple of questions:

• - Is it easy enough to downgrade my machine to XP when it arrives? Will it come w. the downgrade disks?
  
  - If I want to move up to Vista after SP2 comes up, is that also reasonably easy?
  
  - Does this idea (downgrade, then upgrade) seem like a reasonable plan?

(Or should I case Levnovo, try and change my order to XP, and then pay for a Vista upgrade after SP 2).
(Or should I ignore the all the anti-Vista hype and get Vista anyhow)

Some maybe relevant details: I’m no super-big expert, but I’m pretty compfortable around computer, happy to do my own clean re-install of an OS if needed, etc. Also if it matters: I’m in Canada. (if that affects what upgrades/downgrades/whatevers are available here).

Any thoughts, advice, info much appreciated.

Thanks!!

[mgo]

MOD has snipped the overly large post

Welcome to the forum. You're going to find a lot of smart people here with good information. (I'm sort of smart with a little good information-he-he)

After two years of comparing XP vs. Vista on identical machines with identical programs, I suggest:
1: keep Vista. Run it for a few days and let it "settle in" which means it will set up Superfetch and indexing and that will enable faster running.
2: unless you are madly in love with the "features" like Aero and Flip 3D just revert to the "Classic" mode which is faster and easier on the eyes.
3: Google around for articles on disabling some of the services that you don't need. This will take some load off the system.
4: If you decide you hate Vista, you can likely buy a CD recovery set from Lenovo for a reasonable cost, or bit the bullet and get XP at the store. Installing is time consuming, but Lenovo has all the drivers and other features you would need.

[Misha]

Thanks, MGO!

One Q. You wrot:

> you can likely buy a CD recovery set from Lenovo for a
> reasonable cost, or bit the bullet and get XP at the store

I was under the impression that Vista Ultimate includes the right to downgrade to XP, and that at least some Thinkpads w. Vista actually ship w. the downgrade disks.

Anyone know if that's right? It it applies here?

[mgo]

Thanks, MGO!

One Q. You wrot:

> you can likely buy a CD recovery set from Lenovo for a
> reasonable cost, or bit the bullet and get XP at the store

I was under the impression that Vista Ultimate includes the right to downgrade to XP, and that at least some Thinkpads w. Vista actually ship w. the downgrade disks.

Anyone know if that's right? It it applies here?

I have no experience with this, so I cannot answer your question. Somebody else might come along with an answer for you. Or, perhaps you could make a call to Lenovo and find out.

Also, try a keyphrase search on this site and you might find an answer. Something like, "downgrade to XP from Vista" or some such....

Don't let all the negative talk about Vista scare you off. It will run fine with a little tuning up here and there. (but XP needs tweaking, too, so that's not anything new)

[RealBlackStuff]

When you buy a TP with Vista on it, thats it.
Soon as you get it, you should burn yourself the recovery disks for Vista, as these are NOT included with your purchase.

In a few cases, Lenovo supplied Downgrade-to-XP diskc, but these were special cases.
You are NOT entitled to them in any way or form.

In the USA you can buy such a downgrade set from Lenovo for ca US$45.-
Don't know what they cost in Canada.

For more info, see here

[pianowizard]

Misha, if you want to downgrade to Windows XP for free and legally, find out whether your company or school has a site license for it. If they do, ask the IT people to install it onto your laptop or even burn the CD for you. However, these licenses only allow you to use the software when you're affiliated with the company/school. As soon as you leave, you are required to uninstall it.

[carbon_unit]

Just be sure to do as RBS said and make a set of recovery discs for Vista. That way you can go back to Vista when you want to without having to buy the discs.
You will have to wait and see if there are XP downgrade discs in the box.

[Misha]

Hey. Thanks for these replies.

My understanding is that not all versions of Vista include the right to downgrade to XP, but Vista Ultimate (which is what I ordered) does.

See: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... WNGRD.html
and
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... esheet.pdf

So my hope is I don't have to buy or find an extra licence to do the downgrade...

I've been trying to contact Lenovo to clear up some questions about this, but I've had no luck so far getting through.

[Misha]

Ah okay. I called Lenovo, and called Microsoft. Here's what I learned about this situation in general:

- Lenovo used to make downgrade disks available, but they don't anymore.

- Buying a copy of Vista Ultimate *does* entitle you to a free downgrade to XP (from which you can re-upgrade later). (This is an MS thing, not a Lenovo thing).

- Sort of weirdly - no one will actually send you the disk. But, the person I spoke to at MS said - you can use any disk, borrow a friends, whatever. Then just call the microsoft activation line, and they'll activate the XP install.



Now I have to decide what to do. According to the Lenovo rep, it's too late to change the OS on my order. I'd have to cancel my existing order, and re-order, which would delay things a few days. I can either do that, or I can get the system w. Vista, and go through downgrade.

My thinking is to get the Vista system. I can play w. it for a few days, and then downgrade to XP. (And maybe upgrade to Vista when SP2 comes out). Does this seem like a crazy plan?

[mgo]

Ah okay. I called Lenovo, and called Microsoft. Here's what I learned about this situation in general:

- Lenovo used to make downgrade disks available, but they don't anymore.

- Buying a copy of Vista Ultimate *does* entitle you to a free downgrade to XP (from which you can re-upgrade later). (This is an MS thing, not a Lenovo thing).

- Sort of weirdly - no one will actually send you the disk. But, the person I spoke to at MS said - you can use any disk, borrow a friends, whatever. Then just call the microsoft activation line, and they'll activate the XP install.



Now I have to decide what to do. According to the Lenovo rep, it's too late to change the OS on my order. I'd have to cancel my existing order, and re-order, which would delay things a few days. I can either do that, or I can get the system w. Vista, and go through downgrade.

My thinking is to get the Vista system. I can play w. it for a few days, and then downgrade to XP. (And maybe upgrade to Vista when SP2 comes out). Does this seem like a crazy plan?

Sounds like you have done some solid footwork in deciding what to do for your needs. Letting Vista run for a few days will help to settle the operating system in as it "learns" your system and your operating habits.

In addition to my original reply to your post, just make sure you create the factory original disk set as soon as you get the machine, so that you have an emergency "fall back" image.

Since you seem to be a bit of an experimenter, it's helpful to have a good imaging program like Acronis or some other brand so you can rescue yourself should things go wrong. An imaging program is tons faster than the ThinkPad disk scheme or Rescue & Recovery.

As I recall from the beta days, Vista Ultimate also has a complete backup capability, but I remember that is was pretty awful.

I'm assuming that your new ThinkPad will be coming with 2 gig of RAM, which is very helpful when running Vista. If there is less onboard, invest a few dollars for more. It's well worth it.

[carbon_unit]

My thinking is to get the Vista system. I can play w. it for a few days, and then downgrade to XP. (And maybe upgrade to Vista when SP2 comes out). Does this seem like a crazy plan?

That is what I would do. Two OS's for the price of one.

[Misha]

Ha! Just wanted to follow up on this thread.

In the end - the machine arrived. And, although both Lenovo sales and support told me it wouldn't come w. XP downgrade discs, it did come w. XP downgrade discs. Yay! I played w. XP for a couple of weeks, then downgraded to XP with no trouble (after making a set of Vista discs), and all seems fine.

(The only crappy part- I talked to a few differnet sales and support people at Lenovo, and each time I was told a different thing about the availability of the XP discs. The communiation really sucked. But the end results seems great!)

[rbena]

Ha! Just wanted to follow up on this thread.

In the end - the machine arrived. And, although both Lenovo sales and support told me it wouldn't come w. XP downgrade discs, it did come w. XP downgrade discs. Yay! I played w. XP for a couple of weeks, then downgraded to XP with no trouble (after making a set of Vista discs), and all seems fine.

Hey, that's good to hear. I was going to mention anyway that installing Lenovo's XP product disks specifically for the T61 could save a whole lot of time vs installing a vanilla XP disk and then trying to configure the T61. You've done well.

[sktn77a]

(The only crappy part- I talked to a few differnet sales and support people at Lenovo, and each time I was told a different thing about the availability of the XP discs. The communiation really sucked. But the end results seems great!)

Yeah, this has become a real problem with computer tech support (even Lenovo/IBM, which used to be fantastic). My recommendation to folks is to keep calling (up to 5-6 times) until you get the answer you want! Maybe they just don't know or maybe they are gradually trying to wean people off customer/technical support, but I have called about warranty/support issues recently and can usually get a reasonable response by the 3rd try!