Although nowadays more and more users are betting on Windows 10 , the new and renewed operating system developed by Microsoft and officially launched just a few years ago (specifically, it went on sale on July 29, 2015), there are still many who continue to use both Windows Vista and Windows XP .
In any case, although Windows Vista promised to become a true revolution after the reign of Windows XP, Microsoft disappointed, to the point that the company itself indicated that “the main problem with Vista was that given the delays, uncertainty and significant changes in software, the rest of the industry was not ready when Vista finally arrived. “
It was August 2008, and this opinion was collected in an article published by the New York Times . Although at the time most users who ventured to try it did not worry about the lag, for example, in the hardware drivers, it is true that many suffered quite a lot of initial problems.
Thus, even today for many users who continue to use Windows XP continues to work well , meeting their needs without causing many problems or incidents. And while Windows Vista should theoretically be noticeably better, it doesn’t offer enough benefits when it comes to must-have features to jump right in and try a version other than Windows 7, 8, or 10.
In any case, if in the middle of 2020 you ventured to use Windows Vista and you regret the change, did you know that it is possible to reinstall Windows XP ? We explain how you could do it easily.
Changing Windows Vista for Windows XP
First of all, it is essential to consider if we really want to return to Windows XP, especially instead of installing a newer version of this operating system . As long as, of course, we have a PC whose technical specifications are one hundred percent compatible.
If so, we must bear in mind that Windows Vista, for example, includes many features that help improve productivity, such as instant search on the desktop, in addition to presenting improvements in security. However, we may want to update to the latest version (Windows 10).
If, despite the indications, you continue with the idea of returning to Windows XP, we must start by carrying out a backup copy of those files that we want to keep . This is especially important, especially if you have been using Windows Vista for years, so it is quite likely that you have many files on your internal hard drive, some of them important or valuable. So keep them on a USB stick, an external hard drive, or even a CD or DVD.
Now we must download the Windows XP drivers . This is equally important, since these drivers will add the necessary support for much newer hardware, which however did not exist when Windows XP was originally released. Simply download the basic drivers, such as the drivers for WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as have the installation discs for drivers such as printers, scanners, and wireless network adapters handy.
We insert the Windows XP CD in the disk drive of our computer, and restart the computer. We wait for the installation files to finish loading. However, if the computer starts up in Windows Vista, instead of the Windows XP setup program, it may be necessary to press a key to boot the system from the CD.
We access the boot from the CD and follow the instructions provided by the installation . We select the partition where Windows XP should be installed, and we choose the option to format the partition using the NTFS file system, which is characterized by being fast and sufficient, which will erase all the files currently present on the hard drive.
When prompted by the installation program, we must enter the product key and continue with the installation. Now we continue to install the drivers that we save on the backup disk.
Clever! Simply when we first arrive at the Windows XP desktop, we run Windows Update in order to install the most important updates, including Service Pack 3. And, finally, restore the files that you have been able to keep on the external hard drive or USB memory. .
