How to Install XP on Vista OS
- 1). Back up your Windows Vista settings and files to an external hard drive. Do not use the Vista Backup and Restore Center as it is not backward-compatible with Windows XP. If you decide to use a third-party backup program, make sure it works with both XP and Vista. Disconnect the external hard drive after the back-up.
- 2). Restart the Windows Vista machine with the Windows XP Setup CD in the disc drive. The screen will display "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD..." as it boots up. Press any key to start the Windows XP installer.
- 3). Press Enter at the Welcome screen. Read and accept the Windows XP End User License Agreement terms. Setup will begin looking for previous installations of Windows on the hard drive.
- 4). Select your Windows Vista partition and delete it. Create a new partition and format it using the NTFS file system format. Follow the on-screen instructions on how to delete and create partitions.
- 5). Follow the remaining on-screen instructions to complete the Windows XP installation. After the system reboots and Windows XP starts up, connect the external hard drive to restore your data.
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