News for "some" Vista haters

<div id="articleHeader"><h1>Microsoft lets Vista users revert to XP</h1></div><div id="articleContent">

Tuesday 25 Sep 2007 - 08:52
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If your PC is running Microsoft Windows Vista Business or Windows Ultimate and you're fed up with the OS you may be able to ditch Vista for XP Pro. Microsoft is quietly allowing you to downgrade to Windows XP Pro. </p><div id="mpu" style="padding-top: 0px"><div align="center"></div></div>

Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo are just a few of the system manufacturers offering downgrades. Each of these PC makers offer an XP Pro recovery disc to those who request one that can be used to revert a Vista machine to XP Pro. </p>

Dell, HP, and Lenovo customers can request a Windows XP Pro recovery disc to be included with their purchase of a Vista machine - should they want to revert in the future. Customers who already have purchased a Vista-PC can request an XP Pro recovery CD for between US$15 to $20 by calling technical support. </p>

Different vendors have different policies on the subject. A Lenovo Website for downgrading to XP Pro states: &quot;For a limited time only Lenovo customers that have Windows Vista Business or Ultimate installed on their machines will have the chance to purchase a Windows XP Recovery CD.&quot; </p>

Dell small business sales said if a system was purchased with either the Vista Business or Ultimate operating system, the customer could pay an extra $20 to have XP Pro recovery discs shipped with the machine, with Dell claiming that an extra Windows licence for the XP Pro software wasn't necessary. </p>

HP business sale's staff describe a near identical downgrade plan, except for the fact the XP Pro recovery discs would not include a licence to activate the OS. </p>

The desire to revert to XP Pro from Vista is a business trend, not a consumer trend, says Chris Swenson, director, software industry analysis, for market research firm NPD Group. </p>

&quot;Retail consumers are not requesting to go back to XP,&quot; Swenson says. Businesses are more sensitive to upgrades because Vista requires a more robust computer to run programs at peak performance. Vista's requires better graphics and memory than XP, forcing companies to spend more on systems, he says. </p>

Additionally some customers and businesses have complained about Vista's lack of support for software and hardware designed originally for XP. </p></div></div>