Hello.
I have a license for Windows Vista Business Class, and I want to downgrade to Windows XP.
However, my understanding is that for some reason, you can only downgrade to XP Pro rather than Home, which means you need to have valid XP Pro media and an XP Pro license key.
I do not have an XP Pro disk, but here is what I do have:
- A valid XP Pro license key
- A hard drive image that has XP Pro installed
- XP Home media (system builder hologram disk) and license key
Is there any way I can make this happen with what I have??
For example, is there any way to build an XP Pro disk from an install on a harddrive?
Or is it possible to use an XP Pro license with XP Home, and would doing so fool the activation process into thinking I was using a copy of Pro?
I know both of those things are longshots, but I thought I'd ask.
I have a friend who has an XP Pro disk I could use for the installation, but I have no idea how long it will take to get it from them since they've been incredibly busy lately and they don't know where it is offhand.
I've thought about "finding" a copy "somewhere" since I'd be using it legally, but I couldn't trust the integrity of whatever I "found".
Basically, if there's anyway I could make this downgrade happen using the things I currently have, and someone could tell me how, that would be fantastic.
And just to head off Vista questions/comments/encouragement - thanks anyway, but I'm certain that I'm not interested in using Vista (I'd have to upgrade my system just to make it very usable anyway).
Thanks a lot for your help in advance.
I have a license for Windows Vista Business Class, and I want to downgrade to Windows XP.
However, my understanding is that for some reason, you can only downgrade to XP Pro rather than Home, which means you need to have valid XP Pro media and an XP Pro license key.
I do not have an XP Pro disk, but here is what I do have:
- A valid XP Pro license key
- A hard drive image that has XP Pro installed
- XP Home media (system builder hologram disk) and license key
Is there any way I can make this happen with what I have??
For example, is there any way to build an XP Pro disk from an install on a harddrive?
Or is it possible to use an XP Pro license with XP Home, and would doing so fool the activation process into thinking I was using a copy of Pro?
I know both of those things are longshots, but I thought I'd ask.
I have a friend who has an XP Pro disk I could use for the installation, but I have no idea how long it will take to get it from them since they've been incredibly busy lately and they don't know where it is offhand.
I've thought about "finding" a copy "somewhere" since I'd be using it legally, but I couldn't trust the integrity of whatever I "found".
Basically, if there's anyway I could make this downgrade happen using the things I currently have, and someone could tell me how, that would be fantastic.
And just to head off Vista questions/comments/encouragement - thanks anyway, but I'm certain that I'm not interested in using Vista (I'd have to upgrade my system just to make it very usable anyway).
Thanks a lot for your help in advance.

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