I need XP

I ordered my T61 with Vista because it was cheaper than adding XP (whats up with that anyway?) But i Knew i wanted to add XP Pro when i got it. I have been looking around for a cheap copy of it but $60 looks to be about the best deal. Anyone have any tips for getting a cheap version of XP? I have my copy of it from my old Toshiba laptop but MS says i cant transfer it.

 

Take a look at this thread. Basically I believe you can downgrade your Vista license to Windows XP by requesting the Windows XP recovery CD's for a T61 from product support. See this link.

 

I paid $30 more for XP Pro, it is the cheapest option I could find, if you laptop hasn't shipped I would recommend having them change to either XP Pro, or Vista Business/Ultimate then you can downgrade to XP Pro from those versions of Vista.

I actually like having the preload, it took some getting use to, but you can customize the install and then reimage using the ThinkVantage option at boot, worked well considering I think some IBM software is good, and it is very easy to restore from.

The bottom line is you pay $25-30 more.

 

Was the XP OS that came with the Toshiba pre-installed, is it a OEM version?
I think you can transfer your XP license to your T61 if you can convince MS you can't use your Toshiba anymore because it's motherboard is wrecked and you cannot have it repaired.
If it works out the XP version on your Toshiba becomes illegal, mind you.

It's also possible to downgrade from Vista to XP if you can convince MS that Vista is not suitable for your needs; 'I cannot use the programs I need for work because they are not compatible with Vista blablabla..'.
In this case it depends on whether your Vista version can be downgraded to XP Pro,
if it's Vista Home it won't work but if it's Vista Ultimate it should work out, depending on how convincing your story sounds.
If MS buys your story they will give a new key for your old XP Pro version.

 

Are there problems with keeping Vista and installing XP as a second OS? I would like to have both if in the future Vista becomes operational. I know that a lot of people did not like XP when it first came out because NOTHING was compatible with it.

 

A good way of doing so is to buy a XP copy from your university's computer store. It will cost $10 for my case.

 

Acurtis5, what version of Vista do you have?

I ordered a T61p laptop with Vista Ultimate and really didn't like it. Some apps weren't compatible, it was slower than my T43 and had stability issues.

The stability issues were the biggest problem for me. I read that Microsoft was offering people with Vista Ultimate or Business to downgrade to XP Pro and I called my Lenovo sales person up. She told me to talk to Lenovo support to order the T61 Windows XP recovery CDs which I have since ordered.

It was FREE and I didn't need a good excuse. I just said it wasn't working well, some minor apps I used weren't compatible and it was slow.

The only caveat was that I had to accept that l would have to pay Lenovo support for T61 Vista recovery in future (approx $49). I had no issue with this as I have already created Vista recovery CD's from the laptop.

 

I only got Vista Home/ whichever came standard. I havent even gotten my laptop yet but i have used my GF's Toshiba that has VISTA bus and have NOT liked it at all. It freezes all the time, it takes forever to load anything, it doesnt like itunes or my ipod, it does not run all the java apps that i need from some web sites. I would not mind keeping VISTA for the future when everyone catches up, but for right now i cant help but thing that the only reason MS even released VISTA is to comete with OSX but they missed a key part of crAPPLES strategy...EVERYTHING WORKS. That is why everyone has been waiting for the newest version of OSX for the last year. Was there anything wrong with XP ? nope. But had it been 5 years since MS got a cash influx from a new OS? yes.