Can I 'upgrade' from Vista x64 to XP x86?

[panjandrum]

Greetings to all, I just purchased a new PC. Operating system is Vista Home Premium 64 bit. The problem is I have Quicken 2007 for my business and through your forum have found that the two do not mix! So I plan to remove Vista and replace it with XP so I can continue to run my business. My question being my Vista is 64 bit and my XP disk is just home basic, so I assume it is 32 bit. Can I replace vista 64 bit with XP 32 bit?? Thanks

 

[rtt_77388]

You would have to do a clean install to go from Vista 64 to Windows XP 32 bit.

The product key for xp 32 bit would have to be available. You vista key wont work on your xp setup.

Also you might want to make sure of issues like AHCI drives as opposed to IDE and stuff like that. Long and short Vista may have native drivers for things that Xp does not.

 

[johngalt]

What rtt is saying on a very concise manner is that there is now hardware being released to OEMs that only have 64bit drivers available, as they are meant for machines that are strictly 64bit. Furthermore, and this is the real kicker, there is hardware out there that was developed for us *only* in Vista, and may not have XP drivers available. That will be a real big problem if you 'downgrade' to XP from Vista.

Also, according to Details for Quicken 2007 some people have issues, but I see at least one poster (third one down) that says it *does* work on Vista x64.

 

[HexManiac]

You would have to reload XP after deleting Vista (reformat). Then you'd have to go through the hassle of finding drivers for your hardware, reload all of your apps, re-patch the operating system, set up your email, etc.

You could set up a dual boot system but it will still require a new install of XP and all that entails.

Or you could download a free copy of VirtualPC 2007, load Windows XP onto a virtual machine (no hardware drivers required) and load up any apps that won't run on Vista.

Or, my personal favorite: just buy a copy of Quicken 2008. It works perfectly on Vista 64. Not trying to be snide, it is just easier (and I do have a number of virtual machines, from DOS 6 to Windows XP SP3).

 

[CreepinJesus]

I'd have to agree with HexManiac here: simply upgrading the Quicken product would be a lot easier and quicker than re-installing Windows...

If your company are responsible for it, then I'd ask them first to see if they can upgrade you. After all, it's their fault they're not providing compatible software