How to go back to Windows XP after you have upgraded a Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user. You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

After you upgrade a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista, you may decide to remove Windows Vista. However, in the Programs and Features item in Control Panel, there is no option to remove Windows Vista. This article describes how to remove Windows Vista by reverting to Windows XP.

Steps to remove Windows Vista

To remove Windows Vista, back up any files, and then perform a clean installation of Windows XP. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Back up your files to a CD, to a DVD, to an external drive such as a USB flash drive, or to a secondary partition.
2. When the backup is complete, perform a clean installation of Windows XP. For more information about how to perform a clean installation of Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   316941  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316941/ ) How to install or upgrade to Windows XP

Note To perform a clean installation of Windows XP by using an upgrade version of Windows XP, you must provide the media (discs) for the operating system that was installed before you upgraded to Windows XP.

For answers to frequently asked questions about "backup and restore" operations, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: