How to downgrade Windows Vista to Windows Xp

If you need to know how to go from Windows Vista to Windows XP you also need to have patient and understand that there many many ways to accomplish this. Here we are going to offer some tips, generally given by online tech support services providers, to know how to go from Windows Vista to Windows XP in many forms.

The first thing you need to know is that you cannot just "downgrade" your computer from Vista to Xp. There is one reason for this that you must know if want to know how to go from Windows Vista to Xp. The reason is that XP treats Vistas as a superior operating system. And therefore XP will not be installed "over" Vista. In the following paragraphs we are going to give you detailed information and many ways to know how to go from Windows Vista to Xp.

Let us begin with the no.1 method. We are going to name this method the "dual boot". This is very simple to do. Just make a partition in your hard drive and and install XP. What you are able to do next is to boot up either Vista or XP because you have them booth in your PC.

The second method to know how to go from Windows Vista to Xp is the "virtual machine" method. In this method you will install a visualization software, then just install XP into the environment of the PC. The result will be XP running inside Vista. This is cause minor compromises on performance and speed.

Now here it is the third method. This is called the "wipe off" method. Using this method just delete the hard disc where Vista is install and use XP instead. The following are some steps:
1.Download the XP drivers.
2.Get the XP CD and installation key.
3.Backup the files and format.
4.Go to the Bios and set the boot device to CD.
5.Put in the XP cd into the drive.
6.Install XP following the instructions.

As said in the above paragraphs, there are many ways to know how to go from Windows Vista to Xp. Use used three methods to do it. First we used the "dual boot" method, then the "virtual machine" method, and the last but not least, the "wipe off" method. You can use the method that best suits you if you need to know how to go from Windows Vista to Xp.

Setting Parental Controls in Windows Vista

Windows Vista is the first Microsoft operating system that comes complete with parental controls. With this new feature, parents can configure various restrictions for any given user. Vista's Parental Controls is a very powerful system, enabling parents and administrators to monitor downloaded files, blocked websites, attempts to access blocked sites, programs run on the computer, instant messages sent and received, games played, and videos and movies played.

Here's how to set parental controls on Windows Vista

Step #1
First, access Windows' Parental Controls by clicking on the Start button. This is the circular button at the bottom of the page with Microsoft's flag logo on it.
Now go to the Start Menu Search Box and type "Parental Controls." Click Continue on the User Account Control dialog box that appears.

Step #2
This will take you to the Parental Controls welcome screen. You will create a new user account in this screen. To do this:

• Click the Create a new user account button.
• Type in the login name for the new account
• Check the option: User must set password at next login.
• Click Create Account.
• Press OK,

This will bring you back to the Parental Controls welcome screen.

Step #3
The first option you have is to choose a game ratings system. You have a choice between CERO, ESRB, OFLC, or PEGI.

• For the U.S, ESRB is recommended, because it is the most widely used rating system in the United System.
• For Europe, you the PEGI rating system is the recommended option.

Once you have chosen a game rating system, click OK.

Step #4
You should now be on the Family Safety Options screen. Under the section that reads "How often would you like to be reminded to read activity reports?" select how often you want to be reminded to check activity reports. You can choose weekly, every day, or never.

Step #5
The second option reads "Reset the Web Content filter to be the Windows Vista Web Content filter." Select Reset if you have a third party web content filter installed on your computer. Click OK when you are done.

Step #6
You can now configure settings for individual users.
*Click on a standard user account (you cannot set parental controls for administrative accounts).

*Now you can view the user's account activity log and adjust parental controls for this user. Under the User Controls option, you can determine if you want to implement parental controls for that particular user. Select either yes or no for this option. You can also determine if you want to log the activities of the user.

Here's what else you can do with Vista's Parental Controls:

• Under the Windows Settings, you can configure options for the Windows Vista Web Filter, time limits, games and program blocking.
• Under the Windows Vista Web Filter, you can control websites visited, whether or not they can download files, and the type of web content the user can view.
• Under the Time Limits option, you can specify the time the user can use the computer. = Under the Games option, you can specify the games that can be played based on rating, content, and title.
• Under the Allow and Block Specific Programs option.You can also block certain programs and applications.

Shrinking and Extending Partitions on Windows Vista

There comes a time when you need to resize a disk partition on Windows. Most Windows users typically have to use third party software such as Disk Director, Partition Magic, Ranish Partition Manager, or Gparted.

However, downloading and using this disk partitioning software takes time and money. Luckily for Windows Vista users, there is a built-in disk partitioning application on the Vista Disk Management Utility.

There may be many reasons for resizing a Windows volume. One major reason is so that you can install a separate operating system on that hard drive, especially if you do not have enough free space to create a new partition for that operating system. You can instead free up enough space by shrinking the Windows volume, thus allowing you to create a new partition. You may also want to extend a partition when you want to use hard drive space previously occupied by another operating system.

When you resize volumes on Windows Vista, you have to be aware of the fact that you only have the ability to shrink or expand NTFS partitions. Also, when you shrink a partition, page files or shadow copy storage area are not relocated. It is also useful to note that if enough bad clusters are found on the disk, the partition will not be shrunk and you must be logged on as an Administrator to resize Windows volumes.

How to shrink Windows Vista partitions

• Open the Windows Vista Disk Management Tool by clicking on the Start menu on the bottom-left corner of the desktop and then clicking Control Panel.
• Click System and Maintenance on the Control Panel window. On the System and Maintenance window, scroll down to click Administrative Tools.
• Double-click the Computer Management icon and then click the Disk Management icon. From here, you will be presented with many options to format, create, and expand hard drive partitions.
• To shrink a partition, right-click the partition you want to work with and click the Shrink option.
  
• Enter the amount of disk space you want to have after you have shrunk the partition and click Shrink.

You can now close out of the Computer Management Console because you have successfully shrunk your partition.

How to Expand a Partition

Follow the same steps as above to get to the Disk Management utility.

• Open the Windows Vista Disk Management Tool by clicking on the Start menu on the bottom-left corner of the desktop and then clicking Control Panel.
• Click System and Maintenance on the Control Panel window. On the System and Maintenance window, scroll down to click Administrative Tools.
• Double-click the Computer Management icon and then click the Disk Management icon.

From here, you will be presented with many options to format, create, and expand hard drive partitions.

• To extend a partition, right-click the partition you want to work with and click the Extend option. The Extend Volume Wizard should now appear.
• Click Next to proceed to the next screen.
• Select available free space on your hard drives so that you can extend the space of your partition. You can also use space from other hard drives, but this is not recommended because a hardware failure will affect all hard drives on your computer.
• Press Next when you have allocated the amount of space to extend.
• Finish on the confirmation screen after you double-check all of your settings.

Create a Recovery Console CD in Windows Vista

To start, download the Windows Automated Installation Kit available from Microsoft's Official website and burn it onto a CD/DVD, or mount the image with virtualization software. Follow the steps below for windows vista support

Once inserted into the CD ROM, click on the drive and run it.

Click, "Install Kit".

The installation process will start. Choose "Accept license"

Click on "next" until the final window closes.

We will now create the "winpe_x86" file.

Go to, Start / All Programs / Microsoft Windows AIK. Right-click "Run as administrator" on => Command Prompt tools Windows PE.

at the prompt type this:

copype.cmd x86 c: \ winpe_x86

The command will start a process. Wait a short while.

Type exit to close the prompt once it's finished. Open the folder C: \ Program Files \ Windows AIK \ Tools \ x86

Right click on "ImageX" => copy

and paste it into => C: \ WinPE_x86 \ iso

Open Notepad => Run as administrator and copy this:

[ExclusionList]

ntfs.log

hiberfil.sys

pagefile.sys

"System Volume Information"

RECYCLE

Windows \ CSC

[CompressionExclusionList]

*. mp3

*. zip

*. cab

\ WINDOWS \ inf \ *. pnf

click "file" => Save As

at this location: C: \ WinPE_x86 \ iso

name it wimscript.ini with file type "all files"

Creating the ISO Image

Start / All Programs / Microsoft Windows AIK

Right-click "Run as administrator" on => Command Prompt tools Windows PE at the prompt type this:

oscdimg-n-bc: \ winpe_x86 \ etfsboot.com C: \ winpe_x86 \ ISO C: \ winpe_x86 \ winpe_x86.iso

This command will compile the files located in Windows PE and generate an image in ISO format.

Burn the ISO created in the folder C: \ WinPE_x86 with your burning software. When the ISO is burned insert the file Bootsect.exe.

Then run UltraISO, typing CTRL O, in order to open the archive located in C: \winpe_x86 \ winpe_x86.iso. Then press F3 to add the files.

Finally burn the CD.

You have now created the recovery disk for Windows Vista. If at any time your Windows Vista installation becomes corrupted just insert the CD, boot, and at the console type:

bootsect / NT60 all

All done!

How to Repair Windows Vista Registry

Every version of Windows is vulnerable to registry problems and the Windows Vista is no different. The registry is very important since it tells the Windows Vista operating system where programs can be found, saves specific settings, and additional system data is stored here.

However, when a registry gets corrupted your computer will no longer work properly and if you don't know what to do when it comes to fixing it you can get extremely frustrated. Most people that don't understand how to repair the Windows vista registry will just go out and replace their computer or take it to an expensive computer technician.

However, you don't need any experience or a lot of money to repair a corrupted registry. You can repair your Windows vista registry on your own using a software registry cleaner. What you'll need to do is download a reliable registry cleaning software and install it on your PC.

Visit the website of the registry cleaning software of your choice. Now click on "download latest version" and then click "save file" when told to. Depending on how your Windows Vista is set up the saved file will be saved to your default.

Find your downloaded installer file and click on it to start the installation of the software onto your computer. Use the default install settings to follow the on screen instructions to finish the installation. You will have to click on "continue" to authorize the installation.

Now that the registry cleaning software has been installed onto your computer you will then start of using it to scan your computer. Click on "scan for issues" and the software will analyze your Windows Vista registry for any issues or other problems.

Once the scan is done you will then click on "fix selected issues" to get rid of any issues the scan found. You will need to make sure all issues are chosen to fix all the corrupted files.

The software will ask you if you want to back up your registry and you should click yes. Pick a location to save the back-up file and save the file.

Backing up your registry is important so you can rebuild your registry as it was prior to repairing corrupted files. This is just in case you experience a problem during the fixing process.

Now you'll just need to pick "fix all selected issues" and then click "ok" to fix all the issues you have selected.

How to Repair Windows Vista Registry

Every version of Windows is vulnerable to registry problems and the Windows Vista is no different. The registry is very important since it tells the Windows Vista operating system where programs can be found, saves specific settings, and additional system data is stored here.

However, when a registry gets corrupted your computer will no longer work properly and if you don't know what to do when it comes to fixing it you can get extremely frustrated. Most people that don't understand how to repair the Windows vista registry will just go out and replace their computer or take it to an expensive computer technician.

However, you don't need any experience or a lot of money to repair a corrupted registry. You can repair your Windows vista registry on your own using a software registry cleaner. What you'll need to do is download a reliable registry cleaning software and install it on your PC.

Visit the website of the registry cleaning software of your choice. Now click on "download latest version" and then click "save file" when told to. Depending on how your Windows Vista is set up the saved file will be saved to your default.

Find your downloaded installer file and click on it to start the installation of the software onto your computer. Use the default install settings to follow the on screen instructions to finish the installation. You will have to click on "continue" to authorize the installation.

Now that the registry cleaning software has been installed onto your computer you will then start of using it to scan your computer. Click on "scan for issues" and the software will analyze your Windows Vista registry for any issues or other problems.

Once the scan is done you will then click on "fix selected issues" to get rid of any issues the scan found. You will need to make sure all issues are chosen to fix all the corrupted files.

The software will ask you if you want to back up your registry and you should click yes. Pick a location to save the back-up file and save the file.

Backing up your registry is important so you can rebuild your registry as it was prior to repairing corrupted files. This is just in case you experience a problem during the fixing process.

Now you'll just need to pick "fix all selected issues" and then click "ok" to fix all the issues you have selected.

Most proficient Way to Upgrade PC for Windows Vista

You want to use the new Windows Vista operating system with all its 3D effects, animations and transparencies on your desktop PC? The aesthetically pleasing user interface called Windows Aero can be found in all Vista editions, except Home Basic, but you must first be sure your PC supports new Windows eye candies. It it doesn't, the most efficient way to upgrade your computer for Microsoft's new OS and its user interface is to upgrade your video card and a main system memory.

What Windows Vista and Its Graphics Interface Require?

Windows Vista editions featuring Aero desktop have high PC hardware requirements. You must have a processor with at least 1GHz speed, a 1GB of system memory, a 40 GB hard drive with a minimum of 15GB of available space and a 128MB video card supporting DirectX 9 graphics, WDDM Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel. You will also need a DVD-ROM drive, since Vista is sold on DVD. You can check if your system is Vista Aero-ready using Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor software, which is available for download at Microsoft's website.

Why Should I Focused on Video Card and Main Memory?

Your computer's Windows Aero capability will most likely depend on a graphics card and a main memory, since desktop processors slower than 1GHz and hard drives smaller than 40GB were nowhere to be found in stores in a last a couple of years. Assuming your PC isn't so old, the only possible bottlenecks could be video card, since the non-Vista graphics cards are still present on the market, and a memory, because the majority of home computers have less than 1GB.

Having Vista Aero in mind, remember that is more effective to pay for a new graphics card and an additional memory module, than paying the same amount for the new processor, a bigger and faster hard drive and a new motherboard. Contrary to video card and memory, the CPU, hard disc and mainboard do not have major impact on computer's graphics performance required by Aero.

How Much Money Do I Need for Upgrade?

You can find the Windows Vista Aero-ready graphics cards on the U.S. market starting at around $60. The 1GB memory modules are priced at around $100. If you already have 512MB and one free memory slot, you can just buy an additional 512MB module for a total of 1GB. The 512 memory costs approximately $50.

On What Else Should I Pay Attention?

If you plan to buy and install these hardware components by yourself, you should pay attention on graphics card's and memory's compatibility with your motherboard. For example, there are cards that fit in AGP slot and those for PCI Express slot. Also, there are different types of memory modules, such as DDR and DDR2.