More than one in every three new PCs is downgraded from Windows Vista to the older Windows XP, either at the factory or by the buyer, according to a US performance and metrics researcher.
Researcher says XP still preferred by Windows users
Devil Mountain Software said nearly 35 percent of the 3,000-plus PCs it examined had been downgraded from Vista to XP.
"Either these machines were downgraded by [sellers like] Dell or HP, or they were downgraded by the user after they got the machine," said Craig Barth, the chief technology officer of Devil Mountain. "In any case, these machines are no longer running Vista."
Barth used data provided by users to Devil Mountain's exo.performance.network - which it kicked off last year and has expanded by partnering with Infoworld, a PC Advisor sister publication - to come up with his numbers. By collating such things as the vendor and system model number with manufacturers' catalogues, Barth was able to identify machines that were probably shipped in the last six months, a period when virtually every new PC was offered with Vista preinstalled.
"The 35 percent is only an estimate, but it shows a trend within our own user base," Barth said. "People are taking advantage of Vista's downgrade rights."
How to downgrade from Vista to XP
By the terms of Microsoft 's end user licensing agreement (EULA), Vista Business and Vista Ultimate can be 'downgraded' to XP Professional; businesses that purchase Vista Enterprise can also downgrade to XP.
Although Microsoft retired Windows XP from mainstream availability at the end of June - it stopped shipping the seven-year-old operating system to retail and large computer makers - some OEMs have continued to offer new PCs with XP preinstalled by doing the downgrade at the factory.
"Vista's installed base certainly doesn't equal the number of Vista licences [that Microsoft's] sold," Barth said, citing the exo.performance.network data as proof. "We're seeing this a lot in the financial sector."
Comments
CrazyNessy said: I just recently bought a laptop 3gb ram 250gb harddrive 125 Nvidia Graphic Card I heard all the rumors of Vista SucksGot it never had a problem with it My games work on it My printer that I used with my desktop with XPDidnt even have to install it just plugged it in and boom I could printIpod works with itMy external harddrive with all my music worksI love it Been using it for a month nowI just got on my desktop a few mins ago to finish importing all my music on to the external so I can import on to the laptopXP looks so outdated compared to itAnd boring also I love VistaI dont know what took me so long to getting a new computer besides trying to find a company that had factory base laptops with xp still on itBut Im glad I waited more harddrive and ram compared to when it first came out and around the same prices too I only use this laptop for school and games pretty muchSo I guess different needs for different folksBut I just wanted to say it pretty f-ing awesome
phoenix198 said: Skidz 20 Aug Vista is the worst OS ever Obviously someone who never experienced the joy of Windows 311 or Windows ME Mac OS 7 and 8 BeOS or OS Warp Therefore not totally convinced of the validity of the opinionHaving been a Vista early adopter guinea pig and having run it on six desktops two laptops and dual-booted with OSX Leopard on an iMac I would now hesitate to go back to XP except maybe to run some of the classic games I just cant get to run acceptably on Vista Yes it is a resource hog and it needs 2Gb RAM minimum and at least a 8600GT or similar to have any snap to it with Aero enabled but worst OS ever Dont make me laughThat said XP is now a sound mature OS and probably the better option for a lower spec PC or for those either unable or unwilling to learn Vistas foibles Its also possibly preferable for the hard core gamer wanting the best possible performance minus DX10 from a given hardware spec
Anntnwv said: I bought a new computer with Vista on it I went back and asked how I could remove it She said XP was like this too when it first came out but with the upgrades it was better She said just keep doing the upgrades and it will be ok Right What a joke Vista is I hate it I cant use my good programs on it It is worthless crap
Anntnwv said: I bought a new computer with Vista on it I went back and asked how I could remove it She said XP was like this too when it first came out but with the upgrades it was better She said just keep doing the upgrades and it will be ok Right What a joke Vista is I hate it I cant use my good programs on it It is worthless crap
someone said: Vista is the worst OS everThere are other candidates ME sucked even more than 98 Though I guess 98 is quicker than the NT-based systems because it doesnt look where its going so it falls over all the time
Wagcol said: Vista versus XP Most people who need a computer to do the usual things surf the net emails chat photo editing music TV and video word processing database and spreadsheet work programming etc etc etc could manage with Windows 2000 or Linux and would probably use less than 5 of the funtionality of those systems What a stupid and pointless debate If you want and can afford a the latest gas guzzler go and buy one If you cant you will manage perfectly well with your second hand Fiesta
Dave said: Well what a surprise After all those years of ripping us off with substandard software Mr Gates chickens have come home to roostGood
Ray Woods said: I down graded my laptop soon after getting it with Vista as many of my older favourite programs wouldnt run on it Since then I have had a number of friends computers over with problems on them for me to sort out and I still find the Vista OS over fussy and clumsy to useOn my desktop I have installed openSUSE 11 Linux which I find is a joy to use and also much faster From hitting the Firefox icon to Firefox starting takes lt1 second from cold On comparable computers running either Xp or Vista this takes much longerOnce the Xp on the Sony Vaio laptop finally hits the buffers that will be taking the Linux route too
Skidz said: Thanks toedipper for your link Of course there will always be people who like Vista thats up to them i foolishly bought ultimate but now use the disk as a coaster for my drinks Its all its worth using for utterly bloated and terribly unfinished
jspamkill said: A lot of software and hardware changes are to keep the pot boiling to drive sales rather than give much in the way of improvements so for home users with average wallets if what you have works ok for you now stick with it for a while Eschew upgrades which can require unobtainable drivers or be incompatible with some of your existing software causing much annoyance and re-installation of backupsThat is what I have experienced anyway There doesnt seem much incentive to buy a Vista system now may be better to leapfrog it in 12 to 24 months time with a new outfit
Liverbird said: I bought Vista Home Premium 64bit and extra memory and installed them myself as my previous OP Windows 2000 The CD was damaged so I couldnt re-install So I by-passed XP on my own Desktop But Ive used XP on our laptop I like both of them but Im feeling more and more comfortable with Vista My only problem is that it doesnt support my most used paid for design programme Ive had to install it on our laptop which is a pain as my partner uses that mostly and takes it out with him I hope that there is a solution to this soon but the manifacturer of the programme Im talking about says that they have n o plans to offer a 64bit option Im still staying with Vista though but Im seriously thinking of dual booting with XP so that I can get my programme to work on my desktop
Dave said: What MalcolmF saidAlso I am yet to find a single corporate user of Vista The business case for Vista is not just non-existent it is in fact a big total cost for at best no benefit The total number of downgrades would be even higher if the computer semi-literate realised how easy it was
BruC said: I am very happy with Vista Ultimate but bought a fairly up spec machine Vista was pre installedI think many users may be disappointed with vista basic and I can understand that Also low spec machines may not work well with Home Premium However I would recommend all buyers to buy ultimate and get a well specked machine If you can only afford a low spec machine I would recommend XP rather than Vista as I think Vista does require a lot more hores power under the hood
Paul said: I have a dell inspiron 1520 with vista pre-installed A little slower than XP at first until it sorted its cache out but now its quicker This is a laptop with 2GB of memory intel 2ghz dual core and a 5400RPM driveWhenever I use an XP machine it seems slow in comparison And thats a desktop intel quad core 24GHZ with 4GB of memoryOnce vista service pack one was installed there was no going back
toedipper said: Why is everyone so surprised at this Ive known for ages that Vista is rubbish and it looks like Ive been right all alongwwwvistaisrubbishcom
Blacksmith said: with reference to xpvista expert You buy a car but it only has a two speed gearbox so you struggle around for a year then its recalled to have a third gear fitted Now it runs a bit better The next year you have a fourth gear fitted Now its running as it should If you had known this you wouldnt have bought it if you have any sense So why accept this from Microsoft with their products You have paid a lot of good dosh for something which is not fit for use Bill Gates is a billionaire thanks to a gullible public
Tony said: I have a Lap-top running on Vista and a Desk-top running on XP Give me Vista every time in fact I now rarely use the Desk-top The main problem that Vista suffers from is that it is being rubbished by sad people who are incapable of handling change Come on world at least try to keep up
Tony said: I have a Lap-top running on Vista and a Desk-top running on XP Give me Vista every time in fact I now rarely use the Desk-top The main problem that Vista suffers from is that it is being rubbished by sad people who are incapable of handling change Come on world at least try to keep up
Esteph said: Theres an easy answer - upgrade to a Mac
Skidz said: Having read all the comments you cant hide the fact that people as a whole dont like Vista and are returning to XP myself included as the topic of this whole thread explains Period