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    Recovery partition & XP downgrade

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by rustyslacker, Jun 22, 2008.

  1. rustyslacker

    rustyslacker Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi. If I purchase a laptop with a dedicated Vista "recovery partition" that rolls back the computer to Vista + included crapware, can I safely format the normal partition and install XP? Will I be able to recover Vista if I decide I need it later?

    Thanks in advance.
     
    rustyslacker, Jun 22, 2008
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  2. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    You should be safe. But I would still suggest doing the below just in case something goes wrong during the XP installation or you ever accidental damage the recovery partition.


    EDIT: All the below I had misread your post and though you wanted to format the recovery partition.


    Burn the Vista recovery discs first. After burning them test them. If they work, make a second copy of them. This is more thorough than most people suggest, but it is the only way to be sure you're ready to remove the recovery partition. (I've seen dozens of posts by people who deleted the recovery partition without being this thorough and now they are out of luck.)

    But yes once you are 100% sure the burned recovery discs work, you are safe.
     
    Gregory, Jun 22, 2008
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  3. rustyslacker

    rustyslacker Notebook Enthusiast

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    Awesome. And nothing will block me from copying the recovery discs?
     
    rustyslacker, Jun 22, 2008
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  4. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    I would suggest making the second copy of recovery discs using the Vista disc creator (like the first) rather than simply copying them. I stated that badly, my bad.
     
    Gregory, Jun 22, 2008
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