Windows 7 downgrade to Windows XP?

Ive been looking threw my old folders in my draws at home and came across a brought version of windows XP home upgrade disc and its got the serial key there also. Ive got 2 hardrives so in the spare hard drive with windows 7 pro retail on it. So i inserted the disc and the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen comes on. Under What do you want to do options its got the Install windows XP grayed out. Ive tried starting from disc as you do for a clean install and it checks the cd etc as if your formating it but then it gets to a point and says. "Set up could not read the cd you inserted on the cd or the cd is not a windows cd." But it is a windows cd. Now i have to restart and install windows 7 again lmao as the harddrive didntt boot windows 7 untill i did another clean install and works fine now.

Ive come across this from microsoft website http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/downgrade_rights.aspx and it says it possible but i dont understand it and it says you Perform the downgrade or authorize a third party to install on their behalf. Any one no how.

Thanks...

Don't downgrade to windows XP.

Im not messing about with the bios :p

The only reason why i want to downgrade is to try it out and as seen as ive got a spare hard drive there is no arm realy. Also ive got a windows 95 game which will not work in windows 7 pro and wanted to see if it worked in windows xp as seen as its a older OS. Ive managed to run the EXE by copying the files on the CD and putting them into a folder on my desk top. then i right clicked on the windowsXP exe for compatibility and chose windows XP servicepack3 and then ran the EXE from the folder and i could run it. The thing is that it said that my machine is newer then the one im putting so it couldnt do it. So that why im downloading XP mode and try and run it threw there. :p

Can allways work or not lol.

Virtual box

The first thing that comes to mind is disable the win7 drive via your bios, (or just unplug it physically) then restart your computer and it should run with the empty drive which then would allow to install winxp on.nilzg

Do this. Just unplug the Windows 7 drive.

Your XP disk is not a normal version of XP, but an XP upgrade disk - it is therefore looking for an older version of Windows already installed on the disk that it can recognise and upgrade from. It's almost certainly not able to recognise Windows 7, and it wouldn't be a valid OS to "upgrade" from to go to XP.

Downgrade rights are something different. If you are a business MS will ONLY sell the latest version of any of their software - you cannot buy Vista from them any more, or XP. What they will sell is Windows 7 with downgrade rights to certain earlier OS versions. In the same way you activate your OS initially there are options to upgrade your version (to Pro or Ultimate) but also the option to downgrade to an earlier OS. your link gives the approved downgrade paths.

Im not messing about with the bios :p

The only reason why i want to downgrade is to try it out and as seen as ive got a spare hard drive there is no arm realy. Also ive got a windows 95 game which will not work in windows 7 pro and wanted to see if it worked in windows xp as seen as its a older OS. Ive managed to run the EXE by copying the files on the CD and putting them into a folder on my desk top. then i right clicked on the windowsXP exe for compatibility and chose windows XP servicepack3 and then ran the EXE from the folder and i could run it. The thing is that it said that my machine is newer then the one im putting so it couldnt do it. So that why im downloading XP mode and try and run it threw there. :p

Can allways work or not lol.

skipper847