Downgrade Windows MCE To XP?

Is it possible to downgrade a Windows Media Center Edition computer to use Windows XP instead? Someone is having so much problems with this machine and I think it's the Operating System causing the problem. I told her to reinstall Windows MCE, but I don't think they gave her any Windows CDs. I think she got it burned from a recovery partition after I told her to look for one. But that doesn't seem to work. So I'm thinking of downgrading to XP as a possible solution. Isn't Windows MCE very similar to Windows XP, aside from the extra media features?The big question is, will XP work on a computer built to work with Windows MCE?Thanks.

I don't think you can downgrade a version of Windows. However, you can just pop in the disc and press Upgrade.As per MCE machine on regular XP ... ya of course, but u lose TV support and all those "goodies"...xboxrulz

Well what i would do as a start is to download GEEXBOX or something similar.

GeexBox Homepage

This is a free linux distro that will do just about everything MCE does and it boots off a CD or DVD so nothing is installed.
I would use this as replacement for MCE.

Then I would upgrade the MCE to XP this way the user has the best of both worlds..a workign MCE type pc when needed and a full on XPinstall to do the day to day things on..


Good luck !

Never heard of that Linux distro before Mark420. Looks good though.I will ask her if she uses the features in MCE or can survive without it. If so, I will ask her to just put Windows XP on it instead. This darn machine has been giving her nothing but grief the day she got it. I told her she should have returned it. She called HP tech support countless times already...

How would you upgrade to XP? What XP version is that? As Home, Professional, MediaCenter, etc, those are all XP. Of course XP will work, aside from any issues the computer might have with 64bit. Any distro should work on the machine, because the drivers are the same. Home would be a downgrade, Professional would be a minor downgrade.

I think the proper term should be upgrade to Professional and not downgrade as Professional is more expensive.

Never heard of that Linux distro before Mark420. Looks good though.
I will ask her if she uses the features in MCE or can survive without it. If so, I will ask her to just put Windows XP on it instead. This darn machine has been giving her nothing but grief the day she got it. I told her she should have returned it. She called HP tech support countless times already...

Mark420 knows the most obscure distributions out there, I'm amazed.

I think the proper term should be upgrade to Professional and not downgrade as Professional is more expensive.

Though at a Microsoft conference the question was put to them and the reply was that MCE contains all the features of Professional, plus addons like Media Center - a supercharged version, was how they put it.
Then i'd like to know if that is the case, why is it cheaper than professional, and if not, what does pro have the MCE doesn't?

XPPro vs XPMCEDowngrade Windows MCE To XP?

Truth is...Media Center and XpPro are the same with two subtle, but important differences. The media center app itself is not provided in XPPro. Neither is native support for the hardware usually associated with such a machine, and XPMCE does not have the group policies that XPPro provides. However, I believe that there is an update available from microsoft which will upgrade the policies on an mce installation. Summary...With the proper updates, XPMCE is the superior OS for entertainment. In the rare instance you are managing many many machines say in a skyscraper lol then xp pro would be a better choice. That is if your not considering server of course. Peace. Hope that helps clarify.

-reply by Systemic

Downgrade Windows MCE To XP?Downgrade Windows MCE To XP?

Yes, you can install XP Home on a WMC machine. But you should be able to restore the WMC machine by tapping F10 during boot-up. From there you can restore the computer to an out of box state without any restore disk.

-reply by RonnieKeywords:

XP MCE is bad?Downgrade Windows MCE To XP?

I have had crashes and all that stuff and UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME BSOD come up 3 times. The repair people say that once it has been fixed crashes do happen but all my computer parts are working fine after a weeks diagnose... I'm starting to think its either my internet (doubt it) or the OS which is XP MCE, which therepair men said is possible as it is known to be a bad OS. Is this true? TY

-reply by Carlo