Vista and XP compatability

[Dick Adair]

I just ordered a Lenovo laptop and the only option was Vista OS. Will I be able to alternate data files from XP on my desktop? I use word files and spreadsheets from Lotus and Microsoft. I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask this. Thanks for any info you can give me.

[Mike Circo]

Vista and XP use the same file system. In general anything that runs or is readable on XP will be available on Vista also. As with any new OS there are a few exceptions. Older printers may not have drivers, some obsure games might not run... things like that.

Now as to Microsoft Word and Excel files, there is a different issue.

There is a new version of Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) that is available. Not usually shipped automatically with new computers, you may have to purchase it separately. That new version of Office uses a different file type to save files. But will read the older versions, and will write the older files if you specify the old ".DOC" or ".XLS" formats.

You could also transfer your Office license from the old XP machine to the new Vista computer as the old Office programs still work under Vista. MS would just LOVE to sell you a brand new application, but it isn't required at this point.

Hope this helps.

[Karlan Talkington]

You should have no issues passing files back and forth.

If you use the same version of Office or the like on vista then you'll definitely have no issues.

If you happen to update to Office 2007 then this is where file compatibility begins to fall apart. Typically as long as you save the files in 2007 as 2003 documents then you shouldn't have an issue. I have tried to open files from 2007 on a box using XP and the 2007 compatibility patch but still had issues. Its pretty wonky.

Oh and don't even think about trying to install XP on the laptop harddrive with Vista already on it. Microsoft implants itself deep on the harddrive. If you want XP, get a new drive. There are also some hacks out there that supposedly will remove the deep roots of Vista from a hard drive.

Good luck!

[Curt Harms]

Oh and don't even think about trying to install XP on the laptop harddrive with Vista already on it. Microsoft implants itself deep on the harddrive. If you want XP, get a new drive. There are also some hacks out there that supposedly will remove the deep roots of Vista from a hard drive.

Good luck!

The very machine I'm typing this on has Win2K, XP, Vista and Ubuntu 8.10 installed. Of the 3, I'm liking Vista the least...what a pig. This machine is an IBM (Lenovo)R61i. At least with the Thinkpad line, IBM (Lenovo) has been very good about hardware support for Win2K and WinXP as well as Vista. They have a utility that once installed on a new machine will go to the server and download all applicable drivers, helper apps etc. It seems to work pretty well. As far as licensing, my understanding is that a license for Microsoft's latest and greatest OS includes licenses for any "downgrades".

I accomplished this with programs from terabyteunlimited.com. I used BootIt NG and Image for Linux. I'm certain there are other software packages out there that will do the same thing but these work for me. A word of caution regarding BootItNG...you can REALLY screw up your system with this. Be sure to make verified backups of any partitions that matter. I did use BootitNG to readjust partition sizes before creating the images.

p.s. If you didn't get them, try to get the restore DVD's from Lenovo. All I had to do was ask.

[Dick Adair]

OK, thanks. My desktop and XP will still be the main station. Laptop will be more the casual one. I'm using Office 97 and Lotus Suite 9.8. They are both very old, but not enough use to justify updating. Just needed to be sure I did not have any problems.

[Paul Ryan]

Dick,

I bought a laptop with Vista on it back in sept. There are to different versions of vista a 64bit and a 32bit. If you buy a machine with the 64bit on it your old versions of office will not run on it. Along with many of your older programs. The 32 bit program will run those old programs. Programs that have been developed since 05 or so should work fine. I had been using office 00 and it would not work on my new laptop. One of the advantages of 64bit is that it will allow you to use more than 3 gigs of memory. That may seem like a lot I won't need that much memory. But the new machine I have has the 64 bit and I have 4 gigs of memory and vista uses a ton of memory. I have been doing some picture editing and work and have got messages saying my memory was getting low. In contrast I have a desktop machine with XP on it with only 1 gig of memory and have never had a problem. Personally I cant stand vista but it really the only Microsoft software available now. I am not computer savy enought to learn how to use the other stuff operating systems out there. Just check what "bit" version vista you are buying. The 32 bit system will only recognize upto 3 gigs of memory. If you install 4 it wont recognize the extra gig so you are paying for an extra gig of memory that is useless.

[Jeff Heil]

I am running Office 2003 on two 64 bit Vista machines (Toshiba Satellite laptops) without any difficulty. The biggest change I had between Vista and XP with file sharing is Vista's "public" folder vs sharing a whole drive on the XP platform. We have Vista and XP laptops that share a wireless network and printers without any issues. Just loaded updated drivers for the Vista platform and our old printers work fine.

I held off on Vista til I couldn't any more due to a laptop LCD screen that died and really haven't had any problems. The hype was much worse than my reality.

[Darius Ferlas]

Vista and XP use the same file system.

Actually there is a difference between the file system on XP and Vista. Vista uses a variant NTFS, the TxF - Transaction File System.

File formats do not depend on the operating system though, but are rather format specific. An MS Word document, for instance, can be read on any Operating System- Windows any version), Linux, UNIX, as long as you have software available for that OS and capable of understanding one or more versions of MS Word formats.

Not all apps. running under XP will run under Vista. Some could be tweaked to do so.

[Brian Elfert]

If a Vista license allows downgrading to XP then why do Dell and others charge up to $150 for the privilege of ordering a machine with Windows XP installed?

Will a product key for Vista home work with XP Home? (I doubt it, but I have not tried it.)

I wouldn't mind installing Windows XP instead of Vista on my new Lenovo laptop, but I can't justify $130 or so for a copy of XP Pro. I might just wait to see what Windows 7 brings us.

[Darius Ferlas]

Dell's default OS in some of their computer lines is Vista Basic. If you want XP pro downgrade then you need to get at least Vista Pro or Premium.

I always buy Dell machines with Vista Pro and that gives me the automatic right to downgrade to XP Pro. In fact I request XP Pro to be installed. Both Vista and XP disks are then included.

This applies only to Dell's Vostro, Precision and Latitude lines.

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm using Office 97 and Lotus Suite 9.8. They are both very old, but not enough use to justify updating.

Download OpenOffice 3.0 for free and you'll have a compatible program to open and make newer office documents. It'll open office documents and you can even setup the default save options as Office documents.

It's free and it's updated all the time, so it stays current and, it's free. I did mention it's free, didn't I? (and it's VERY good as well)

openoffice.org

[Chuck Wintle]

Download OpenOffice 3.0 for free and you'll have a compatible program to open and make newer office documents. It'll open office documents and you can even setup the default save options as Office documents.

It's free and it's updated all the time, so it stays current and, it's free. I did mention it's free, didn't I? (and it's VERY good as well)

openoffice.org

I'll second the vote for open office. It's free and compatible with MS programs.

[Curt Harms]

I'll second the vote for open office. It's free and compatible with MS programs.

Not only is Open Office quite good and able to open and save MS office files--Open Office doesn't require MS Windows to run. Gue$$ who doesn't care for that idea.

[Sean Troy]

OK, thanks. My desktop and XP will still be the main station. Laptop will be more the casual one. I'm using Office 97 and Lotus Suite 9.8. They are both very old, but not enough use to justify updating. Just needed to be sure I did not have any problems.

Actually, they are way old enough to justify updating to a newer version of Office. You have very little security with 97.