Installing Windows XP on same comp as Win7

I have a Dell 580 Inspiron desktop that came preinstalled with Windows 7 x64. I want to totally remove it (format hdd) and install an OEM verison of Windows XP MCE. I will not be running Win7 and MCE at the same time.

With regard to licensing issues, will I be able to activate it without any problems, or can the hardware identifier that is created during activation notify Microsoft that I'm installing a different OS than the preinstalled one on this same machine?

Will I be able to wipe the drive clean again in the future and clean install Windows 7 again if I need it or will I have problems validating it?

 

No. MS will not be concerned about what OS may have been on the PC beforehand. As long as your COA is valid, it should activate. The bigger hassle will be drivers. I do not see any Windows XP drivers offered for your PC. Without SATA drivers you won't even be able to install it on your PC, not to mention getting any of the rest of the hardware working without drivers for it.

Dell Inspiron 580 drivers

Why is it that you want to ditch the Win 7? Just asking in the event the driver issue proves to be insurmountable.

 

Thanks, didn't realize that might be a problem.

Ever since I got the box last November, I've been having problems with random crashes - bsod's, weird lines on screen then reboot, and just plain old black screen shutdown reboot crashes. I've tested all sorts of hardware, ram, video ram, etc. and everything passes.

I've also disabled and updated several drivers, including updating BIOS. Still have crashes. I'm ready to call it quits for now and put in trusty old XP.

I thought I could install XP 32-bit in a 64-bit box and it would still work, but if I'm going to have problems, I don't want to find that out after I open the OEM package and can't install or run it. I'm not sure what to do now.

 

Be careful about attempting the downgrade - especially if your "restore" disk for Windows 7 is a partition on the PC's hard drive.

I have run into two issues (1 HP, 1 Lenovo) where the PC would not boot after XP was loaded. The reason? In both cases, the BIOS was programmed to search for the (Vista or 7) "restore" partition as an option at startup.

The first thing I would do is contact Dell tech support to see if this is a possible issue.

Even if they say it's OK, I would spend $50 on a new/extra hard drive and install it in the PC before attempting the XP install. In case the Dell tech support agent had an ID10T issue, this prevents the chance of ending up with no Windows at all due to wiping/reformatting the OEM drive.