If you are searching for a new computer with Windows XP already installed for you, unfortunately you may be out of luck. Computer companies all over the world are making the switch to Windows Vista and pre-installing it on new systems giving you, the consumer, very little choice in the matter. Thankfully though, if you have to purchase a computer with Windows Vista you can still purchase and change your operating system back to Windows XP, even with limited knowledge of computer systems.

When you arrive home, if you don't already have a computer to use, you'll need to set up your new Windows Vista computer and make sure it's connected to the internet. Once you are online, the first website you'll need to visit will be the website of the manufacturer of your new computer. The reason you need to do this is to make sure you have the correct drivers to make your computer work once you install XP. Normally, you can choose Drivers and Support to get to page that will provide you with drivers, then simply choose the operating system Windows XP and save all drivers to a CD. If you have any other devices such as a printer, Bluetooth, scanner and keyboard you'll need to visit their manufacturer websites and download the drivers to the same CD.

Once you've saved any drivers you may need to a CD, open your new Windows XP disk, insert it into the CDROM and restart your computer. Your computer should boot to the new XP CD and the next question should ask if you would like to format your computer and give you three options. Choose "NTFS (Quick)" if you are unsure what else to choose or are not a computer expert. Once your computer has been formatted, it will begin to install Windows XP. This may take a few minutes or several hours depending on the memory and speed of your new computer. Simply follow the prompts and fill in any information that is needed and once XP is installed your computer will restart automatically and ask you to login.

Now that you've logged in, you'll remove the XP CD and insert the CD that you had previously made that included all of your drivers. Click on "My Computer" and then your CD Drive to open the CD and begin installing your drivers. Because they should all be files that are called .exe files, also known as executable files, just by double clicking each icon you can start the install of the drivers. Follow the prompts and choose "Next" or "Yes" when asked and reboot your system when you have completed.

Now that you have rebooted, you will have a working Windows XP operating system and all of your devices will be fully operational.

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