Windows Vista files can be restored from the Windows.old folder.
Windows 7 is the seventh version of the Windows operating system released by Microsoft. While Windows 7 introduced improvements and features not present in its predecessor Windows Vista, some users still prefer Windows Vista. While it is possible to revert to Vista by reformatting the hard drive Windows 7 is on and performing a clean Vista installation, in some situations you can revert your operating system without having to reinstall. If Windows 7 was installed directly over Vista, the old Vista files are still on the hard drive and can be restored.
Instructions
1. Place your Windows 7 recovery disc in your computer's DVD drive. Reboot the computer, pressing a key to boot from the drive when prompted. If a prompt doesn't appear asking whether you want to boot from the DVD drive, reboot the computer again and press the indicated key to access the boot menu when the computer starts loading. Choose the DVD drive from the boot menu list, then press a key to boot from your recovery disc.
2. Follow the prompts in the Windows installation program until you reach the screen asking whether you want to install Windows 7. Choose the "Repair Your Computer" option to access the system recovery options. Select the Windows 7 installation you want to revert, then click "Next." When the system recovery menu appears, choose the "Command Prompt" option to open a command prompt window.
3. Type "C:" without the quotation marks and press the "Enter" key, then type "Md Win7" (again without quotation marks) and press "Enter" again. Continue in this manner, entering "Move Windows Win7\Windows," "Move "Program Files" "Win7\Program Files,"" "Move Users Win7\Users," "Attrib --h --s --r ProgramData," "Move ProgramData Win7\ProgramData" and "Rd "Documents and Settings."" press "Enter" after each command, leaving off the comma and outermost set of quotation marks with each one. These commands copy your user settings from Windows 7 so that they can be restored in Windows Vista.
4. Type "move /y c:\Windows.old\Windows c:\" without quotation marks and press "Enter." Continue typing commands, entering "move /y "c:\Windows.old\Program Files" c:\," "move /y c:\Windows.old\ProgramData c:\," "move /y c:\Windows.old\Users c:\," and "move /y "c:\Windows.old\Documents and Settings" c:\," leaving off the comma and outermost quotes on each command. These commands copy Vista's files from the Windows.old directory and overwrite the existing Windows 7 files.
5. Type "D:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c:" without quotes and press "Enter," where "D:" is the letter assigned to your computer's DVD drive. This command restores the Windows Vista boot sector to your computer, allowing it to boot Vista instead of Windows 7.
6. Close the command prompt window. Click the "Restart" button to reboot your computer; don't press anything if you are asked whether you want to boot from the DVD drive. Instead of booting Windows 7, Windows Vista will boot.
7. Check the contents of the "Win7" folder on your computer's C: drive to make sure that you don't need any of the files that were copied to it. These files are backups of your Windows 7 settings; if Windows Vista is working properly and you have no intention of going back to Windows 7 you may delete the "Win7" folder to free up space on your hard drive.
Tags: Windows Vista, press Enter, boot from, quotation marks, boot from drive
