On 27/06/2012 22:42, Robin wrote:
The instructions didn't mention partitioning the disk - it implied it
was just a temporary installation. And it certainly didn't mention
overwriting XP.

Can you be more specific about the "trial" you downloaded? I ask as
Windows releases do not usually allow you to revert and I'd be very
surprised if you can now. And MS usually make this pretty clear. Eg
the Windows 8 release preview carries a pretty clear warning:

"Important: If you decide to go back to your previous operating system,
you'll need to reinstall it from the recovery or installation media that
came with your PC, which is typically DVD media. If you don't have
recovery media, you might be able to create it from a recovery partition
on your PC using software provided by your PC manufacturer. Check the
support section of your PC manufacturer's website for more information.
After you install Windows 8, you won't be able to use the recovery
partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows."


Let me get this right. Microsoft have given you a Windows 8 trial that
will at some point expire. At this point you either have to pay for the
release version or your PC will be useless because there is no facility
for returning to XP. Nice.