Andrew May wrote
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.

You didn't.

Microsoft have given you a Windows 8 trial that will at some point
expire.

Yes, you did manage to get that bit right.

At this point you either have to pay for the release version

Or just decide that you don't like it before that etc.

or your PC will be useless because there is no facility for returning to
XP.

Anyone with even half a clue just uses the backup to return to XP
or reinstalls the XP in the same way that it got there in the first place.

Nice.

Pathetic in your case.