Here's another reply from Gateway:


Thank you for your e-mail. I apologize that we cannot provide the
product key for Windows XP Professional, because the preinstalled
software is Windows Vista and please be advised that the Restore CD is
different from the Windows XP Home Edition installation CD. In
accordance with our license agreement with Microsoft, the version of
Windows that came pre-installed is bundled with other software in a
Ghost Image format. Because of this, individual files or programs
cannot be extracted from the CD, except for the device drivers, which
can be loaded individually from the Restore CD.


As for changing Operating System, I apologize to say that changing the
operating system is not supported, and is not covered under the
warranty.

Gateway does not warrant or support any third party products, so any
support that you may need shall come from the manufacturer of the
third
party manufacturer.

If you wish, you may search online for drivers for the devices
preinstalled in your computer. Please note that we have not tested
drivers other than the ones provided and we cannot guarantee its
compatibility with the preinstalled components in your system. Please
be advised that all information obtained from the Internet is to be
***
used at your own risk ***. This will include all information
obtained
from the Internet, such as, files you may download, information about
how to resolve an issue or just visiting a link that you were referred
to. This will include any links or downloads that Gateway may refer
you
to as a possible resolution to an issue or just as a source of
information. This also includes any references to searching the
Internet for any type of information.

Consulting the manufacturer of the software is also a good idea. They
could provide additional information regarding your issue and
assistance
in installing or configuring it to operate properly. Gateway
technical
support is here to help troubleshoot hardware technical issues and to
determine if the original software is faulty or corrupted. We can
also
arrange for warranty repair service if required. However, we do not
have the information available to answer software usage questions or
work with third party software compatibility issues. We can only
support the original software that were preloaded on the system.


On Mar 25, 6:13 am, "David R. Norton, MVP Shell/User"
<d_r_nor...******.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> "recurr" <rec...******.com> wrote:[color=green]
> > This is the response I received from Gateway.[/color]
>[color=green]
> > Thank you for your e-mail. If you wish to downgrade the Operating
> > System of your GatewayGM5424computer to Windows XP Professional,
> > you will need to purchase and install a retail version for this
> > Operating System.[/color]
>
> <snip>
>[color=green]
> > Any support for third party software should come directly from the
> > manufacturer.[/color]
>
> <snip>
>
> Thanks for the response, it's nice to know that you can change to XP at
> your expense and it will not affect your warranty with Gateway since
> you'd expect MSFT to support a retail version of XP and the hardware
> warranty remains intact.[/color]