Windows Vista questions : choosing the right version

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by gkweb, Jan 27, 2007.

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  1. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    Don´t forget the troubles of Vista's activation scheme.
    Yes, Vista has some interesting features and improvements. But there are very few "killer" features. Tweaking XP and using third-party apps can give you most of those features.
     
  2. gkweb

    gkweb Expert Firewall Tester

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    That's right, it is a very annoying problem.

    Retail licences (I think that it's the name of the box you buy at the shop, including the DVD and the documentation) should be fine. I mean, minor hardware changes will not require re-activation, while major changes (e.g motherboard) will require you to re-activate your Vista. However, number or activation is not limited.

    The problem is for people buying OEM licences, where even minor hardware changes will trigger a re-activation, and major changes will simply mean buying a new Vista licence...

    That's what I understood from many links. Feel free to bring any correction needed.

    Regards,
    gkweb.
     
  3. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    Licensing terms.
    I think that the number of activations in retail copies is not unlimited. But that number was increased after the complains from enthusiast users.
     
  4. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    i heard that if you swap out one thing at a time it doesnt need reactovating.
    but if you do two items at once e.g. graphics card and harddrive then needs reactovating. so just do one item at a time.
    lodore
     
  5. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

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    If the procedure is anything like XPs` was then hard ware changes are\were assigned a points value. Certain pieces of hardware were assigned different points values. If enough points were tallied by hardware changes then reactivation was required.
    Upgraded the Wifes` mobo and processor several years ago. Had to do a by phone reactivation speaking to a "live" person. While it was really quit simple and fast, it was still an inconvenience that "in the good old days" was never required.
    I do not know if one change at a time would get around it or not.
     
  6. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    well unless its changed if you only change one piece of hardware your fine unless its the mobo:D
    lodore
     
  7. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

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    You might get away with it if you are replacing it with the same manufacturer\part number mobo. In my case I upgraded the mobo to accept an upgraded processor.
     
  8. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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  9. phasechange

    phasechange Registered Member

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    You may wish to consider buying a Microsoft Technet Plus Direct subscription if you need to keep update with MS OS releases.

    One thing worth noting from what I read the RDP client is in Premium (Ultimate has the ability to act as a server too). Personally I wouldn't buy Ultimate but if you really need to try everything it's the only way to do it.

    Phasechange :ninja:
     
  10. Howard Kaikow

    Howard Kaikow Registered Member

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    THen I would leave Windows 2000/XP On the PC and create a clean install of Vista in a separate partition.

    Does that work?
     
  11. Howard Kaikow

    Howard Kaikow Registered Member

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  12. Ice_Czar

    Ice_Czar Registered Member

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    guess my first question would be
    which evil twin do I have the pleasure of addressing? :p

    2nd no it wouldnt work dual boots appear to break (at least in theory)
    http://newtech.aurum3.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=442&Itemid=18

    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/software/upgrade-to-vista-lose-your-xp-key-232647.php

    of course it would be childs play to get around that, clone XP take it offline, upgrade, bring the clone online, select which drive to boot to via the BIOS
    the terms rule dual booting out, as to if there is an actual mechanism to break a boot.ini hasnt been confirmed as far as I can tell, in truth it might overwrite but I see no way to keep you from repairing it
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2007
  13. eyes-open

    eyes-open Registered Member

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  14. Ice_Czar

    Ice_Czar Registered Member

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    interesting :cautious: :D

    1. Boot from the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD and start the setup program.
    2. When prompted to enter your product key, DO NOT enter it. Click "Next" and proceed with setup. This will install Windows Vista as a 30-day trial.
    3. When prompted, select the edition of Vista which you have purchased and continue with setup.
    4. Once setup has been completed and you have been brought to the desktop for the first time, run the install program from within Windows Vista.
    5. This time, type in your product key when prompted.
    6. When asked whether to perform an Upgrade or Custom (advanced) install, choose Custom (advanced) to perform a clean install of Vista. Yes, this means that you will have to install Vista for a second time.
    7. Once setup has completed for the second time, you should be able to activate Windows Vista normally. You can also delete the Windows.old directory which contains information from the first Vista install.
     
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