Can I install Vista on two HDDs if I only use one at a time

[Dusty Dan]

Hi,
I have a laptop that have Windows Vista installed on it, and I have a HDD from a dead laptop that has Windows XP installed.

It's a bit of a long story, but the short version is that I replaced the Vista drive with the XP drive and successfully re-activated Windows XP.

I want to keep the original Vista drive for now, but want to upgrade the XP drive to Vista.

Can I use the licence from the Vista drive to upgrade the XP drive to Vista? I don't have the original Vista disk (but can I just download a Vista ISO)?

Also, if I eventually want to switch back to the original Vista drive, can I just put it back into the laptop?

I don't want to run both HDDs at the same time (which would obviously be illegal) I just want to use the Vista licence, but retain the option of switching back to the original Vista HDD.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[SuperAdithya]

Sorry, but that's not possible by the legal way.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Sorry, but that's not possible by the legal way.

Thanks. What would prevent me from doing so?

I am really only putting a new HDD into a machine which has an existing Vista licence.

Is it not legal for me to use the existing licence on the new HDD, or is it not technically possible?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

If you already have a copy of Vista installed and it works on one of your laptops, then I don't understand why you want to upgrade to Vista on another hard drive.

The reason Dusty Dan says it's illegal is because when a laptop or factory-built PC dies, the pre-installed operating system & user licence dies with it, and the same applies when you install Windows from an OEM disc, it cannot be transferred to another computer.

Anyway, that apart, Windows 7 is way better than Vista, more stable & less resource-hungry (RAM in particular). But remember what I said about drivers, you must check your laptop manufacturer's website first to see what drivers they have for your model as that will dictate which Windows versions you can install on it.

 

[Dusty Dan]

The reason Dusty Dan says it's illegal is because when a laptop or factory-built PC dies, the pre-installed operating system & user licence dies with it, and the same applies when you install Windows from an OEM disc, it cannot be transferred to another computer.
.

OK so, in fact, it is using the XP drive (still with XP on it) in the original Vista laptop that is not legal (as it was the XP laptop that died), is that right?

But, if I put the drive from the XP laptop into the Vista laptop and replace XP on the drive with Vista, then that would be legal, right? (because the Vista laptop is not dead, I have just put a different drive in it, albeit one that used to have XP on it)

I understood that the motherboard was the key issue regarding whether it was a "new" PC, not replacing the hard drive.

Assuming that is legal, is it possible and, if so, could I eventually replace the original Vista drive back into the original Vista laptop?

As to why, it is a little complicated, and I also want to avoid paying for Windows 7, especially as I only want to use the drive in Vista laptop for a few months (but I am worried about using XP for that period of time, with the lack of exploit support).

 

[plast0000]

Hi,
I have a laptop that have Windows Vista installed on it, and I have a HDD from a dead laptop that has Windows XP installed.

It's a bit of a long story, but the short version is that I replaced the Vista drive with the XP drive and successfully re-activated Windows XP.

I want to keep the original Vista drive for now, but want to upgrade the XP drive to Vista.

Can I use the licence from the Vista drive to upgrade the XP drive to Vista? I don't have the original Vista disk (but can I just download a Vista ISO)?

Also, if I eventually want to switch back to the original Vista drive, can I just put it back into the laptop?

I don't want to run both HDDs at the same time (which would obviously be illegal) I just want to use the Vista licence, but retain the option of switching back to the original Vista HDD.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

no , that's Illegal ,key= one copy at a time

 

[Dusty Dan]

no , that's Illegal ,key= one copy at a time

OK, so I can't have two copies installed, even though one of the hard drives is just sat on a shelf. Is that right?

So, if I uninstalled Vista from the original Vista drive, put the drive on the shelf and then installed Vista on the original XP hard drive, that would be OK?

When I wanted to put the original Vista drive back into the laptop, I would take Vista off the XP original drive, and put Vista back on the original drive. Is that right?

I'm all for doing things legally, but it seems such a pain that I can't have Vista on a second drive, even if I have no intention of using it at the same time as the other Vista drive.

Does that also mean that I cannot clone the drive as a quick restore backup (because I then have Vista installed on two drives at the same time, with the same licence)?

Thanks for helping to clarify.

 

[plast0000]

no , that's Illegal ,key= one copy at a time

OK, so I can't have two copies installed, even though one of the hard drives is just sat on a shelf. Is that right?

So, if I uninstalled Vista from the original Vista drive, put the drive on the shelf and then installed Vista on the original XP hard drive, that would be OK?

When I wanted to put the original Vista drive back into the laptop, I would take Vista off the XP original drive, and put Vista back on the original drive. Is that right?

I'm all for doing things legally, but it seems such a pain that I can't have Vista on a second drive, even if I have no intention of using it at the same time as the other Vista drive.

Does that also mean that I cannot clone the drive as a quick restore backup (because I then have Vista installed on two drives at the same time, with the same licence)?

Thanks for helping to clarify.

yes that's true

 

[Dusty Dan]

yes that's true

Thanks. I really appreciate everyone's help in clarifying this.

It all sounds like too much faffing to keep moving the OS around, and I'm not going to pay £60 for Windows 7 just for a few months.

As I only need web browsing and documents (LibreOffice) I think I might just ditch XP and go for Ubuntu.

I've stuck it on a VirtualBox machine and will play around with it for a couple of days. If I don't find the experience too terrifying, I'll do a full install and that will have to do for the next few months.

Thanks again.