Concerns about re-installing Vista using legitimate software.

[Fairly-Nice-Person]

Hi!

So, in 2011 I inherited my boyfriend's mom's old Toshiba Satellite A200-AH9 laptop (mediocre yet sturdy hardware specs, will post if relevant), which came pre-installed with Vista Home Premium (SP2, 32-bit). She deleted the hidden recovery partition years ago and the laptop wasn't shipped with recovery discs.

I want to re-install Vista and give Windows about 76 GBs, and use the remaining space on my drive for a FreeBSD or Debian installation. Upgrading is not currently an option, nor is saying goodbye to Windows altogether. (One day, though...)

Before starting my adventure, I have a few concerns about re-installing Vista itself. I'm worried my Product Key will be rejected for one reason or another. All advice, suggestions or pointers to relevant MS KB articles will be immeasurably appreciated!

I see a lot of conflicting info. on the web. One website (http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-windows_install/where-to-find-windows-vista-32bit-oem-for-toshiba/34192dd6-4835-433f-8433-af3ab8325e6d) suggests that re-installing Vista from a DVD and punching in your Product Key will automatically determine which edition you get to use, but it appears that OEM Product Keys do not work with Retail DVD discs at all. What should I do? Should I track down an OEM disc on eBay or attempt to borrow a Retail DVD with all Vista flavours from a techie friend? There is also the option to cobble a bootable image together from an .exe file and two .wim files (which seems legal - see http://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/57-windows-vista-direct-download-links - do correct me if I'm wrong), but the build on the .exe file differs from mine. The link provided states the build of the version I'd use (English USA) is "X14-63452", but the CoA on my laptop lists "X13-04657". Would my Product Key work with a different system build of the same OS?

Given the parameters of my situation, how should I proceed? Please help.

 

[mickypheonix]

hi fairly-nice-person
Yes you can install again with your oem key however you will more than likely not be able to activate windows online,
upon activation however you have the option to activate by phone , call the microsoft number provided and explain to them that your pc was virused badly or some such and they will activate it over the phone , you will have to provide them with a series of codes that windows gives you then they will give you the activation codes.
I have done this on quite a few occasions and had no problems

 

[Fairly-Nice-Person]

Thank you kindly for your response!

If you don't mind, what kind of codes will they want? Can all of the information they'll request be found on my CoA or should I suck every license out of my laptop using Belarc Advisor?

 

[mickypheonix]

when you boot into windows you have a choice of activation , pick phone option they will give you phone number for your location , then
on the same page will be a series of codes that you have to give to the person on the phone , you wont have to look for them

 

[Fairly-Nice-Person]

This will work with a borrowed Retail DVD, right?

Sorry for the noob questions, I've only ever installed fresh OSes through VMware. I've never had to bother with activating Windows!

 

[mickypheonix]

you should be fine

 

[Fairly-Nice-Person]

Thank you for the reassurance!

I'll see my friend this weekend and report back with results. I'm so excited!

 

[mickypheonix]

no probs , installing windows vista wont be a problem its the activation with an oem key you will have to do over the phone with microsoft

 

[JDFan]

Just to verify what has already been said -- Yes you'll be fine as long as you still have a readable COA certificate -- Vista install disks all contain all of the files needed for any version and what is installed is based on the license key that is entered when you run the install so any disk can be used (you just need to chose either 32 bit (x86) (if an older system with less than 4GB of Memory that you do not plan to install more on) or 64 bit (x64) (if using or plan to ever use more than 4GB. of RAM and can find 64 bit versions of the drivers for your hardware) and what language -- NOTE : the key will work with either 32 bit or 64 bit but you will need a different install disk with the correct version.

Also if you would rather have your own copy of the files rather than borrow your friends (in case you need it later) the VISTA install files can be downloaded from Digital River (MS's approved digital distributor) Here is a link to a tutorial which details the process of creating the install disk and includes links to the digital river downloads for the various languages and 32 or 64 bit files ( http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.com/2012/08/microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso.html )

 

[Fairly-Nice-Person]

Just to verify what has already been said -- Yes you'll be fine as long as you still have a readable COA certificate -- Vista install disks all contain all of the files needed for any version and what is installed is based on the license key that is entered when you run the install so any disk can be used (you just need to chose either 32 bit (x86) (if an older system with less than 4GB of Memory that you do not plan to install more on) or 64 bit (x64) (if using or plan to ever use more than 4GB. of RAM and can find 64 bit versions of the drivers for your hardware) and what language -- NOTE : the key will work with either 32 bit or 64 bit but you will need a different install disk with the correct version.

Also if you would rather have your own copy of the files rather than borrow your friends (in case you need it later) the VISTA install files can be downloaded from Digital River (MS's approved digital distributor) Here is a link to a tutorial which details the process of creating the install disk and includes links to the digital river downloads for the various languages and 32 or 64 bit files ( http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.com/2012/08/microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso.html )

Thank you so much for your feedback, JDFan! (Does JD stand for Jack Daniels? I'm somewhat of a fan myself...)

I'm excessively paranoid because my OEM Key is Canadian (as am I - Toronto, ON here) and my friend has a U.S. version of Vista. I see the installer media files create a universal bootable disc, so I've decided to go that route instead. I also plan to really protect myself by using Activation Backup and Restore, which saves your activation from a pre-installed, OEM copy of Vista as a file.

I've got 2 GBs of RAM installed. I might attempt getting a beefier stick in there sometime in the future. You can laugh at me when I come back crying because I've borked my system.

The links that provide the Vista installation media files you can grab directly from Digital River are down. They look like they've been shaky since April 03. However, I found http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/296167-vista-iso-download.html this thread where exceptionally nice people provide links to all necessary install files.

When all is said and done, I plan on writing a comprehensive guide to re-installing Vista without recovery discs or a hidden recovery partition. Now if only I could find a way to backup and re-install MS Office 2007...