Vista activation questions.

ChrisRay

<span style="color: rgb(124, 197, 0)">R.I.P. 1983-
Veteran
Hey guys I got a laptop and 2 copies of WIndows Vista Ultimate being fedex'd to me today. I dont have alot of experience with the new Windows Vista activation, My concerns basically are about hardware changes and reformats ect. My copies can be installed on two machines. Which will be my primary desktop and notebook computer. So I have a few questions for those who have more experience with Vista.

1) Should I reformat my hard drives on either computer. What do I have to go through to get windows reactivated on those machines?

2) Should I make large changes to my system ((IE new hard drives, new motherboards, Basic enthusiast things I do bi-monthly. And forcing myself a complete reinstall from a formatted hard drive. What would I have to go through to get windows reactivated?

I have done a little reading about it but cant find anything specific to the process. Considering the copies are legal Vista Ultimate copies it sure seems like a lot of hassle for reinstall and formats.

Chris
 
If they're full versions it's no more hassle to activate than XP and should, in fact, be slightly more resistant to hardware changes before they require reactivation. Actually there are 'holes' left in by MS so that activation can be put off perpetually (edit: apparently MS has debunked the perpetual part) without doing anything illegal.

Upgrade editions, on the other hand, are more of a hassle, and much of the confusion regarding the OEM versions stems from the signals MS have been sending that they're going to be more restrictive WRT just allowing everyone to reactivate always (i.e. actually enforcing the terms of the licenses). So far this doesn't seem to be happening, but I wouldn't have expected it to so early in the product cycle anyway. Who knows what they might do when the rollout is closer to complete.
 
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They are two full Vista Ultimate Editions.
As in 'full retail', or as in 'not upgrade'? If the former, then (at worst) you'll have to call up MS for manual reactivation if you change the machines significantly (they backed off the widely reported license change where you got only a single transfer).
 
They are full retail versions which can be installed without owning XP or a prior operating system.

Chris
 
They are full retail versions which can be installed without owning XP or a prior operating system.
Then you should be no worse off than you would have been with XP. If you know you're going to do a lot of swapping around for testing, or if you know you plan to do significant upgrades soon after a reinstall, you could put off activation until you have a more stable configuration (you can easily extend the grace period for activation up to 120 days).
 
Thanks Zaphod. You have been very reassuring. Looks like I need to wait till monday till my laptop and 2 copies of Windows Vista ect arrive. I'll start off just installing the first copy on my laptop and once I get a feel for Vista I'll move it onto my desktop.
 
Heh. Microsoft really FUDed themselves with the initial licence changes for the retail versions. The following spin attempts didn't do them any favors either (this one is a true gem). As it stands, though, I'd be much more worried about software compatibility than reactivation for a retail copy.

Voluntary disclosure: I have not actually made significant changes to any activated copies of Vista myself, only played around with unactivated installs and corporate editions at work. Although I have a good faith belief the above stated information is correct, i give no warranty to that effect. :smile:
 
Chris if you are going to use 2 operating systems on your laptop xp and vista for testing, I would dual boot.

Then install all programs twice, once with xp, then over install them under vista, in the same directory, of course make sure they are all 32 bit if using XP 32 bit.

Also there is a way to install even the upgrade without a prior OS installed (install it without using the key, and then after everything is done, go in and activate afterwards).

If activation is an irritation, there are quite a few cracks out there that would stop the trail version count down timer indefinitly. I wouldn't do this, ya never know when a MS update would fix this, but just an idea.

Also if you install without a serial, you have a 30 day trail. With a serial I think you are cut down to a 3 day trail.
 
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