Is Windows ruined now for good?

U

[U]ber|Noob

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
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My computer I bought Windows OEM Ultimate with was faulty and wouldn't remember bios settings when the power went off (even with a new battery).

So I took my windows vista OEM and installed it on another old computer I had (as someone on the forum said it would be fine as long as I wasn't using in on two pcs), and it said it activated successfully and worked for a while but when I installed the service pack (due to lots of faults, crashes etc), now it says an unauthorized change was made and it won't start.

So I am now trying to fix the problem with the old computer (it might be the prong in the battery holder). or maybe I can solder some wires connected to a new battery holder.


But now is the windows ruined and invalidated because I installed in on a new old computer, if I try and install it back on the original computer will it not work either and is invalidated for good?

Most of the time I had windows vista oem (after being used for a year or so initally) it was just sitting on the shelf for many years. So there is no chance of it being used for two computers at the same time. But it was OEM.




The only other thing it could be was that because of a fault with windows vista (control panel or any other config windows wouldn't open) which many other people experienced and ms wouldn't fix (according to a thread) I read on the forum about a script to restart some sort of service to fix the problem, which worked and fixed the problem.

I think it was from here.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/236390-44-vista-control-panel-issue


This is all for a home theatre pc and if it wasn't for my tv card not being compatible with linux I'd definitely use linux instead.
 
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You should be able to reinstall on either PC, you might have to call to get it activated, buts only a few minutes
 
my advice...check out the windows 8.1 demo's:) no more messing with calling Microsoft in india
 
Not a good situation to be in. Especially since they recently dropped Vista for good. Good luck with your venture.
 
FNtastic said:
Not a good situation to be in. Especially since they recently dropped Vista for good. Good luck with your venture.
Click to expand...

have you noticed that there's a pattern to windows. good one followed by a bad one. windows ME(bad) xp(good) vista(worst) seven(awesome) eight(bad) 8.1(mixed results)
 
FNtastic said:
Not a good situation to be in. Especially since they recently dropped Vista for good. Good luck with your venture.
Click to expand...

What the hell are you talking about?

If you're talking about updates, Vista is good until 2017. If you're talking about activation... well, Microsoft still takes care of XP activations, what makes you think they would drop supporting Vista activations?
 
techtechie said:
have you noticed that there's a pattern to windows. good one followed by a bad one. windows ME(bad) xp(good) vista(worst) seven(awesome) eight(bad) 8.1(mixed results)
Click to expand...

Ha! I never looked at it like that.
I liked 7 from the get go. Still do! Well, until 9 or whatever is next releases ;)

Tsumi said:
What the hell are you talking about?

If you're talking about updates, Vista is good until 2017. If you're talking about activation... well, Microsoft still takes care of XP activations, what makes you think they would drop supporting Vista activations?
Click to expand...

No need to get excited.
You're correct. I got my XP and Vista mixed up.
On the topic of your thread, why not grab a windows 7 key and install that? Somebody is selling them for 40, iirc...
 
XP was initially crap for me. It wasn't until SP2 came out that I moved on from 98 SE.

Had a Vista laptop. It was perfectly fine after the service packs.
 
[U]ber|Noob;1040925896 said:
So I took my windows vista OEM and installed it on another old computer I had (as someone on the forum said it would be fine as long as I wasn't using in on two pcs)
Click to expand...

Windows OEM license is not transferable. Even if you get it running you're still out of compliance.
 
My old computer is broken!

So if I phone microsoft will they at least give me a discount on the retail version of windows vista or 7 because of my useless windows vista ultimate oem?

So if I just install it on the original computer and manually change the bios settings everytime there is a power outage or it is disconnected from the wall, will I still have to phone MS?

Regarding the 'troll headline' I changed it to is my windows vista ruined for good. I was very frustrated when I wrote it since I spent ages setting up my tv recording pc and trying to fix all the crashes etc. and then this happened.

But I would regard MS as a troll because when you are trying to cross the bridge from the old broken pc to the new one, the fine print issues come up from under the bridge and it's not like water.

But no wonder MS isn't popular they do things in a sneaky (it's all in the fine print type of way) which is not friendly towards the average home consumer.

The idea that if my computer is broken I have to throw away an operating system which I payed for (and a more expensive Ultimate Version too) is just not nice.

If I do have to pay more money to get my computer to work I will be spending it on linux compatible usb tv sticks, not a 4th copy of windows when I only have 3 pcs.

I guess there are a million threads like this, they just do whatever they wan't cause they are the only os in town. Anything to squeeze out more $$.

Ok well I'm going to have to use a half broken computer that can't remember bios settings, so it better install on that. Maybe eventually I will find a second hand replacement motherboard of the same model but it's unlikely. Maybe I can put a "wanting to buy" ad somewhere.
 
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You're better off just biting the bullet and either ditching windows alltogether or buying a retail edition of Win7. You would have suffered on Vista anyway.

The retail licence you can move between the computers. Win8 lets you move even OEM licences as long as you have it running only on one computer at a time.
 
That's what I read and I thought they were getting rid of the OEM restriction that + on the forums people said it's fine as long as you are not running on two at once.

What will happen now if I install it on the partially broken original computer it came with? Will I still have to call M$?

If I have to spend yet more money to buy things I already have but can't use, I'll buy a third tv tuner and make the move to linux (probably mythbuntu) for good. I am asking on the ubuntu forums and the home theatre forums here which tv tuners are ubuntu compatible.

Also I wanted to play some games on the tv with a gamepad but I have learned that I can stream Steam games to a linux computer (all I need is a hub) so I definitely don't need windows as long as I remember always to do lots of research first before buying any hardware (to makes sure it's linux compatible).

It's a shame you can use WINE to install windows drivers on Ubuntu.
 
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