Vista disc question

Cold Dark Shadow

Cold Dark Shadow

[H]F Junkie
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Mar 24, 2003
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Are the Keys tied to the Disc?
I got a laptop that only has the OSs back up on a partition and id rather have a disc (that i dont have to rip to 9 CDRs)

So can I find a Vista basic disc and still be able to use my Key that came on the laptop for re-installs and whatnot?
 
Most Probably, yes.

Some OEMs (Dell,HP, Gateway) have screwy ways of handling things sometimes.

But installing RETAIL into your laptop should be no issue. Issues arise when trying to install OEM copies or other OEMs onto different hardware machines then they were designed for (although, frankly, I myself have never had an issue with ANY copy of either XP or Vista)

All the Vista disks (retail ones at any rate) are identical. The key just tells the installer which one to install.
 
You should be able to get any Vista OEM disc and reinstall using the key on the notebook.
 
cool guys, thanks :)

I know ive heard of some tryin to install OEM Vista to a machine it didnt come witha nd it not working, didnt know if that was a disc or key type issue or what, I know ive used OEM XP on many macjhines without a problem
 
You can't just use any OEM disc, either. The key on the sticker is tied to the specific OEM branded copy; if you don't have that, you're dead in the water. If the sticker says OEM System Builder, that's your only hope - if there's a brand name like Dell, Gateway, etc printed on that label, it's not going to happen.

Vista is nowhere near as easy as XP was in that respect.
 
So id ahve to find an OEM disc that was pringted for that manufac. ? (ie: dell, gateway, ect)
 
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