Will Vista premium retail upgrade 64 bit work on laptop key?

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oboyco

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I have Vista home premium retail upgrade 32 bit, and should be receiving the 64 bit version I ordered from MS, in a couple of days. This will be going on my desktop using the original 32 bit key.

Question is, will this 64 bit retail version work on my new Toshiba laptop, (home premium), using the Toshibas key? I am assuming the Toshiba has an OEM version installed.
 
oboyco said:
I have Vista home premium retail upgrade 32 bit, and should be receiving the 64 bit version I ordered from MS, in a couple of days. This will be going on my desktop using the original 32 bit key.

Question is, will this 64 bit retail version work on my new Toshiba laptop, (home premium), using the Toshibas key? I am assuming the Toshiba has an OEM version installed.
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The only thing the product key determines is what version of Vista is installed not which bit version.
 
The key printed on the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop is effectively useless, more of a placeholder than anything else. The sticker is the proof of authenticity, not the key. If you're installing a Toshiba branded copy of Vista on a Toshiba laptop, it won't ask you for any key - and even if it did require one, the one on the sticker still wouldn't work.

The 32 bit Home Premium Retail Upgrade key your purchased is good for the 64 bit Retail Upgrade version DVD you should be receiving from Microsoft soon, yes. As long as the versions match, the key is valid for the 32 and 64 bit releases of that version (version meaning Home Basic, Home Premium, etc). You'll be installing the 32 or 64 bit Upgrade versions using the key that came with the 32 bit Retail Upgrade edition not the Toshiba key.
 
Thanks Bbz, so basically you are saying I need to buy a new OEM, or whatever version of Vista 64 with a new key, to install it on the Toshiba.

I wonder if Toshiba would provide me a 64 bit version, at request.

lol, of course they would if I paid they $200 or more, but maybe not, dunno
 
bbz_Ghost said:
The key printed on the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop is effectively useless, more of a placeholder than anything else. The sticker is the proof of authenticity, not the key. If you're installing a Toshiba branded copy of Vista on a Toshiba laptop, it won't ask you for any key - and even if it did require one, the one on the sticker still wouldn't work.
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Not true at all. I've used the OEM key on the bottom of Vista systems to do clean installs numerous times using disks not provided by the OEM. You WILL need to call and activate the copy of Windows as it typically will not authenticate online, but the key on the bottom of the laptop IS valid and WILL activate with a phone call provided it's being installed on the system it shipped with.

There is no longer any difference between retail and a unmodified OEM Vista disk (not all OEMs ship un-modified Vista DVDs, so a license key, settings and some software may be installed automatically). The keys are not tied to whether or not they ship with 32-bit or 64-bit versions, and I've used the same key for both 32-bit and 64-bit installs of Vista (after wiping the old install), though I've only done that once and may have been in a different situation that you, so I can't guarantee it 100%, but I don't anticipate any problems. In terms of the OEM licensing agreement, this may or may not be frowned upon. I'm not entirely clear on that.
 
bbz_Ghost said:
The key printed on the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop is effectively useless, more of a placeholder than anything else. The sticker is the proof of authenticity, not the key. If you're installing a Toshiba branded copy of Vista on a Toshiba laptop, it won't ask you for any key - and even if it did require one, the one on the sticker still wouldn't work.

The 32 bit Home Premium Retail Upgrade key your purchased is good for the 64 bit Retail Upgrade version DVD you should be receiving from Microsoft soon, yes. As long as the versions match, the key is valid for the 32 and 64 bit releases of that version (version meaning Home Basic, Home Premium, etc). You'll be installing the 32 or 64 bit Upgrade versions using the key that came with the 32 bit Retail Upgrade edition not the Toshiba key.
Click to expand...

Toshiba key worked just fine for me the other day. As did the Dell one on a friends laptop that I did a clean install for back in October.
 
Thanks guys, looks like I need to give it a try! Worst case, I'd have to reload Toshibas bloated OS.
 
Look this this guide, it is a long one but awesome as well:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Note it is tailored to HP/Compaq, but will work with any brand in reality. Just obviously use the drivers and such for your brand ;)


The guide lets you reinstall Vista without having to call to activate or even activate over the internet. Just make sure you read through it before doing anything because you need to use the ABR program (at the bottom of the post) to get the registration info from the original install before you do anything.
 
Grentz said:
The guide lets you reinstall Vista without having to call to activate or even activate over the internet. Just make sure you read through it before doing anything because you need to use the ABR program (at the bottom of the post) to get the registration info from the original install before you do anything.
Click to expand...

From my experience, unless imaging a number of identical machines, it's quicker just to make a quick 5 minute phone call to Microsoft to activate.
 
Oooska said:
From my experience, unless imaging a number of identical machines, it's quicker just to make a quick 5 minute phone call to Microsoft to activate.
Click to expand...

All you do is run the program, it makes the reg file, then you run a command on the new install and it installs it. Takes about 30 seconds tops :p

My Thinkpad was even easier...the guide for the lenovo's has a reg file already so all you have to do is do a clean install and then type in the command to load the reg file and it is all activated. Takes about 5-10 seconds. Also you do not have to call in everytime you reinstall :cool:

But to each their own.
 
Oooska said:
From my experience, unless imaging a number of identical machines, it's quicker just to make a quick 5 minute phone call to Microsoft to activate.
Click to expand...

It takes 30 seconds to activate this way. Most of that guide is what we all normally do for reinstalling Windows anway. It's just backing up the license certificate and key that your OEM preinstalled to begin with, then reinstalling them after you're done with Windows' instalation.
 
This may be a stupid question, but following the steps linked above about backing up activation....does that work for non-OEM licenses of Vista as well? I'm always swapping out parts from all of my systems, so it would be nice to know I won't have to call back in each time I trip the activation.
 
DeaconFrost said:
This may be a stupid question, but following the steps linked above about backing up activation....does that work for non-OEM licenses of Vista as well? I'm always swapping out parts from all of my systems, so it would be nice to know I won't have to call back in each time I trip the activation.
Click to expand...

Ghost
 
I do ghost my systems, but that doesn't solve the problem of tripping activation when swapping out some hardware parts.
 
DeaconFrost said:
I do Ghost my systems, but that doesn't solve the problem of tripping activation when swapping out some hardware parts.
Click to expand...

True, hmmm don't know what to tell you. keep your phone finger in shape I guess. As far as I know it won't work.
 
It will not work as there is nothing to backup. The thing it backs up is the license that the OEM installs on the machine in their original image.
 
Grentz, that link is indeed totally awesome!!!

I read almost all of the 70 pages of threads and now have absolutely no problem thinking about installing 64 bit on my laptop. Should go smoothly. If not then I always have original repair disks.

I'll let you know Mon when I receive my upgrade disk from MS.
 
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