Windows Vista Reinstalling more than twice

[lacywest]

Okay ... any updates or clarity on this issue.

A bunch of us here at this site know what I'm talking about.

Example ...

The computer in my specs doesn't have a PCI Express port.

So I decide to buy Vista now [first install].

A month later I buy a mother board with a PCI-E port and a new PCI-E video card [2nd install] .

A couple of months later the hard drive for my computer dies. I reinstall Vista ???

Am I screwed or will MicroSoft let me install Windows Vista again ???

[JohnnyMalaria]

Am I screwed or will MicroSoft let me install Windows Vista again ???

If it doesn't let you, phone Microsoft and explain the situation...

I've had to do that on previous occasions and Microsoft provided the necessary information to successfully re-install (not Vista, though).

[lacywest]

Am I screwed or will MicroSoft let me install Windows Vista again ???

If it doesn't let you, phone Microsoft and explain the situation...

I've had to do that on previous occasions and Microsoft provided the necessary information to successfully re-install (not Vista, though).

Yes ... I've done this with Win XP ... too.

I even bought two Win XP upgrade packs from CompUSA last month for $40 each ... thinking that Vista is going to be a nightmare.

[lacywest]

Another scenario ... my virus program is about to expire ... do I put off everything I just now said ... up above and wait two months for my virus program to expire before I erase the drive and reinstall everything.

And then what about next year when the Virus program expires again ... and I need to reformat my drive to reinstall my virus program. Will I get to use the MS Vista OS I bought for $100 bucks or do I need to buy another one ... geez !!!!!

[mats.hogberg]

Why on earth should you format your HDD to install a new piece of AV software?

/Mats

[JohnnyMalaria]

Another scenario ... my virus program is about to expire ... do I put off everything I just now said ... up above and wait two months for my virus program to expire before I erase the drive and reinstall everything.

And then what about next year when the Virus program expires again ... and I need to reformat my drive to reinstall my virus program. Will I get to use the MS Vista OS I bought for $100 bucks or do I need to buy another one ... geez !!!!!

Are you trying to circumvent the free year of anti-virus protection??!?!?!

Regarding Vista, I'm not sure what AV software is available for it yet. I have Norton Internet Security 2007 on my XP boot. It doesn't work with Vista. (Symantec have promised a Vista version....)

[TwistedLincoln]

Keep in mind that the OEM version of Windows is not transferrable from one PC to another. And Microsoft considers replacing the motherboard as creating a new computer... Only the retail version (which costs much more...) allows for replacing the motherboard.

From what I've read, Microsoft intends to be much more strict about the policy with Vista than they have been with XP. So calling them up and begging may not be sufficient.

Yet another reason not to buy Vista...

[JohnnyMalaria]

Well, naturally, a version that permits installation more times than another will cost more...

Tying an OEM license to a particular motherboard is not new.

[adam]

If you purchase a retail version of Vista than you can reinstall it as many times as you want for whatever reason you want. You can also install it on any machine you want so long as it is only installed on one pc at a time. I assume Vista will be like prior Windows Os'es in that you will have to call in to reinstall it after you have installed it so many times, (somewhere around 10 installs.) But just tell them why you are reinstalling it and they will give you a new activation code. It takes about 2 mins.

OEM versions of Vista will be tied to whatever machine they are installed on. You can reinstall it as many times as you want on that machine but you can't transfer it to another, and you can't replace the motherboard. That is considered making it a "new machine."

Originally MS announced changes to their retail license agreements that blurred the differences between the retail and oem licenses. For the most part even the retail version of Vista was going to be tied to whatever machine you installed it on. They announced this month that they are abandoning that change, so Vista's license should read about the same as prior licenses. The retail version CAN be transferred to other machines and you CAN replace the mobo and reinstall it with no restrictions. This is very good news.

[lacywest]

I picked up some Win XP Upgrade [$40 bucks each] Disk Packages from CompUSA a few weeks ago. Eventually I will install WinXP with them and eventually I will need to reinstall the OS again ... hard drive failure ... new mother board ... etc ... etc ... etc.

So far I have not had any problems installing over and over again with the disks I do have. I do not have WinXP from one Disk ... installed on more than one PC unit.

I am asking ... will Vista allow this too or will I be needing to go down to Wal-Mart and buy another Vista Disk.

When in the past ... WinXP allowed me to just find the Orange and Green Pack and pull out the mult-colored Halogram disk and reinstall again.

If this feature is coming to an end ... naw ... I dont need MS Vista.

Sorry MicroSoft ... I've got enuff DVD disks laying around already.

[FulciLives]

Call me stupid but if I buy the UPGRADE version of Vista can I install it onto a new fresh HDD or do I need to install XP first on that fresh HDD then install the Vista UPGRADE ???

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lacywest]

Call me stupid but if I buy the UPGRADE version of Vista can I install it onto a new fresh HDD or do I need to install XP first on that fresh HDD then install the Vista UPGRADE ???

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Good question ... I use my Windows 2000 disk to get my WinXP Upgrade Disk to run the setup.

[FulciLives]

Call me stupid but if I buy the UPGRADE version of Vista can I install it onto a new fresh HDD or do I need to install XP first on that fresh HDD then install the Vista UPGRADE ???

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Good question ... I use my Windows 2000 disk to install the WinXP Upgrade Disk.

Can you just make a WinXP "boot" disc and then install Vista ... thus using a "fresh" HDD without first having to install WinXP?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lacywest]

I guess we will have to wait it out and see how things turn out.

I wont be buying Vista anytime soon ... for sure.

I'm happy just the way things are right now.

I for sure do not like Internet Explorer 7 ... I have it installed on two Dell GX280 Small Form Factor machines ... I won them on Ebay for $217 bucks each and they came with WIN XP Professional installed ... and IE 7 was already on both of them.

[FulciLives]

I guess we will have to wait it out and see how things turn out.

I wont be buying Vista anytime soon ... for sure.

I'm happy just the way things are right now.

I for sure do not like Internet Explorer 7 ... I have it installed on two Dell GX280 Small Form Factor machines ... I won them on Ebay for $217 bucks each and they came with WIN XP Professional installed ... and IE 7 was already on both of them.

I really don't plan on upgrading anytime soon either and before I did I would have to upgrade from 512MB RAM to 1GB RAM (if not 2GB RAM) and I would also need a new video card (a 7600GT Nvidia being the "lowest" card I'd buy now).

I'm guessing that would be a minimum of $250 (probably more) in upgrades plus who wants to upgrade before software is fined turned and then drivers etc.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[TJohns]

I've read that Microsoft have "closed" the installation loophole of having a previous version install CD, and now REQUIRE the old OS to be "live" on a drive to update it!

Trev

[Bjs]

Keep in mind that the OEM version of Windows is not transferrable from one PC to another. And Microsoft considers replacing the motherboard as creating a new computer... Only the retail version (which costs much more...) allows for replacing the motherboard.

From what I've read, Microsoft intends to be much more strict about the policy with Vista than they have been with XP. So calling them up and begging may not be sufficient.

Yet another reason not to buy Vista...

=====

That's complete bs ... as there are situations involving the replacement of motherboards , and it may not be possible to get the same exact model for the replacement .

I do this all the time , and ms is all too willing to accept this as a fact , and allow's for the reactivation of the os .

Microsoft also backed off with the restrictions due to those who upgrade their pc's internal hardware all the time ... without these people , ms realized many update's and patch's for current os's would not be developed .

As vista support's pmp (protected memory pathway's)... when the new motherboard's / video / audio chipset manufacturer's include it in design's as well ... that will be a whole new ball game ... then fun begin's , or crap hit's the fan .

=====

At the moment :

There is simply not enough support from software vendor's / hardware driver's to justify the move right now ... stick with xp .
Vista is slower at certain video / audio encoding process's ... a real problem .

Anyone considering upgrading to vista should wait and convert completely over to 64bit ... leave it for a couple of year's .

[adam]

Bjs it is not BS. Microsoft has documentation on their website that says exactly this. Changing your mobo for whatever reason effectively makes it a new computer for purposes of the oem license. Now if the operator you dealt with made an exception for you that was nice of him/her but it doesn't change the formal policy.

[Des]

For what it's worth:

"...that the seemingly unfair limitation on license transfers will not be nearly as severe as we first reported. According to a spokesperson in Microsoft's Licensing Department, simply swapping out a component such as a CPU or graphics card will not require you to re-activate Vista; only replacing a hard drive plus another piece of your rig at the same time will necessitate a re-activation. And instead of the single license transfer stipulation that we'd heard before, Redmond has now gone on record saying that you can re-install Vista up to 10 times without penalty -- and possibly more, though that will apparently be decided on a case-by-case basis."

The artcle can be found here:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/26/vista-license-transfers-not-as-restrictive-as-initially-reported/

I found a more recent article that expressed the same thing only with more details yesterday but I can't find it today. That article explained that a MB or CPU replacement were also not to be unfairly penalized. --God Bless MS' Little Black Heart.

--dES

[redwudz]

I couple of things I have found with Vista.

The latest versions of AVG free antivirus work fine with Vista. The computer I have it on has a on-board ATI X300 video chipset and it works also works with no problems. I added a PCI-E Nvidia 6200 LE video card and it also has no problems. I upped the memory to 1GB and the Aero interface seems to work much better.

I haven't had time to try too many video programs on it yet, so program compatibility will likely be a problem, especially programs that have been around a while. Motherboard drivers only took a short time to locate updates and install. Vista itself has quite a few drivers built in.

[ranchhand]

Maybe this will help...

The December 2006 issue of Maximum PC runs an article near the front: "Microsoft's Licensing Madness". Well worth the read. I quote in part:

"Most software EULAs are documents filled with nasty lists of things...but the clause that Microsoft snuck in unannounced is especially evil. It's titled, "Reassign to another device." Here's the exact text: "The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time."

That means that if you purchase a copy of Vista at retail...you have the right to install that OS on one machine. When you retire that machine, you can install the OS on a second PC, but that's it. Naturally, the new policy will be enforced using Product Activation. Upgrade too much hardware, too many times and Microsoft will disable your legally purchased version of Windows Vista. Frighteningly, none of the Microsoft representatives I've spoke with can specify what determines the difference between a hardware upgrade and a new machine; all they'll say is that it's a very complicated algorithm."

Bad news for home-builders.

[adam]

Des: That only applies to retail versions. All oem versions of every software are tied to the original machine it is used on, and according to global MS policy, replacing a mobo makes it a new machine. Only with the retail license of Vista can you replace all of the components indefinitely.

ranchhand that is the licensing term that MS just announced they have ommitted.

[ron spencer]

really....why does anyone want Vista other than DirectX 10 gamers...nothing else really good about it...

[ranchhand]

Adam - thanks, I'm glad to know that. Appreciate your input.