Vista Question

I thinking of taking the plunge to Vista. Should I get the retail or upgrade version? Also is there any difference between the two?

Check out the "Vista Reference Thread" sticky at the top of this forum...

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=499694

The only difference if you own XP is that the Retail version makes it easier to do a clean install. Unlike older versions of Windows where you just needed to put a disk in to verify that you were eligible for an upgrade you now have to actually upgrade the OS on your hard drive to Vista and you aren't supposed to be able to do a clean install.

However, there is a workaround by which you can install Vista without putting in the cd key and activating, and then you can upgrade Vista to Vista so that its still a relatively clean install.

save yourself $ and get vista 64-bit oem pc builder's version for $120 at the egg or anywhere else yuo can find it.

funnyperson1 said:

The only difference if you own XP is that the Retail version makes it easier to do a clean install. Unlike older versions of Windows where you just needed to put a disk in to verify that you were eligible for an upgrade you now have to actually upgrade the OS on your hard drive to Vista and you aren't supposed to be able to do a clean install.

However, there is a workaround by which you can install Vista without putting in the cd key and activating, and then you can upgrade Vista to Vista so that its still a relatively clean install.

Click to expand...

Actually you don't need to do that at all.

1. install Vista upgrade (equivalent to trial) without key
2. Boot up into Vista and install Vista again.
3. Make sure you specify install to new partition

Yes it's installing it twice, but it gets around the stupid requirement of installing an older XP OS. Which by the way, also disables your XP license.

TTP said:

Actually you don't need to do that at all.

1. install Vista upgrade (equivalent to trial) without key
2. Boot up into Vista and install Vista again.
3. Make sure you specify install to new partition

Yes it's installing it twice, but it gets around the stupid requirement of installing an older XP OS. Which by the way, also disables your XP license.

Click to expand...

Thats what I was trying to say, but I didn't make it as clear as you did.

By saying

However, there is a workaround by which you can install Vista without putting in the cd key and activating

Click to expand...

I meant install the trial version

and by this

and then you can upgrade Vista to Vista so that its still a relatively clean install.

Click to expand...

I meant do an "upgrade" on your trial version install.

Yea, I think the biggest waste is the fact that Vista will eat your XP key if you upgrade off of it. There are quite a few people with Vista "issues", and it could prove problematic if you wanted to go back to XP or at least dual boot.

Regarding OEM copies, I remember way back when Vista was coming out there was a lot of speculation on how many hardware config changes can be made before they wouldnt let you reinstall. Is this still an issue for OEM?

I originally had Vista in my old machine, upgraded a vid card and 2 more G of ram and it activated just fine. When I then moved my system over to my current rig, it wouldnt activate and I had to call the automated Microsoft hotline. The impression I had from earlier discussions was that if I had an OEM copy, I wouldnt have been able to get it activated after making serious hardware changes.

Surfrider77 said:

Regarding OEM copies, I remember way back when Vista was coming out there was a lot of speculation on how many hardware config changes can be made before they wouldnt let you reinstall. Is this still an issue for OEM?

Click to expand...

Oem is officially tied to the mb. You get a new mb, you get a new Vista. That's the way it's always worked. In my experience with XP, and from what I've read with other people on Vista, MS will activate an oem copy on a new machine for you. It's against the EULA, and they aren't obligated to, but they generally will let you activate. You'll have to call in of course, but I've never spent more than a few minutes talking to their cs rep. The future is never guaranteed. They may tighten up enforcement of the rules. But as of now they're pretty lenient with licensing issues.

johnz said:

Oem is officially tied to the mb. You get a new mb, you get a new Vista. That's the way it's always worked. In my experience with XP, and from what I've read with other people on Vista, MS will activate an oem copy on a new machine for you. It's against the EULA, and they aren't obligated to, but they generally will let you activate. You'll have to call in of course, but I've never spent more than a few minutes talking to their cs rep. The future is never guaranteed. They may tighten up enforcement of the rules. But as of now they're pretty lenient with licensing issues.

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Thats been my experience with XP as well. I just remember reading about MS supposedly cracking down with Vista on OEM re-activations after hardware changes. This is why I was asking if anyone has any experience with it. The crafty ******** scared me into buying Retail, but I wont do it again if they arent enforcing OEM re-activations.

Surfrider77 said:

Thats been my experience with XP as well. I just remember reading about MS supposedly cracking down with Vista on OEM re-activations after hardware changes. This is why I was asking if anyone has any experience with it. The crafty ******** scared me into buying Retail, but I wont do it again if they arent enforcing OEM re-activations.

Click to expand...

Well you can't go wrong with retail. You're then guaranteed you'll be able to transfer it to a different machine. As early as Vista is in it's lifespan, I think it's probably worth it. If it were a couple of years old, I'd just gamble on the oem.