End of Trial: No Uninstall?

[Daniel Jameson]

I tried the 30 day trial of Windows Vista (Ultimate if anyone cares). I
have been running it in a dual boot configuration with my work-a-day Windows
XP installation. I determined that at this point there is insufficient
third party support, so I decided to stay with Windows XP for now.
Yesterday I booted into Vista and I got the "trial period over - you need to
activate" dialog box when I tried to log in. There were at least three
routes to activate, and the choice of using reduced functionality. Why is
there not a choice to uninstall? That *is* a logical choice at the end of a
trial period. Could it be Microsoft's infinite arrogance?

So, I've seen the instructions for getting rid of Vista folders from XP by
taking ownership, but how do I get rid of Vista's boot loader? Or, at
least, how do I change the dual-boot timeout to zero seconds so that I don't
have to wait for my XP to boot, now that I can't get into Vista to change
it?

Does anyone know how to get "slmgr -rearm" to work once Vista's 30 day trial
has timed-out and you can't get to a command prompt? I tried it from the
command prompt in WinRE (from Vista install disc), but it didn't work
because some COM object couldn't be found .

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Rock]

I tried the 30 day trial of Windows Vista (Ultimate if anyone cares). I
have been running it in a dual boot configuration with my work-a-day
Windows XP installation. I determined that at this point there is
insufficient third party support, so I decided to stay with Windows XP for
now. Yesterday I booted into Vista and I got the "trial period over - you
need to activate" dialog box when I tried to log in. There were at least
three routes to activate, and the choice of using reduced functionality.
Why is there not a choice to uninstall? That *is* a logical choice at the
end of a trial period. Could it be Microsoft's infinite arrogance?

So, I've seen the instructions for getting rid of Vista folders from XP by
taking ownership, but how do I get rid of Vista's boot loader? Or, at
least, how do I change the dual-boot timeout to zero seconds so that I
don't have to wait for my XP to boot, now that I can't get into Vista to
change it?

Does anyone know how to get "slmgr -rearm" to work once Vista's 30 day
trial has timed-out and you can't get to a command prompt? I tried it
from the command prompt in WinRE (from Vista install disc), but it didn't
work because some COM object couldn't be found .

The standard way to uninstall an OS is to format and/or delete the partition
it's on. You'll have to restore the XP boot loader too. Use VistaBoot Pro
for that.

 

[Shane Nokes]

There is no trial, using Vista as such is a violation of the EULA

Those who use the software with that 30-day "grace" period are those who are
actually purchasing the software and are waiting for their COA's or for
their KMS to be ready.

It's not supposed to be used for a trial.

Also why would you call it arrogance? Show me a single OS of any variety
that allows you to uninstall it but leave your settings otherwise intact.

 

[Daniel Jameson]

Shane,

I do not wish my Vista settings to be left intact. I want it gone like it
was never there! I have a completely legal copy of Vista with a valid key.
Microsoft has assumed that once I have "seen the Vista" I will be so
overwhelmed with passion that I won't see the warts of the situation of a
new product in a market that does not have mature third party support and
that instead I will uncontrollably do anything to come up with the money to
get another fix of my new addiction.

I know that someday, I will certainly move to Vista. But Microsoft to let
me install Vista in a dual-boot situation without warning me that it will
also install a new boot loader that I cannot control from my existing,
upgrade-qualifying operating system. When installing in a dual-boot
situation, the installer should offer to add a boot loader utility to my
pre-existing operating system. As it is, it seems an awful lot like the
heroine pusher that gives away his wares to prospective customers without a
warning of addiction, and once they are addicted, he starts charging.

The arrogance of Microsoft is that is does not assume an evaluation mode by
thoughtful users. It assumes an impassioned, thoughtless, head-first dive
in.

Should our founding father's have not drafted the United States Constitution
just because no one could show them a single instance of government that
guaranteed the people a strong, direct involvement in their government?

--
Daniel Jameson
·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·
If the man tells you to hate another,
It's not so you can benefit at the expense of the other...
It's so he can benefit at the expense of you!

P.S. Thomas, thanks for the tip! It got me where I wanted to go today. ;-)