OEM Vista

[Guest]

Hi,

Existing Win XP Home, ( Upgrade ), SP2 based in the UK.

Was about to ask questions on OEM Vista but came across Hotrod's thread on
OEM vs Retail, between Carey and KF some of those questions were answered but
not all.

I have always purchased retail versions of Windows but have only ever
required the assitance of Microsoft three times over the many years but each
time the problems were humdingers so I was thankfull for the support.

My current system works very nicely but now a bit bloated and slowing down,
so a clean install is called for, its a pain becase it's an XP upgrade and it
asks me for a previous Win OS, disk which I have.

I have resisted the move to Vista simply because of the exspence of
replacing XP with Vista.

Still I thought today I would upload and run Vista Advisor and see how my PC
fared, no real problems at all although it was advising me to use Vista Home
Basic, not Premium, I have been told not to put to much store in this advise,
is that advisable?

My reason for my thread here is I came across another thread about MBs and
reactivation.

The last two PC I have built I have had to do so because of blown MBs due to
power surges and that's with spike protectors fitted.

However I religiously back up all my data, so a pain but nothing compared to
data loss.

If the same was to happen again to my MB and I had an OEM version of Vista
premium, would I be able to reactivate if I had to replace the MB and the HD.

My next question is if I buy an OEM of Vista Premium from an Amazon seller
how can I ensure I won't have a problem with the product key?

Is there any questions I should ask the seller about their OEMs to minimise
any problems.

Should I buy Vista now or should I wait for a service pack to appear aswell?

 

[Rock]

Responses inline:

Hi,

Existing Win XP Home, ( Upgrade ), SP2 based in the UK.

Was about to ask questions on OEM Vista but came across Hotrod's thread on
OEM vs Retail, between Carey and KF some of those questions were answered
but
not all.

I have always purchased retail versions of Windows but have only ever
required the assitance of Microsoft three times over the many years but
each
time the problems were humdingers so I was thankfull for the support.

My current system works very nicely but now a bit bloated and slowing
down,
so a clean install is called for, its a pain becase it's an XP upgrade and
it
asks me for a previous Win OS, disk which I have.

I have resisted the move to Vista simply because of the exspence of
replacing XP with Vista.

Still I thought today I would upload and run Vista Advisor and see how my
PC
fared, no real problems at all although it was advising me to use Vista
Home
Basic, not Premium, I have been told not to put to much store in this
advise,
is that advisable?

Do more research. Don't just rely on the Upgrade Advisor. Maybe if you
posted the system specs you'd get more specific advise. Check on the
websites for all the hardware for info on Vista compatibility and drivers.
Same with software, check on the websites for the software authors.

My reason for my thread here is I came across another thread about MBs and
reactivation.

The last two PC I have built I have had to do so because of blown MBs due
to
power surges and that's with spike protectors fitted.

However I religiously back up all my data, so a pain but nothing compared
to
data loss.

If the same was to happen again to my MB and I had an OEM version of Vista
premium, would I be able to reactivate if I had to replace the MB and the
HD.

A replacement MB because of failure should be fine. Upgrading the
motherboard might be considered a new computer so it might not be activated.

My next question is if I buy an OEM of Vista Premium from an Amazon seller
how can I ensure I won't have a problem with the product key?

You can't.

Is there any questions I should ask the seller about their OEMs to
minimise
any problems.

I personally wouldn't buy OEM, not would I but any OS from a private seller.

Should I buy Vista now or should I wait for a service pack to appear
aswell?

It has been running fine on this nearly 5 yr old system since it was RTM in
November. Do your research to decide.

 

[Rock]

Simply install vista when its asking license you just clikc next and no
and choose vista ultimate and download a crack and its OEM activated(so
dont buy a key)

Download a crack? You must be on crack.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

Existing Win XP Home, ( Upgrade ), SP2 based in the UK.

Was about to ask questions on OEM Vista but came across Hotrod's thread on
OEM vs Retail, between Carey and KF some of those questions were answered but
not all.

I have always purchased retail versions of Windows but have only ever
required the assitance of Microsoft three times over the many years but each
time the problems were humdingers so I was thankfull for the support.

My current system works very nicely but now a bit bloated and slowing down,
so a clean install is called for, its a pain becase it's an XP upgrade and it
asks me for a previous Win OS, disk which I have.

I have resisted the move to Vista simply because of the exspence of
replacing XP with Vista.

Still I thought today I would upload and run Vista Advisor and see how my PC
fared, no real problems at all although it was advising me to use Vista Home
Basic, not Premium, I have been told not to put to much store in this advise,
is that advisable?

It's true that the Adviser isn't 100% foolproof. This advice may be
because you have lower end video or audio controllers, or less than 512
Mb of RAM. What were the specific reasons the Adviser gave you for the
recommendation? Do a bit more research on the "problems" it identified
to see if they're really issues, and what it would require to remedy
them, if anything.

My reason for my thread here is I came across another thread about MBs and
reactivation.

The last two PC I have built I have had to do so because of blown MBs due to
power surges and that's with spike protectors fitted.

However I religiously back up all my data, so a pain but nothing compared to
data loss.

If the same was to happen again to my MB and I had an OEM version of Vista
premium, would I be able to reactivate if I had to replace the MB and the HD.

As long as you're using a generic, unbranded OEM installation DVD,
Replacing a failed motherboard or hard drive wouldn't be a problem; at
worst, you'd have to re-activate via telephone.

My next question is if I buy an OEM of Vista Premium from an Amazon seller
how can I ensure I won't have a problem with the product key?

If you're buying directly from Amazon.com, you shouldn't have a
problem. If you're buying from a 3rd party selling via Amazon, you
can't truly ensure there'll be no problem. On-line auctions are very
chancy places to buy software; the odds against getting a legitimate OEM
license are quite high.

Is there any questions I should ask the seller about their OEMs to minimise
any problems.

I'd ask for a written and notarized guarantee that it's a generic,
unbranded OEM license that was not purchased with a computer and has
never been installed and activated on any machine. If they decline to
offer such bonafides, don't buy from them.

Should I buy Vista now or should I wait for a service pack to appear aswell?

There's no need to wait, provided your sure that your hardware is fully
capable of supporting Vista. On compatible hardware, and with
compatible device drivers and applications, Vista is rock solid; waiting
for a service pack won't change that, or magically render pre-existing
hardware better able to support the OS.


--

Bruce Chambers

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