activation

[Guest]

i put windows vista on one of my laptops but a tookit off and went back to xp
but then i installed itt on another laptop and it said the product key was
already in use and i bought home premium at best buy

 

[Mark]

If it is not an OEM version, use the phone method to activate and talk to a
real person.
The phone number should be displayed during the activation process.

 

[Guest]

how do i tell f its oem i bought it at best buy and it says upgrade on the
frunt

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> Z-Tech

how do i tell f its oem i bought it at best buy and it says upgrade on the
frunt

Then it's not OEM. Phone Microsoft to get activated. Next, phone your
nearest adult education centre and sign up for spelling lessons.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Anything bought at BestBuy is likely to be retail. Use the phone activation
method and stay on the line to get a real person to activate the new
installation.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Guest]

thanks for the help i called and i activated it right away thanks from a
computer nerd who knows everything abt computers and the windows os but
knows nothing abt windows vista

 

[Guest]

and what if it isn't retail?

 

[Guest]

Hey I have a Dell Inspiron 1520, it is about 1 month old. It came with Vista
Basic (OEM), I have used it for a little bit now. Vista is ok, I dont like
how much of a resource hog it is though. And recently I tried installing some
software that I used to use on windows xp however it did not work properly. I
have decided I want to go back to windows xp, but I would like to keep vista
for later use on the same laptop. This would not be a problem except I have
already activated it. So my question is, is there a way to "un-activate"
vista. So I will have the ability to reinstall it later.

The matter is further complicated with the fact that it only has 1 gb of
ram, and I would like to upgrade it to 2gb. But if I do this I am afraid that
I will effect the hash that is used to activate windows. If I wasn't
upgrading the ram it would prolly be easy.

Please advise.

 

[Mark]

I don't think there is a need to "un-activate." Upgrading RAM does not
violate the OEM requirements. With Vista, this is basically replacing the
motherboard. If it asks you to activate again after installing more memory
and won't do it automatically, just use the phone method mentioned before.

Since your OEM is not an upgrade, you should be able to go back to XP
without any issues. When you want to re-install Vista, ensure you perform a
clean install.

 

[Guest]

Thank you. this helps.

I don't think there is a need to "un-activate." Upgrading RAM does not
violate the OEM requirements. With Vista, this is basically replacing the
motherboard. If it asks you to activate again after installing more memory
and won't do it automatically, just use the phone method mentioned before.

Since your OEM is not an upgrade, you should be able to go back to XP
without any issues. When you want to re-install Vista, ensure you perform a
clean install.