Installing Vista again, But with same Product key?

[Mark]

Hi, I currently am a happy Vista user and I will be doing some Major upgrades
to my computer. Because of these major upgrades, I will be required to
install Vista again. My question is, could I take the Product key that I
activated on my PC before the upgrades, and use that same Product key on my
PC after the upgrades?

 

[Vigilante]

Nope you will have to call and talk to some foreigner you can hardly
understand and have them give you a new key if the upgrades are major.
I don't even know why they bother with the fancy logo seal.
It just ends up becoming a useless patch of gooey junk if you put on the
case.


Hi, I currently am a happy Vista user and I will be doing some Major
upgrades
to my computer. Because of these major upgrades, I will be required to
install Vista again. My question is, could I take the Product key that I
activated on my PC before the upgrades, and use that same Product key on my
PC after the upgrades?

 

[Mark]

I'm guessing that you've gone through this road before?

 

[Vigilante]

Bad Motherboard a few days after activation.
You try to roll with it, but after awhile its just a major setback.
I got a second video card to try SLI but after trying the SP1 and activating
again.....
What's the point? it was already activated?
Why are they doing every possible psychologically annoyance to valid users?
I would much rather have my money back than the OS hands down.

I'm guessing that you've gone through this road before?

 

[Mick Murphy]

The phone option takes 10 minutes.
When you do it, DON'T mention upgrade,(if it is an OEM disk); just a
replacement for a failed part.
If a retail disk, you can upgrade to your heart's content, and reinstall,
AND REACTIVATE.

Merry

 

[Bistey Csaba]

Well last time i tried phone activation because of motherboard exchange
did not had to speak with real person (perhaps it was nearly 11:00pm
here when activated). ATM handled the whole part asked for Installation
ID, then asked some true or false questions like:
Press 1 if product acquired with your computer or 2 if you acquired it
via retailer (not sure about this but think MS could figure it out from
Installation ID anyway (if it is a Retail or OEM what is just being
Activated))
or
Press 1 if you installed the product on other computer too
and so on..

After answering 3 or 4 of theese questions pressing the correct button,
the Confirmation Id dictated by ATM. (by the way it was not very Vista
ready as it kept saying Windows XP all the time at Validation process)


Csaba

 

[Hank Arnold (MVP)]

Hi, I currently am a happy Vista user and I will be doing some Major upgrades
to my computer. Because of these major upgrades, I will be required to
install Vista again. My question is, could I take the Product key that I
activated on my PC before the upgrades, and use that same Product key on my
PC after the upgrades?

Use the same key. It might just work. If not, use the options they
provide. Phone activation is usually no biggie.......

--

Regards,
Hank Arnold
Microsoft MVP
Windows Server - Directory Services

 

[Mark]

This is from Microsoft "help" page.




How many times can I install Windows on my computer before I have to
activate Windows again?


You can reinstall Windows on the same computer as many times as you want
because activation pairs the Windows product key with information about your
computer’s hardware. If you make a significant hardware change, you might
have to activate Windows again.

Will I ever need to activate my current copy of Windows again?


Maybe. You might have to activate Windows again if:
•

You uninstall Windows on one computer and install it on another. During
installation, enter the product key that came with your copy of Windows. If
automatic activation fails, follow the instructions that walk you through
activating Windows by phone. You will have 30 days to activate your copy of
Windows.
•

You make a significant hardware change to your computer, such as upgrading
the hard disk and memory at the same time. If a major hardware change
requires activating Windows again, you will be notified and will have three
days to activate your copy of Windows.
•

You reformat your hard disk. Reformatting erases your activation status. In
this case, you’ll have 30 days to activate Windows again.
•

A virus infects your computer and deletes your activation status.

 

[Vigilante]

Bullshit!
I had a driver update force a full phone reactivation.
This system sucks and is a legacy system left over from XP.
One that actually sucked with XP and kept, go figure.

This is from Microsoft "help" page.




How many times can I install Windows on my computer before I have to
activate Windows again?


You can reinstall Windows on the same computer as many times as you want
because activation pairs the Windows product key with information about your
computer’s hardware. If you make a significant hardware change, you might
have to activate Windows again.

Will I ever need to activate my current copy of Windows again?


Maybe. You might have to activate Windows again if:
•

You uninstall Windows on one computer and install it on another. During
installation, enter the product key that came with your copy of Windows. If
automatic activation fails, follow the instructions that walk you through
activating Windows by phone. You will have 30 days to activate your copy of
Windows.
•

You make a significant hardware change to your computer, such as upgrading
the hard disk and memory at the same time. If a major hardware change
requires activating Windows again, you will be notified and will have three
days to activate your copy of Windows.
•

You reformat your hard disk. Reformatting erases your activation status. In
this case, you’ll have 30 days to activate Windows again.
•

A virus infects your computer and deletes your activation status.