Installing Vista Ultimate w/sp1 over Home Premium w/sp1

[3putt in coastal SC]

Not to repeat too much of the scenario, but my machine already has Home
Premium w/sp1 installed. Can I install a genuine Vista Ultimate w/sp1 over
Home Premium w/sp1 using someone else's DVD.......but using the Product Key
from my Vista Ultimate that does not have sp1 on it??? (Microsoft licensing
will not allow my to re-sell my copy of Vista Ultimate, even though it was
never installed.)

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You certainly can. The dvd must be 32bit if that is what you have installed
or 64bit if that is what you have installed.

The product key is not affected by the service pack level. Your Not For
Resale product key is a standard retail full edition key. Only the sticker
on the box identifies your having agreed to the NFR terms.

You can use the upgrade functionality supported by all Vista retail dvds to
keep your apps and files intact during the upgrade. The upgrade to Ultimate
must be performed by starting Setup from the desktop of your present VHP.
Since all dvds are the same, someone else's retail dvd will work just fine
regardless of whether they purchased an upgrade or full edition product key
or what edition their pk is for.

While you are at it, make a copy of the Vista SP1 dvd for yourself. It
could come in handy in the future.

You can, of course, use their dvd to perform a clean installation of Vista
Ultimate if you prefer that, since you have a full edition product key. I
would do the upgrade if you have a solid installation of VHP presently.

It goes without saying that if the VHP SP1 that you are replacing was
preinstalled by the manufacturer you may not use it on any other computer.