product key help

[josh]

Hi, i am getting a macbook pro on monday and wanted to dual boot it with
bootcamp, the problem is i do not have my vista cd's. If i obtain cd's from a
friend is it possible to use the cd key that i have on this computer with the
different disks and different computer?

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Both for your current Product key, and for the borrowed disks, you could not
do it if they are OEM products, married to a certain hardware configuration.
If they were both the same Edition of Vista, and they were standard install
disk and key from MS, you could mix and match.

 

[josh]

how can i tell if i got an OEM version or not? I have a toshiba and when i
use magial jelly bean it tells me my code and vista home edition premium.

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

An OEM version has a Cert. of Authority sticker on the back, and a standard
MS install CD has the Product key on the disk sleeve somewhere.

 

[josh]

ah, there in lies the problem that i dont have my disks which is why this
whole predicament started

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You will have to buy a retail copy of Vista (standard, not upgrade) to use
with Boot Camp. You cannot use the product key from another computer. If
you have a computer with Vista and did not get disks it is because Vista
came preinstalled on the computer. You cannot use a product key from the
bottom of that computer with any other computer. You can use a retail Vista
dvd from any source but you still have to buy the product key and that means
buying a copy of Vista.

I also run Windows on a MacBook Pro and used Boot Camp to set it up for
installation. Take my advice and allow at least 40GB for the Windows
partition.