Reinstall of Vista

[Some Vista User]

Hi there,

I have an OEM version of Vista Ultimate (32Bit), and want to perform a clean
install onto a larger harddrive. When I set this machine up, I had a little
80Gb drive, with two partitions ( 20Gb C:, and 60Gb D -- Vista was
installed on C:... I am now running out of space on this drive.

I am not changing computers, just upgrading the hard drive ( 250GB with one
partition ). Will I need to reactivate Vista, and will there be any
problems doing so?

The machine is question is a Dell Precision 380.

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

A reinstall always requires an activation. If you are sure you need no data
from the C: or D: partitions to do the setup, the activation should happen
just fine. If you had to, there is always the 'phone in' option, to explain
the hardware change.
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Mark L. Ferguson
..

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi there,

I have an OEM version of Vista Ultimate (32Bit), and want to perform a
clean install onto a larger harddrive. When I set this machine up, I
had a little 80Gb drive, with two partitions ( 20Gb C:, and 60Gb D --
Vista was installed on C:... I am now running out of space on this drive.

I am not changing computers, just upgrading the hard drive ( 250GB with
one partition ). Will I need to reactivate Vista, ....

Possibly, but not necessarily. It depends on what specific sort of
installation DVD you have, and how "tightly" Dell bound their
installation DVD to the computer's original hardware. If it's bound
only to the motherboard chipset, it may not even require an activation.
OEM *Recovery* DVDs, if they're the same ones supplied with the PC,
often don't require activation at all, even after a re-installation, so
long as they're used on the machine with which they were purchased. An
OEM *installation* DVD, on the other hand, would almost certainly
require activation.

.... and will there be any
problems doing so?

There shouldn't be any problems, no. If activation is required, you'll
have to activate via telephone, though. Re-installations of OEM
licneses, particularly those from large computer manufacturers, require
one to activate over the telephone. Some time ago, Microsoft elected to
disable the CDs/Product Keys from most major OEMs, such as Dell, from
activating via the Internet. This was in response to the large number
of the branded OEM WinXP CDs being illegally (without the computer)
resold via eBay, computer fairs, etc.

The machine is question is a Dell Precision 380.

--

Bruce Chambers

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