is there a way to back up vista fully

[ste2425]

my girl has vista homepremium but her lappy came with no disks is there a way to back up her os so that she could do a full reinstall. The backup option in system tools only lets you do your persoal files cheers

[ste2425]

bump!!!!!

[DonInKansas]

No bumps needed after only 5 minutes.

As long as you have a valid COA, you can use any Home Premium OEM (I'm guessing it's what cam e with the laptop here) for a reinstall and be fine. Torrent a copy or borrow from a neighbor.

[ste2425]

it has an oem code but no disks so i just borrowd a vista disk of some1, same version and used her code it would work? isnt there a limited number of installs

[DonInKansas]

You can install as many times as you want as long as it's only installed on one machine. It may ask you to make a phone call during validation, but if this is the first reinstall and there's been no major hardware changes I don't foresee that happening.

[ste2425]

right how many machines are you allowed it on? coz wat i wanna do is upgrade her vista to mine but if i crnt activate the new one i wanna get her old one back

[DonInKansas]

Whoa whoa whoa, you didn't say anything about upgrading.

Her laptop should have a sticker on it with a COA. The version of Vista on that sticker is the only version that the code will work with. You can't go from Home Premium to Ultimate or anything like that. The only thing that's swappable is 32 and 64 bit versions.

[ste2425]

well i have home ultimate disk she has basic bvut wants to intsall mine. Now i dnt no if itl activate, so i want to no if i can back up her vista basic to re-install incase it goes wrong as she didnt get a disc with her lappy

[ktr]

What type of laptop is it?

[ste2425]

i onestly dnt no its an amd thing quite nice its speedy, but it came predone with home basic and she want home ultimate, i told her she wont see much difference but hey u no women but hers came with no windows disk so i wanna make one to safe guard her pc incase mine wont activate then see can re-install her original basic

[DonInKansas]

Her key won't work with Ultimate; she's stuck with Basic. COA's aren't swappable between Vista Editions like that.

[ste2425]

no i think ur a little confused, i have vista home ultimate with fully working key fully lagit, she wants it on her pc. But i want to make a backup of her vista basic a rebootable disk so she can re-install her version if ive used all my activations

[DonInKansas]

Oh, okay. As long as that key isn't installed on another machine, you can just do the reinstall and you'll be fine. Just torrent and burn a copy of Basic if you need one. Of course make sure all of your important stuff is backed up as you'll be wiping out everything on your hard drive.

[ste2425]

ok cheers man sorry for the confusion so any coppy of basic will activate using her product key that came with herlappy? and u mentioned theres a limit to how many machines you can install it on?, how manys that?

[kenkickr]

It doesn't have to be a basic OEM CD. You can grab a Ultimate OEM CD and during install do not enter the cd-key. Just hit next and the next window will ask which copy of Basic you are installing. Select Basic and your own your way. Once you get to the desktop just go to Computer, right click, and you'll see a selection for "activate online" or something like that. Click it, type your key, and let it go. If you can't activate online just call the 1-888 number and you should have no issues activating the basic on the laptop.

[ste2425]

kwl cheers man, an wat is the deal with ur pic haha, i never thought of not putting the key an an selecting her version cheers

[a_ump]

Originally Posted by DonInKansas

Oh, okay. As long as that key isn't installed on another machine, you can just do the reinstall and you'll be fine

eh i don't thk that's true lol, i've used my copy of ultimate on my pc multiple times, as well as using it to install ultimate on 2 other friends' pc's. all you have to do is call in and when the automated voice thing asks if you've had a recent hardware change or something to that meaning, you say yes and you get your key. don't fret bout multiple system installations

[kenkickr]

But there is a limit to how many times(3-5) you can install a copy of Vista w/ the same key. I'm not sure if this applies to OEM's but I do not that is the way it works with retails. Eventually you'll get to a point that they will not activate until you purchase a new key.

[a_ump]

ah well mine's OEM . i've installed it 3 or 4x on my pc, and once on my 2 friends' so 6 times total. So 5 or 6 total. But the next OS i'm installing is going to be windows 7, i just need to get a DVD-R from wal-mart to burn it to.

[ste2425]

wats the difference between OEM and a product key? coz mines lagit an all an in the case it has a product key but no mention of an oem

[kenkickr]

OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer. When you have a system with a sticker on it that provides a key, that is OEM. Retail is what you get when you purchase a copy of windows that comes in a pretty box/case and displays the key within the box/case.

Your support is also different for the two.
Retail-Your Windows support is directly through Microsoft, sometimes free and sometimes not
OEM-Refer all your Windows support to the original manufacturer of the computer. If directed to Microsoft for support then your gonna pay.

[a_ump]

but if you purchase OEM software off newegg...are u supposed to report to newegg? lol just seems strange to me. besides TPU support team is better

[ste2425]

besides TPU support team is better

that much is very true

so a product key from a retail shiny new box has less installs then an OEM key?

[95Viper]

From Microsoft Licensing and activation info page;here:http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...b48b51033.mspx

Quoted,
"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 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.


If you have to activate Windows again, you don't need to buy a new product key.

To activate Windows on this computer, do the following:

Open Windows Activation by clicking the Start button , clicking Computer, clicking Properties, and then clicking Click here to activate Windows now.* If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation."

I have personally re-installed OEM and retail versions of xp and vista 8+ times per machine, and had to call only once because HP gave me a bad key and they sent me a new one.
I had to re-install that one a few days ago ('cause the sis-in-law is hell on an OS).
They understand people upgrade their machines and have in-laws.