Install vista oem on new computer

Bill Smithers Volunteer Moderator. Hi, There are various methods to reinstall Vista. There is no Windows Vista download available from Microsoft. They should do that for a small cost.

Some manufacturers no longer have Vista Recovery Disks available. And phone Activation may be required when using the above clean install Method. How satisfied are you with this reply? Log in Sign up. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. New posts. Search forums. Log in. Sign up. Computer problem?

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The original thread starter may use the Report button to request it be reopened but anyone else with a similar issue should start a New Thread. Watch our Welcome Guide to learn how to use this site. Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos in particular. A standard user should make regular back ups in case of hard drive failure.

Carry out Step 15 to recover your data. I recommend carrying out Step 1 in all cases and formatting the drive. Belarc Advisor will obtain details about your system. It is free for home use and gives you a print out of your computers hardware and software. It also gives you your product keys. This is particularly useful for obtaining your Microsoft Office product keys. It is handy to keep a print out of this data.

CutePDF Writer may be used to create a pdf print out of it. Save this in a folder in the external harddrive e. You should take a note of the 25 character key on your COA. This sticker is usually found on the base of laptops, although some people have reported them to be present under the battery. On a desktop they are usually on the top or side. The sticker for the Dell Service Tag should be located in a similar area. You should take note of it. You will be in one of three situations, quickly review the notes applicable for your Windows Vista license before deciding on what media to use:.

If Windows Vista was purchased as a full or upgrade license, you should use the retail DVD you purchased. This type of Windows Vista license is known as the retail version. Obtaining the Media. It unfortunately can't be downloaded. Thus no additional activation should be required Step Yes but you will need to activate via automated phone activation Step Use of the Digital River.

Dell technical support will be unable to assist you with product activation should you run into issues and will suggest use of a Reinstallation DVD. However Windows Anytime Upgrade can be used for the following cases:. This will give you a retail product key with an original install with OEM media.

You do not need to reinstall anything when using Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade. I have a 32 bit version of Windows Vista can I install the 64 bit version instead and vice versa? Yes, the product keys for the 32 bit and 64 bit version of Windows Vista are the same.

You may use your OEM product key Step 2 with the correct 64 bit retail. For the Retail product keys again internet activation will work Step You should however run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to check if your system is 64 bit capable before running the 64 bit version of Windows Vista. Should you wish to switch from the 64 bit version to the 32 bit version, note that you will not be able to use more than 4 GB of RAM.

For this reason Dell tend to have only 64 bit drivers for their newer systems on the Dell Drivers and Downloads Page Step 5a but the 32 bit drivers often exist on the Dell ftp website Step 5b. You should only have 32 bit or 64 bit installed. Technically you should have 2 licenses if you have both the 32 and the 64 bit installed simultaneously. My system came with Windows 7 or 8 can I install Windows Vista without purchasing a separate license?

Downgrade rights to Windows Vista Business Edition are applicable to systems shipped with Windows 8 professional or Windows 7 Professional. I cannot see why anyone would want to downgrade from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows Vista however. Windows 7 is superior to Windows Vista in all ways. Retail media Step 3b cannot be used as the user won't have a Windows 8 Product Key to downgrade with. Can I Transfer My License? The Retail Full product key can be transferred from one computer to another provided it is uninstalled, ideally completely formatted Step 7a.

The Retail Upgrade Key can be transferred from one computer to another provided the new computer has a qualifying earlier version of Windows to Upgrade. Again it should be completely uninstalled, ideally completely formatted Step 7a. The OEM product key is tied to the original computer. It cannot be transferred. If your computer came with Windows Vista preinstalled then ideally for activation purposes you should use the Dell Reinstallation DVD wherever possible.

You can also use the retail media if you decide to switch from the 32 to the 64 bit version of Windows Vista or vice versa. Is there any significant difference features missing from OEM Media?

No they are identical. If you have a Dell Windows Vista Reinstallation DVD provided with your system then proceed to step 4 unless you are switching from 32 bit to 64 bit. The Reinstallation DVD should look like the following:. Dell unfortunately are currently shipping almost all of their systems without Reinstallation DVDs. For US customers there is an online request form for Reinstallation Media.

For those customers not in the US you will need to contact Dell technical support and ask for one. The customer numbers are available here. This is the most recommended route. To improve the experience for customers from the rest of the world. Also see my poll here. Note: For netbooks or systems without an optical drive or a damaged optical drive you will have to convert the Reinstallation DVD into a Reinstallation USB as instructed here.

Use the Microsoft. The standalone download links are as found here:. Go to the Dell Support page and select Drivers and Downloads. Select your model and Operating system.

Avoid inputting the Service Tag its not working correctly for many systems omitting critical drivers. Do not select Download Manager, select single-file download and press next. If you get the following error message:. Change the last false to true. This time select Single-File download and it should now work.

Once done press back several times to return here:. Ensure it looks the same as before number of categories and number of drivers under each category , if not change the OS to BIOS and back to Windows 7 64 bit. For me drivers were disappearing earlier.

See Step 5c for more details about the recommended driver install order. I recommend saving each driver in an appropriately labeled folder and adding a numeric prefix to the folder. This will ensure that you install the drivers in the recommended order.

Dell Drivers and Downloads Page is currently under maintenance so post here if you experience some issues downloading the drivers. The Drivers may also be found on the Dell ftp website. This has been reorganised recently so drivers are listed by model. Select your type and then model number. We will take the Inspiron laptop and install Windows Vista 32 bit for example.

The user should download only the latest drivers for their system which correspond to their Operating System. Finally one thing to note is that certain categories, in particular Network Wireless Card and Video Graphics Card were customisable and have several variants, you must select the correct ones for your system. Downloading from the ftp website is faster but designed for advanced users. However due to the sorry state of the drivers and downloads page I recommend all users to use the ftp website.

Pay attention to driver install order Step 5c. All the drivers should be downloaded and saved to a USB stick. The way this guide is intended Steps are preparation for installing Windows so the user has everything they need when installing Windows.

This is why Step 5 downloading drivers and Step 10 installing drivers are independent. If however the user has already attempted to install Windows likely they won't be able to access the internet to get the drivers and will need to use a working system to download them.

There are a couple of unofficial driver sets listed for selected laptops and desktops provided by me. These are likely to work but theres no g uarantee. When downloading drivers for a clean install I recommend using the same folder structure as me to prevent confusion and to ensure that you install all the drivers in the correct order.

Not all systems will have this. Note there are the drivers and the applications. The applications should increase system performance. If a full installer isn't present then it is likely the preinstallation drivers see Step 6. Video Driver - Under Video. Generally there are several variants for Video Driver e. Ignore any for TV tuners at this moment. There may be a few variants of graphics cards for a laptop and you must select the correct ones.

I n desktops if there is no dedicated graphics card in the card slot, then they have the onboard generally Intel driver. Generally there are several variants of graphics card per desktop model and you need to pick the correct one. Conexant Drivers - Under Communications.

Drivers for Modems are often natively included in Windows Vista if its not there don't worry. Modems are becoming obsolete also. For newer systems if modem drivers exist, they may fail to install as a modem is not present. As modems are becoming obsolete the modem is not always installed as default for a Windows Vista laptop. I don't want to use the same OEM key on the new motherboard. You would need to perform a Startup Repair. OK, I think that "startup repair" is what I was thinking about.

But how do you think - will this tool repair system files and drivers in order to launch Windows after changing the motherboard? In XP there was similar repair option, but it was something rather like reinstallation it was repairing system, but I had to also reinstall all service packs and updates; nevertheless all applications were still in system. Sunday, November 9, AM.

Retail are the same as they were for XP. I'd also like to add that one, generally, doesn't walk in to a store and buy an OEM copy - 'real' stores sell retail copies. Wednesday, November 12, PM. Friday, December 5, AM. Saturday, December 6, AM. I would also like to move my copy of Vista Home Premium to a new computer I built.

Tuesday, January 13, PM. If it staes as OE then you wont be able to move from one machine to another, if it states as retail or FPP then you can do a one time transfer. Monday, January 19, PM. Tuesday, June 2, AM.