Activation questions

[bourgeoisdude]

Okay, I'm getting Vista Ultimate OEM full today. In addition to the hardware listed in my signature, I also have an old 30GB IDE hard drive with an old Vista Beta 2 installed on it (as dual boot with XP). So...

1. Any clue if the Beta 2 is upgradeable to the RTM version?
2. If I upgrade/clean install on the 30GB but later decide to install it as a full install on my 74GB raptor, will I have to hassle with reactivation/etc.? I will always always always stick with the same ASROCK mobo, if that means anything.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[desolationw]

OEM Software Wiki]

To my knowledge(i read it somewhere), with OEM OS's Microsoft registers your motherboard brand/model/serial etc to the product key used for the vista install, so theoretically yes you can install it now and then do a fresh install on your new hdd(legally you should wipe your old hdd first before installing vista again) but it would be less bother for you if you just get a raptor now and install it.

 

[danny9894]

You should be fine as you are just using a different storage device and not motherboard. If you were to install it on a system with a different motherboard then I think you would run into some activation issues...

 

[bourgeoisdude]

Well thanks guys. I installed over the beta 2 install as it would not upgrade, but honestly my beta 2 install didn't have anything important on it. Barely tested it, but so far it's awesome for me. Time it takes to install is about the same as XP takes if not slightly shorter, it activated itself literally in two seconds, and all is well. Had an install issue with AVG antivirus, but Microsoft detected the install failed and asked if I wanted to check to see if the issue is a known issue. I did, and sure enough, in only 5 seconds it told me to install .Net framework 1.1 and gave me the direct download URL. I installed it, didn't have to restart, and then it asked me immediately if I wanted to retry the installation again. I said yes, and AVG installed and works perfectly.

If Microsoft Vista deals with most errors in this same manner, then Vista will be a dream come true compared to the "general error" reports that XP had. I like it!

 

[danny9894]

Yea the diagnosing of some problems can actually be fixed by Vista automatically which is kind of a relief.