Acronis image with an OEM version of Vista

[jabil32]

I'm not exactly sure, but if I make an exact copy of a HDD with a Vista OEM OS, won't that basically give me an unlimited amount of hard drives with vista installed depending on how many copies I make?

I'm not asking this to pirate Windows Vista or anything, but to see if I can upgrade a hard drive without buying another version of Vista.

 

[Scotteq]

I'm not exactly sure, but if I make an exact copy of a HDD with a Vista OEM OS, won't that basically give me an unlimited amount of hard drives with vista installed depending on how many copys I make?

No, not really. Because Vista keeps tabs on system details, and will force you to call Microsoft for a new Key. It's a fairly painless 5 minute phone call (toll free in the US). But if you're cloning installations, Microsoft will figure it out pretty quick.

 

[Johnpombrio]

Like XP, Vista's license is tied to the HARDWARE of the PC and NOT to the hard drive. You can clone the drive, but you have to plug it into another computer which will have completely different hardware signatures (the network MAC address for instance). This completely nullifies your previous authenication and forces you to call MS. It ALSO KILLS your OLD computers Vista! Nope, not gonna happen.