Vista 64-bit disk...

My new XPS is going to arrive in a few weeks, and it'll come equipped with Vista Home Premium edition. I was wondering if I could get the 64-bit disk prior to the arrival of my unit or if I have to wait it out. Thanks!

 

Dell used to offer 64bit discs for all versions of Vista. Now they claim to only do this with Ultimate and Business.

So no 64bit without buying it again.

 

Hmm, can I get the 64-bit disk from Microsoft without buying Home Premium edition again?

 

Isn't there's a forum here that are discussing about the download link for that?

 

There is some good information in this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=240320

I obtained the 64-bit version from here. These are Microsoft download sites, not illegal torrents or anything. Now, whether Microsoft intends for the average Joe to be downloading disk images from this site, I don't know. But it does work.

There are instructions in the thread for creating a bootable disk image from these files. Note that you still need legal activation keys. This is merely to obtain the media.

 

It seems like the links are currently down there, but thanks for the look-up, I'll keep an eye on it.

I was just really wondering about this because I remember reading somewhere that if I provided some sort of product key, Microsoft would send me (free of charge) 64-bit disks for my Vista media. Anyone know anything about this?

 

There is a store on MS's site (I don't have the link) where you can order media for something like $10. However, you need a retail product key that matches the version you're buying, and the system refused my Dell-supplied Vista key. According to other folks in the forums, it's because the Dell key is OEM and can't be used to order new Media from the MS store. You can always try your key, but mine didn't work.

 

I think I found it. Is it this:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx

 

I have Ultimate but I am getting nowhere with Dell in the UK. Has anyone in the UK had much luck? Does anyone in the US have no interest in getting their 64-bit disc..?

 

Yeah, that's it. Wouldn't accept my Dell key though. Maybe you'll have better luck.

 

Another question, I know that my upcoming unit will come with 32-bit Home Premium. If I were to buy Vista Ultimate from Microsoft, would I:

1. Have to first reformat from Home Premium 32-bit to Ultimate 32-bit and then reformat again to Ultimate 64-bit?

2. Run into any problems using Les' guide as the Ultimate would not be OEM?

Thanks again.

 

With regards to #1, there would be no reason to go from 32bit-Premium to 32bit-Ultimate to 64-bit Ultimate, since you'd need to install x64 fresh anyway. You'd just blow away the 32-bit premium and install 64-bit ultimate. Or am I misunderstanding your question?

By Les' guide, do you mean the guide using the MediaDirect disk for partitioning and then installing the OS? That will work fine. It doesn't matter that you'd be using a retail DVD rather than OEM. Actually, if you don't care about MediaDirect you can just use the x64 DVD to partition and format. But if you want to retain that partition, follow the guide and use your retail x64 DVD for the OS install. No problem.

 

Thanks for clearing up. BTW, I had contacted Microsoft about requesting a 64-bit disk and I got the same results you did Fountainhead.

One last question, for my purposes, which "version" of Vista will I need. The "upgrade" version or the "standard" version.

Upgrade:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...imate&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1202650464531

Standard:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...imate&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=1202650464466


Do both offer 64-bit media?

 

Well, if you're actually going to purchase it (meaning you've run out of legal ways to obtain the media for free) then how about this from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116215

The OEM limitation is simply that you can't legally transfer it to any other machine.

 

Meaning the media is only to be used on one unit, correct?

 

Yes. You couldn't legally install it on one system then change your mind and install it on a different one, even if you removed it from the first. It's non-transferrable, just like the OS that comes on a Dell or HP or Toshiba. (Of course, the OEM versions from Dell etc have additional BIOS check that prohibit you from doing that. The OEM from Newegg would install on a second system, but activating it would probably fail.) That's why it's cheap compared to a full retail version.

 

That key is an OEM one. You need to use a retail key.

 

I don't mean to bump a two-day old topic, but I didn't want to create a whole new topic either.

Fountainhead: I'm strongly considering getting the OEM Vista you suggested but I have two problems.

One, SP1 isn't included.

And two, potentially the bigger one, I've read many user reviews on the OEM Vista on newegg and people are saying that due to a "RAM error" in Vista, I would have to do the clean installation with 2 GB of ram and then put the other 2 GB of ram in afterwards. Has this "RAM error" been fixed to anyone's knowledge? I really don't want to have to go in and remove 2 GB of RAM from my laptop...

 

Regarding SP1 not being included, I wouldn't consider that to be a huge deal. Sure it'd be more convenient, but you can download the standalone SP1 package from MS and install it after the initial install. That's how I did it.

I'm not familiar with the 2nd issue, but I'm not sure why something like that would be unique to an OEM version. To my knowledge, the OEM versions sold on Newegg are exactly the same as the retail version, except you get an OEM key rather than a retail key. There shouldn't be any technical differances. (BTW, I installed Vista x64 on my M1530 with 4 GB with no issues.)

Have you ever looked into TechNet? I just re-subscribed after having let my previous subscription expire. If you're into trying different (Microsoft) operating systems, it's money well spent.

 

And to follow up on Fountainhead's post, you don't need to "go in" to take out RAM if the issue did occur. My assumption is that the RAM that the person was using was bad. Plenty of people have installed x64 on their m1530's with no problems at all. If you get a RAM Error during installation, I'd be worried more about your hardware than the OS.

 

I am familiar with TechNet, by way of playing around/getting into SQL Server.

Did you use the same type of OEM version when you installed Vista x64 i.e. one from a source such as newegg as opposed to one from Microsoft?


Bauer418: You could very well be right, I hadn't seen that error reported anywhere on NBR.

 

I got the one that I installed on my M1530 from the dowload links in the thread talked about earlier in this thread. Apparently, those links are now dead.

Wtihin the last week I re-subscribed to TechNet, so obviously I have Vista x64 available to me from that moving forward. I'm still sort of on the fence between Vista x64 and "Windows Workstation 2008" x64 (an adapted version of Server 2008) and I'll now have Server available from Technet as well.

I keep more than one hard drive to swap OS's by the way.

 

http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/content.aspx?ctId=444

 

By the way, in case you missed this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=267507

...see post #8 from L33. Tells you how to add the Dell-specific info to a new 64-bit image. I just tried this as a test with a 64-bit install to a virtual machine, and it added my Dell OEM product key automatically and all the Dell logos appear on the various properties pages too...though maybe you don't really want that.

Kind of handy though if you want to keep the Dell branding on a fresh install from other media.