Clean Vista install WITH NO ACTIVATION

Hi, just want to clear something up here.

I have Vista Premium installed on my laptop and want to clean install. I have a mate's disc but don't completely understand what to do about the codes. Help would be appreciated.

Also, would I be able to get Vista Ulitimate? Or can I only get Premium?

 

It depends on the disc, but the basic procedure is to use ABR to back up the registration on your current installation, then do the reinstall, then use ABR to restore the registration. It's outlined in the guide, step by step.

Do you know what kind of disc your mate has? Is it a retail disc or one the came from an OEM like Dell? If it's retail, you should have no problem. If it's an OEM one, you may have to modify it a little. See the sections in the guide about the different types of discs.

Please see the very first item under "Some Notes" towards the top of the guide.

 

For Dell discs:
1. Copy the entire Dell DVD to a folder on your hard drive
2. In the "sources" folder, there is a folder called "$oem$". Delete it
3. In the "sources" folder, there is a file called "pid.txt". Delete it.
4. Open vLite and burn a new disc using those files
5.Install vista. It should now allow you to choose a version of Vista to install, and also will not install the dell product key and activation files
(Thanks to Silas Awaketh for the info that helped me figure this out)

i am trying to make a bootable dvd of vista32 home prem
and im stuck on step #4
i've opened up vlite but im stuck at the part where it says to make bootable iso for testing or burning...i have no idea what to do from there...

 

The guide has a link to a PDF that walks you through the general process of using vLite to make a disc. The text of it is: "seven11 has created a PDF with screen-shots that can walk you through the process: PDF Walkthrough"

Otherwise, do some searching around Google, I'm sure you'll find more information about it.

 

i have the exact same problem...
im stuck at the last step, "completing installation".
the hard drive light is flickering and its not entierly frozen(the ... still moves . , .. , ...)

 

There may be something else leftover from the Dell customization that's getting in the way. I have no way of knowing what it might be, so it's something you'll have to research on your own to try to figure it out. Otherwise, you might want to try to find another disc to install from.

 

It worked flawlessly. Since I dont have anytime upgrade dvd, I just download it off on torrent. I am running vista 64 bit version.

 

Hi,
I would like to perform, again, a clean install but this time with a 64-bit DVD.
I have a Anytime Upgrade which is 32-bit.
Is somebody willing to exchange temporarely or permanently his or her 64-bit DVD for my 32-bit DVD?

 

For the guy who had trouble with the ACPI signal processor thermal thing in device manager, you need to reinstall the Intel Chipset drivers. I've found that sometimes you need to actually install them twice to get everything installed. The first time it installed version 8.3 for everything and then the second time you get version 8.6

 

I've clean installed Vista x64 Ultimate using the Gateway OEM disk (SP1). Everything went smoothly. Now the odd issue is that I didn't need to use the ABR program to install the product key. I didn't input any product key during the re-install process yet it shows registered. On top of that, the product key that shows is different than the one ABR backed up. It doesn't match the one on the underside of the laptop. So now it appears that I have 3 different product keys. Is this normal when clean installing with an OEM disk or did I make a mistake during the install?

 

Is your laptop a Gateway, or some other kind?

It may be activated with the information that was stored on the OEM disc, which is probably the Gateway activation. Your system may or may not pass activation in the future, since I think this is probably an undefined case. If you restored your own activation, you'd probably be safe, but you could also hold off and see what happens .

 

Yep it's a Gateway alright. How can I restore the activation with the key ABR recorded?

 

Then your system is already activated with the gateway key. There's nothing left for you to do. If you use ABR to restore just for the fun of it, I don't think it will cause any issues.

 

Thanks Orev! This guide is excellent as are your answers to questions posed. Thorough and straight forward explanation. +1 REP.

 

hi
it looks like i will do this .....
i cant stand this vista
maybe a clean install will improve the performance and change my feeling about this crappy os ....
anyway i wanna ask something while i was burning my recovery DVDs for my dv5t ( 2 recovery dvds) the power went off , so the software stopped , and after 5 mins when the power was back the software continued burning and i was able to finish my discs
is there anyway to make sure these discs are working ????
or i don't need to , they just work

 

I would be skeptical that the discs work correctly. To be safe, you should reburn the discs. But how did the power going out for 5 minutes cause your *laptop* to stop? Flat battery?

Also, the issues with Vista often come from 2 places:
1) you heard all the bad press about it, and
2) you are used to using XP and are having a hard time adjusting to Vista
In both cases, these are human problems and not problems with Vista itself. In the case of #1, the bad press came out 2 years ago now, and was mostly incorrect and/or published by people who did not have Vista installed on the correct hardware. In the case of #2, it's a known fact that people don't like to change from what they are used to, but it's also a known fact that when forced to change, people generally adapt very quickly.

 

no orev my battery is good , but it's just that the recovery disc creator do not work if the cable is unplugged ............ so it stopped burning and told me to plug my pc to continue , when the power was back it finished burning .....i just need to know if that should affect these discs

anyway , the most important thing is that i installed this clean vista using your guide , great guide thank you
now i wanna install drivers , the swsetupfolder is full with folder and every folder have one setup , should i install them all ????
coz u said in your guide that this swsetup also contains the bloatware.....i don't want to install them again......
i will write here my folder names and if u can help me to identify wich folders contain the drivers that i need and wich folder should i ignore i would be thankful
by the way while installing some driver related to a network i had an error "unable to locate the file c:\swsetup\network\enable.vb"
i am not 100% sure of the extension of the file but it's a similar error
note that i didn't install everything in the folder drivers cz i don't know they contain

 

swsetup contain the following folders :
adobe , cyberdvd , drivers , hpasl , hpimgehh , hpupdate , hsc , inetsec , lsss , mmflash , mmodem , msnlive , msnworks , off12, qlb , qpw , qtouch , chockwave , sp39157 , sunjava , support , sw_ver , ug0102 , wlasst , youcam


the folder drivers contain :
audio , btooth , chipset , cir , misc2 , modem , network , protshd , sata , touchpad , video , wlan

 

It sounds like the software may be written to handle the problem with the power going out, so you might be good there. It's hard to say.

As for what software to install, only someone with your laptop would probably be able to tell what each thing is. You should first try looking through each folder and see if you can figure out what it might be for. There are files in each folder, that if you open in Notepad, you should be able to see what they are. I forget what file type they are, but it shouldn't be too hard to find them.

 

Based on that, I would start with everything in the "Drivers" folder, then move on to anything else you might want. qlb and qpw will be needed to get the touch buttons to work.

 

ok thx
+1 rep for the guide of course
i have a dv5t
i bought it just because i found that there's many users who use dv5t , it also meet my requirements and it would be nice to have many users who use the same laptop as yours so u can get online help anytime you need to

 

I would love to do a clean install when my laptop arrives but it sounds so complicated and difficult.

Is there maybe a condensed or more simple guide?

And is there a way I can screw it up so bad that my recovery disc won't even work?

 

no it's not complicated at all lol
u need to burn your recovery disc and store them somewhere safe
in the windows installation , you only have to follow the prompts nothing hard
the only thing that matters is to restore your original license , wich can be done with that abr file available for download in the first page
this guide is great and explained a lot
the actual steps to do a clean vista install are only 4 steps
the guide just explain every step so u can understand what you are doing that's all
it only took me 50 minutes to format i think , you just have to wait or make yourself busy untill it's done
just copy your folder ; c:\swsetup on a dvd cz it contains the drivers you will install later and backup your license with the ABR tool , put your vista installation disc in and reboot ....... the rest is obvious
and thx to the format i was able to change the partition of my hard disc
i couldn't stand having all the 250 GB in one partition , and if u format i will lose everything

 

A condensed guide would typically be for users who are already comfortable with it. It doesn't really make sense to give less information to someone who is unfamiliar with the process, does it? As already said, the guide is very wordy and the reason for that is to prepare you for each step so you know what to expect and how to answer the questions. I suggest you read it through at least once before you try to reinstall.

You can't screw up a computer so badly that it will break through software, only if you drop it or something. You may, however, need someone else's help to reinstall it. The recovery discs are there to give you this kind of assurance, but even if they don't work you will be able to get things back up with just a Vista install disc. As already said, make sure to backup your SWsetup folder, and with that and a Vista disc, you will be able to recover it.

All that said, this process is meant for users who will be able to handle it if things don't go exactly according to plan. It's always possible something won't go the way you expect. However, if you read through some of the comments here, you'll see that something like that almost never happens .

 

oh ok. Alright I know this may be a dumb question and I did read through the guide but i'm still a little confused about one thing. Can I do a clean install with just the recovery disc that will be sent with my HP dv5t? or will I need to use that hidden folder titles WAU? Will my computer even have that folder? Sorry for all the questions, I just like to know what i'm talking about before I do something.

 

no do not use any recovery disc
i think that these recovery discs that are bring sent by hp are not that good (rad first post) , do ur own recovery discs in the recovery manage
use any simple vista installation DVD , that's what i've done
it's cheap , u only need to install u don't have to buy one with a license , that's why it's cheap
there's many other options to do a vista installations disc , but they're complicated and i didn't want to waste some time to make a disc and search while i can buy it for a couple of bucks and keep it with me

 

HP computers do not have the WAU folder, so you will need to find another way to get the Vista install disc.

 

Ok. I read over the guide and I am 100% confident I could do it. It's actually very simple now that I understand it all. The guide is perfect. My only problem now is finding an anytime upgrade disc. I ahve searched a little with no luck. My laptop will have vista home premium 64 bit edition with SP1. Can anyone help me find the proper disc for this so I can purchase it?

Also a little confusion about service pack 1. Does it come on the anytime upgrade disc? I guess I shouldn't be worried cause I can just update anyway, right?

 

I bought a disc from eBay, do a search using words like "vista 64 bit upgrade" or something like that. I found a seller who has 32 bit adversised, and a note saying to inquire about 64 bit. So don't just look at the title, read the whole ad to see what might be offered. And don't be afraid to ask questions of the seller. I bought both 32bit and 64bit discs since I found them and thought they were cheap compared to the aggravation of dealing with the bloatware. Plus, I want to be able to do things like the "real people" do them!!

Thanks orev, and all who have contributed. I'm looking forward to receiving my discs and trying this out.

 

thanks gtotripower. I will try that right now.

 

Just registered to say thanks Orev, nice and easy walkthrough, worked like a charm.

 

Hi all. Given that this thread is 189 pages, should I be following the original instructions on the 1st page of the thread, or have changes been made between 1 and 189? Thanks!

I have an HP 64-bit Vista OS and there is way too much junk on it.

 

The main page is up to date for the installation. If you run into issues, search the thread and you might find some answers.

 

Awesome, thanks for this Orev!!!

 

So the upgrade disc will work just as well as a full install disc? I just bought an HP with 64bit Vista and need the install disc to do the fresh re-install and they're very hard to find for cheap, so I want to make sure I can just purchase the upgrade DVD and that it will work fine for me. Thanks!

 

My computer gets a lot of blue screens and a lot of annoyances after doing this clean installation. I am suspecting that I am missing drivers of some sort, but I have everything that's a necessity. Btw, I am using a dock. Any help?

 

any help is appreciated.

 

Worked like a charm!

Thanks so much Orev!

 

Thank's orev! It's very helpful

 

I've just done a clean install on a DV5 1010TX. All went well. Activation using ABR was flawless. It's nice not to have to uninstall all the crap that HP puts on the recovery partition.
Of interest, the laptop does seem a bit snappier...
The hardest part was finding a Vista disk (using Ultimate 64). I do suggest people give this a go... if it fails you can always just reload from your recovery disk.

 

Why don't you bypass Vista completely and just install Windows 7 while you can download it from Microsoft and request your free genuine key or use one of the generic ones that are easy to find?

By August 1st, 2009 when it expires there will be a good way around the expiration. It's way better than Vista.

 

I finally did the clean install it was long over due! The directions were perfect and everything works as stated.

Thanks to all who contributed!

 

I agree that Windows 7 looks very promising. I must admit, Vista isn't as bad as many pepole think. The real problem that is addressed here is eliminating all the bloat forced onto the consumer by HP by not installing it in the first place.
Hopefully Windows 7 will live up to expectations.

 

Great instructions. Thank you. I just got my laptop back from repair due to the nVidia defect problem (no video, no boot). The gpu fried my motherboard = for the second time in 3 months. This repair they formatted the hard drive. I had a fresh oem install so I figured now was a good time to try your clean install.
Your instructions were perfect.
Wendy

 

Because 7 is in beta and your key won't last past August, requiring you to install Vista or XP again if you don't want to buy 7. It is NOT recommended that you use 7 as your only OS.

..which will be illegal.

 

Hi Richo64,

Where on My Digital Life did you find a Vista 64-bit download? I also have trouble finding a Vista 64-bit DVD. Everything I see on Ebay is for 32-bit.

Thanks!

 

Just finished the install, it went well and very easy. Thanks Orev!!!

Just a note for those that have done clean installs before with XP, the formatting in the Vista install takes much less time, so it was surprising to me. I honestly thought it didn't work because the format went so fast. Other than that, the install is fast and a piece of cake to follow. ABR worked like a charm.

 

Sorry, I have a question and tried searching but didn't see it asked/answered. I have an HP dv5t that i ordered with 64 bit Vista. I have lots of older programs that I can't run on this version and desperately want to go to 32 bit. Has anyone tried orev's process and successfully went from a 64bit OEM install to a 32bit install (using your OEM key)? I plan to use a borrowed retail Vista disk (not the upgrade).

 

Going 64-bit to 32-bit should work with no problem.

 

Just like to start by saying thanks to Orev for this great guide, worked a charm.

I carried out this process on my HP dv9815tx notebook and it is now working better than ever.

The only problem i had was getting the Green Media center button working on my HP RC6 Remote (The remote that slots into the side of the computer) This button is particularly important to me as i use media center freqently and this button is used to start media centre.

I never liked quickplay because i always thought it slowed the starting and exiting of media center so i wanted to find another solution instead of having to re-install quickplay.

I stumbled upon this forum post, and it worked for me like a charm.

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3077019&SiteID=17

Refer to the 4th post by 'Eric Company', i followed method 2

Hopefully this post helps anyone out there who is going through the endless google searching that i went through trying to find a solution, perhaps it could even fall under the 'Common Problems' of this guide?

Cheers!

-Ormz