Changing Windows Language in Vista

Suppose i buy the laptop from Germany and later i want to change the language to English, can i do it ? I googled a bit and i found that it is possible to do it in Vista Ultimate and Enterprise but can it be done in Vista Home Premium ? Also, if yes, what else would i need ?

 

No you cant. You need to buy a new copy of Vista that is english.

 

Not exactly.

Looks like it is possible . Take a look at : How to Change the display language, How do I get additional language files? And Supported Language packs.
According to this thread one guy has done it.

At the top of the first page it says "Applies to all editions of Windows Vista."

 

Who said using Windows is easier than UBuntu I am even more confused after reading the links.

But here is what i understand. As the article on getting additional languages says, I can change language in two ways - first way only applicable to Ultimate & Enterprise where everything changes (MUIP or some crap) and second way in which "most" of the windows prompts, menu's etc will change (LIP) which is available in all Vista Editions.

So looks like i can't really change the entire language without buying Ultimate. So here is one more question, actually two -

1. Can i just upgrade German version of Home Premium to English version of Ultimate by buying only the upgrade and not the full version of Ultimate ?

2. From what i read in another thread, i can always reinstall Vista after formatting the HDD and specifying English as the language at the time of fresh install. But can i use the German Vista Key during the installation of English Vista ? (basically does the EULA allow you to install a different language version of Vista on the same comp with the same key ?)

 

jein! mostly no
forget about the upgrade, get urself a copy of OEM licence in english and be done with it. it would be mostly about the same cost.

u can specify the input language, keyboard at the time of the installation/set up - BUT the main kernel and system prompts are still in the native language that comes with the installtion CD

cheers ...

 

One more reason to hate Bill gates

 

u can have all tips tricks of windows vista at here and many things windows vista requrements

 

Yes it is possible..I bought a toshiba one with danish OS.I called up service centre and they told me what to do to get English Home vista premium OS

 

Could you please explain how to do it? I have a similar problem on pre-insatlled Vista Home Premium.

Thanks a lot in advance

 

This worked for me.
I did a Vista update semi auto by selecting something like Check for updated but let me choose to download and install. After that I checked the list to see what update there were and the language packs are there. Just choose which ones you want download and install.

At current 34 language packs are there.

 

Dude, i guess its applicable only to VISTA ultimate! check please. I have home premium but unable to change the display language.

 

BlackRussian, thanks for your reply, however using windows update works only for Vista Ultimate or Enterprise as Microsoft seems to have disabled this possibility for other Vista versions (such as Home). It even seems that lpksetup.exe checks the license type to prevent installation of a language pack from the retail DVD.
I am not looking to install MUI but only to replace German by French on a pre-installed Vista Home Premium.