Windows Vista CD, install on multiple PC?

Well Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit obviously costs quite a lot, and buying a brand new OS will be breaking my budget. So I was wondering if it's possible to borrow someone's Vista disc so I can officially install it on my new PC???

 

Nope, it's illegal. Sorry.

 

You could use the disk, sure, but you won't be able to activate it without a product key.

The only way this would work is if you already have Vista Home Premium 32-bit, in which case, you can use the same key to install the 64-bit version. I just did that on my Dell a few months ago.

 

If you're asking for a free copy of Vista, then that's illegal. You could check out Windows Server 2008, which can be used for up to 180 days for free, if I remember correctly.

 

Or the latest windows 7 beta....

 

is it free?

 

Yeah, until the actual OS comes out. Then it stops working.

 

Yes, if "someone" else's vista disk is OEM and your laptop is OEM. Since OEM windows look for a specific bios, if you have that bios chip, you have a genuine windows vista.

If you use the same license key on other computers with a retail copy, you can call MS and they can make your computer's Vista OS genuine. The catch is, your special "someone"'s Vista OS will be deactivated in the process.

 

A lot of this is not true. First of all, the OEM has to use the BIOS activation method, not all do.
Second, previous activations don't get magically de-activated when you activate on another computer. I've seen people run the same license, both OEMs and Retails on multiple computers without "deactivation"

 

so basically, if I can install my friend's retail copy and use his license and call Microsoft, and do some "talking" I can get a genuine os?

 

When you first call them, you'll first speak to a computer. It'll handle 99.99% of all the calls. If you're having trouble with the computer, you can speak to a MS representitive.

"Second, previous activations don't get magically de-activated when you activate on another computer. I've seen people run the same license, both OEMs and Retails on multiple computers without "deactivation"

It's pretty rare for a retail windows OS to be activated on more than 1 comptuer unless it's a VLM copy.

 

No, it won't be genuine. It will be activated by Microsoft, but it will be just as illegal as downloading it from the internet.

Retail Professional is good one for laptop and one desktop at the same time, as long as you only use one at a time. Rare? I think not.

 

If you try to install retail serial on a OEM computer, MS will tell you to contract the OEM for support. GL

 

No.

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