Working Legal Vista Download Links (Nice Try, but you still need a key!)

Yes, it is. I'm going to try it again today.

 

OK...just finished downloading the files and ran the .exe file. What's strange is that my total size comes to 3,511,519,595 bytes (3.26 GB), with 614 files and 112 folders. The install.wim in the sources directory is 3,199,404,418 bytes (2.97 GB). I haven't tried installing it using these files because I don't have the computer that I'm going to be installing on yet. Also, the sizes are very different from what everyone else says I should be getting. Is it worth it to try the installation with these files, or should I try again?

PS. Where does the error pop up? Is it when you are running the setup or does it happen some time later in the setup process?

 

I think you should just try it. The error is just right at the beginning after you enter the key for the vista. I can't install the vista either.

 

Your numbers match my numbers. That's a little encouraging. To answer your question, I get the error message right after I skip the part of the installation that requires me to enter my license key. If you choose not to enter one at that time, you'll get a message telling you that it's best to enter it now and not doing so can lead to loss of data, program instability, etc. It will ask you if you wish to enter the information. I click 'no' and as soon as the program goes to move on to the next step, I get the error message.

 

you should be fine,
just install it

 

Hmmm...
Looks like mine probably won't work either. Oh well. I'll try it as soon as I get my computer in and see if I get the same message.

On another note, did you try entering a license key when it asks? Or do you only have an upgrade license and are trying to do the clean install trick?

 

Looks like the link is dead for instal.wim file for the 32 bit

 

Hi.

looks like they are all dead, DENIED

Regards

John.

 

Hi, for those of you who can't get the downloads, hang in there, I know a solution is coming soon. V3loc1ty2.0, could you add this link ( http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppor...oard.id=Tech_Talk_XPS&message.id=60095#M60095) to the first page. It details how Dell is now giving customers who request it 64 bit media. Good news for all of us Dell users! Much as I have thought this thread and our fearless v3ocity2.0 a godsend, I have to say it would have been easier to get 64 bit media through Dell, lol!

 

Hi, until the links are up on the first page, anyone who needs the files can pm me and I will give the instructions on how to download the files .

 

Didn't go through this entire thread, so not sure if this was mentioned...

While Vista might require some hoops to jump through, and looks kinda shifty, one *can* download Server 2008 directly from MS without any odd hoops and they have it clearly downloadable from a web page.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx

It's a "trial" but it's not really a trial. It's the real code from the real disc. Like Vista, if you don't enter a key during the install it will run fully functional on a timer. For 2008 it's 60 days, extendable to 240 days.

 

Thanks for the link. I am assuming by the software title that it is designed to be used by servers. For those of us not running servers, what can it do for us? Is it just like Vista? What does it have that Vista does not and vice versa? TIA

 

Hi, a total noob to this great forum... but how do I pm you? I don't see a "pm" button, and the FAQ says it can be accessed through user control panel, but I don't see a pm function there, either.

edit: never mind, PM sent! sure isn't easy to pm.

I know it's bad form to ask for email, but could you send instructions to my user ID - @yahoo.com? I would've pm'd you to ask, but apparently I'm too stupid

I started install.win on 5/29 and got partway through, ran out of time, thought I'd go back and resume onf 5/30 and got the DENIED

(In case you're wondering, I was downloading at the local library as my ISP has a 5gb rolling 30-day limit - and their crappy usage meter doesn't work at all, so I have no way of telling)

 

Left click on my name and in the drop down list should be an option to send a private message to me. No worries, sometimes you need a bit of help navigating. I would say though that simply experimenting produces miraclous results, lol!

 

oops sorry, i was away for a while
links are fixed again
thanks for the alert yasdaz

 

Thanks for the link. But WS 2008 is not needed for an average home user. It's mostly beneficial in a business environment.

 

yasdaz, v3loc1ty, thanks! You guys rock!

 

SO.... Have anyone tried vista yet?

 

Yeah i posted this a few weeks ago in its own thread

 

Maybe you should link it in your first post of this thread so people can find it easier? Just a thought.

 

The vista is working now!!

 

ok, will do

 

Ok i added the link to my Windows Server 2008 Thread
I also added a part to the OP that credits yasdaz for helping me maintain the links (give rep to yasdaz too!)

 

Great, that should make things clearer for people trying to find the Server 2008 files.

 

I have a question here. I recently attended the Heroes Happen Here event and got an OEM copy of Vista Ultimate with SP1. The Media was only 32-bit and I'm just about positive it is only an OEM key since I could not use it to order a replacement disc. I wanted to install Vista Ultimate 64-bit, can I burn one of these 64-bit ISOs and use this OEM key that only came with 32-bit media to install and activate Vista?

Thanks,

B

 

The key you get with the Heroes Happen Here Vista 32-bit does work with 64-bit. That's how I activated mine.

 

I'm so glad I found this topic, Now I don't have to buy an anytime upgrade dvd off ebay. The HP/Compaq recovery discs always leave me with a overly-buggy version of vista.

 

Alternatively you can buy reinstall (called backup) disks from Microsoft for cheap:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/content.aspx?ctId=444

 

Unfortunately, those discs from Microsoft cannot be shipped outside the US and so are useless to anyone who does not live in the US and/or does not have a US friend or relative who will receive the disc and forward it on to them. I wish it were not the case because those discs are much more useful in many ways, up to and including the fact they have sp1 included. That is why this thread is so useful . For all those who are living in the US or have a US contact, you are lucky!

 

Indeed. I haven't personally purchased a backup disk because I have known about these downloads for a while and made my own backup disks, albeit without SP1.

 

Wow! Jeez, Microsoft sure doesn't make it simple to find that page. I think these downloads will work just fine but I know someone who will Really appreciate that link. Thanks!

 

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

You can't use your producty key in the bottom or the OEM key either to order that DVD. It will work only retail versions.

 

But my OEM Key should work with the download, right?

 

Yes, the OEM key will work when installing from any Vista discs. The reason why it doesn't work when you try to order it is because Microsoft does not support OEM versions, so they won't send you the discs. Otherwise, ALL Vista discs are the same, and they don't care if you have a retail or OEM key.

 

Which is why orev's Clean Install with No Activation guide and the download links in this thread are so useful!

 

cold you please fix the vista links? thanks in advance!

 

Does anyone know what the file size should be for the Vista 64Bit ISO file?

 

~3.5GB if I recall.

 

Mine is 3.55 GB (3,819,317,248 bytes). Thanks

 

Hi, sorry but the links are down . Hopefully there will be a fix, fingers crossed!

 

Just wait a few days or so, and then check back. The links should be up again pretty soon.

 

Well, let me put it this way, I tried all the tricks that usually get them up and going and none worked. Maybe somebody on the digital life forum sorted it out, we can only hope! I hate that these files can't be available freely. I mean they are useless without a legal key, after all.

 

There are definitely ways around this, and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons why the links go down after a few days.

 

yep, all links are down except for the 64 bit install.wim

i'm working on a fix

 

I'm glad I downloaded them a while ago...

Velocity, if I think/hear/dream of a fix, I'll let you know.

 

ok i've fixed the 32 bit boot.wim file
so now all thats left to fix is the 32 bit install.wim and the x13-49120 file

 

When I try the links only the 64-bit boot.wim link works.

 

try copying and pasting the link:
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/01/00001111-3318705--NOA/msvista/pub/Vista_WIM/i386/boot.wim
because it works for me

 

Well it doesn't work when I click on it and I can't copy/paste it direct because NBR shortens the link.

I tried copying the link that appears in the address bar and pasting it into IE, but that doesn't work either (I'm using FF3 RC2).