need some support with windows vista home

Ok this is the deal girlfriend got a new notebook. Did a clean install of windows vista the product aint working. I did it internet and phone microsoft told me to call toshiba this being an oem. After I called toshiba they were so stupid telling me the key wont work I told them straight out I am not going to use the toshiba bloatware I want a clean install and I will install the drivers I need. So can anyone help me what to do if its more microsoft or toshiba? Help appreciated.

 

I'm going to take a guess here:
You used a Vista Retail DVD and tried to enter her OEM product key. Right?

 

Yes a clean install lite version

 

Okay, well you need an OEM Vista DVD.
Retail and OEM discs take different key types, and cannot be interchanged. Get your hands on an OEM disc and you won't have any problem.

 

OEM like what do you mean the toshiba recovery? I dont want to install the toshiba one full of bloatware. This problem has never happened. I don't want to use the bloatware of toshiba I don't see the problem im on the phone with microsoft I hope they fix this I don't want bloatware on this! >.<

 

No, not the Toshiba one.
Like, "OEM For System Builders"

Right now you're trying to install from a disc like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116469

You need to install from a disc like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116485

There is no difference between how the two function, but an OEM cannot be moved to another computer than the one it was originally installed on, and a Retail copy includes support directly from Microsoft.
They take two different types of keys, and you can't install with an OEM key and a Retail disc.
If you know someone with a Vista OEM disc or you have another way of obtaining one *ahem* then you can install using that.

 

hmmm I see i didn't know there was differences of windows vista of oem or retail. Well i suppose i have retail, but I dont understand the problem I installed the same cd and put the key and it went through but with this its giving me issues. I just want the key to work.

 

What do you mean "you installed the same cd"

 

I installed the same cd on another notebook (used the key on that notebook) went through with no problems. With this toshiba is giving issues I don't know if its something new toshiba did with there models. It seems microsoft nor toshiba want to help me microsoft sends me to toshiba that they should be giving me a key and toshiba says they cant. To install there recovery install which i dont want. I don't know what to do I am doing everything correctly i believe.

 

So when you're installing, is it taking the key at all? Or does it take the key, then not activate?

 

It doesnt take the key on the toshiba says error like its not the right one. I called microsoft and they checked it and said its oem and to call toshiba to get the product key from them I dont know why toshiba makes this a pain all want the.

When i installed windows vista the key didnt work so i left it blank to install it later. Which right now i am but its not working.

 

Okay, and when you installed on the other laptop, did you use a key on the bottom of the laptop, or did you use a key that came with the disc?

 

Nope I used the bottom key and it went through with no problem. On this toshiba it does it says product key doesnt seem valid. This is getting annoying I call microsoft than toshiba. I don't know why the pain.

 

The pain is because a Retail version can only use a retail key, an OEM key like the one on the bottom of the Toshiba can ONLY by used with an OEM DVD. It is REALLY that simple. All the complaining and hand wringing is NOT going to make it work. Get an OEM dvd or live with the Toshiba bloatware those are you only two choices, unless you want to buy a new retail copy.

Gary

 

I don't want bloatware I really dont think its the OEM it seems to me like either a key error install or something new with toshiba. The same CD I used was on a another laptop with oem key and it went through flawlessly with toshiba its just a pain still trying to figure it out.

 

This has nothing to do with Toshiba. They print an OEM key on the bottom of the machine. Microsoft stipulates that an OEM key can only be used with an OEM dvd for an install, your previous install not withstanding. This fact is well documented in all of Microsoft's licensing materials.

If the OEM key is not working with a given install media it can be because of two things, either you are trying to install the wrong version of Vista or you have a OEM key and a Retail DVD.

Gary

 

^
Still find it so confusing since I have always used clean installs worked with xp (sometimes I had to call microsoft to activate by phone which I did and they gave me the key). Also on this notebook that i reformated along with the toshiba and used the same cd (oem as well). Its more i guess company forcing you to use there bloatware which I deny to use it. Any ways I got it to work thanks for the responses.

 

If you are installing the retail version then use the key that came with it and you won't have any problems. That's assuming you have a retail key that came with your retail copy of windows.

Or, install the OEM that came with the machine and use the key on the Toshiba.

Why in the world would you want to use the Toshiba OEM key for a retail copy of windows that you paid for which won't work on a retail copy anyway?

 

^
Not sure if its retail since I asked my friend, its just a clean install of vista with no bloatware but vista itself. I never liked anything install I just like doing everything by scratch.

 

You really don't seem to be listening.
When you installed XP, say you did a fresh install of Windows XP Home. Would you be surprised when an XP Professional disc did not work with the Home key?
Similarly, there are other versions, such as OEM, Retail, Upgrade (compatible with retail keys),and MSDN. Vista has eliminated the whole Home/Pro on separate discs thing, you can install any version of Vista (limited to either x86 or x64 though on most disks), but you must have the proper disc that matches your key... so if you have an OEM license, you MUST have an OEM disc. If you have a retail license, you MUST have a retail disc... and so on. Is this really so hard?


YOU HAVE THE WRONG DISC.

 

I thought this was the problem from the beginning. You didn't pay for a clean copy of windows!
If you want a clean install of windows then go out and buy a copy of windows which will include the key.

 

That's not how licensing works, MS doesn't sell licenses that differentiate something like "bloatware free!"
Any regular Vista disc will work, so long as it matches the key (OEM is needed in this case). Companies like Toshiba put all the bloatware on the computer after the fact.

 

So you're saying the license key provided by Toshiba will work with any store bought Vista disc?

 

Not any disc. But if you bought any Vista OEM disc, it will work, yes. Retail will not work.

 

Yes, and thats my point all together. It appears that he didn't buy a disc but rather is using a copy from somewhere. Retail copies only allow a certain number of installs to be done and I believe you're only allowed to install an OEM disc on one computer legally.

This is the only scenario that I could see Toshiba and MS blowing him off about this.

Sry if I'm wrong but that's what it looks like to me.

 

Sorry, but you are wrong. The disc itself is unimportant, what you pay for is the license. Each license is only allowed a certain number of activations, one license can only be used on one computer at one time. An OEM license can never be moved from the computer it was first installed on, and an OEM license must be sold with computer hardware (when sold to the end user). The discs are indistinguishable from each other and carry no licensing significance.

I can download a Retail Vista disc from a P2P network and install using my legitimate Retail Vista license key from the Vista I bought, and Microsoft doesn't see it as any different than installing with my purchased disc. Because, again, this disc doesn't matter.
He's using a disc from somewhere, but he's using the wrong disc. It's not because he's using a random disk that he's having issues, it's that the disc is not the disc he needs. If he were to borrow an OEM disc from a friend, and install with his OEM license key, he would have no issues.
Instead, he insists that the borrowed retail disc should work, when it shouldn't, and won't!

 

What i was reffering to, HEP, was the EULA and the legallity issues.

I am fully aware that An OEM must use an OEM license key and retail must use retail key.

My point is and has been that in order for him to have his "clean" install, he's going to have to get an OEM version, and to be legal about this he will have to buy a copy. Then he can use the Toshiba key, but it will come with it's own key.

Or, he could just install Vista from the disc that came with the system, use the toshiba key, and uninstall anything he doesn't want.

Not sure if P2P or the Int R. Net, as you put it, is a legal means of obtaining a "copy" of windows.

 

Nope, you are still wrong. There is no requirement that he has to buy another copy. It is perfectly legal to borrow a copy of an installer DVD, from a friend, and use it as long as you do not try to reuse the LICENSE key on that DVD. As long as you use your own license key you are legal. What is NOT legal is downloading a ISO from a P2P site.

Microsoft has been pretty clear on this for a long time. They realize that DVD's get lost, scratched etc. and agree that when that happens you can borrow a LEGAL copy of the DVD and use it with your own license key.

Gary

 

Yeah, Rob41 - he can buy a disc LEGALLY from Microsoft with NO LICENSE. It's like 10-20 dollars. There is no reason at all for him to spend another 100 bucks on another license just to get the disc. You're super confused on how MS does their licensing.
While it might not be legal to download a disc image from the web to use with your OEM key, it should be. In fact, the only thing that makes it illegal is most images will include a crack with them. If you can find a clean image on the web with no modifications, I am certain that it would be legal to download that. It's just like borrowing a friend's disc, which IS legal (as long as it's only the disc and you have your own license).

 

I stand corrected.

So if he doesn't want to use the Toshiba disc, he only needs to find a different OEM disc and then he'll be able to use the license key that came with the Toshiba laptop?

EDIT: Also, if he wants a streamlined version of Vista couldn't he just use Vlite on the OEM disc that came with the Toshiba and use the license key that came with it?

 

That is correct.

The disc that came with his Toshiba is probably not even a Vista disc, it's probably a custom disc that just images the drive with a premade, uneditable image. However, he may be able to create a disc using an i386 folder if he has one (the i386 folder is basically a copy of Windows installation media, which many OEMs leave behind on hard drives). TBH though I do not know much about vLite, I'm kind of over slipstreaming for anything but including service packs. That's how it was with nLite though.

 

It depends on the OEM disk. Some of them are tied to a particular manufacturer, where the manufacturer modifies the setup.exe to look at the BIOS for a particular make of even model of machine. The true OEM install disks sold to go along with "build it yourself" systems are generic ones not tied to any specific make of machine.

Gary

 

Cool,

Well excuse me while I go find a crowbar to remove my foot from my mouth!

 

I've also found that lots of the manufacturer specific disks (such as Dell's) will in fact work in another brand of computer, they just won't automatically pick up the key. You can still use them to install as long as you have a key to enter (or not even, you can elect to enter the key later and get 30 days of use).

 

Yep, I've seen that as well. I can't remember which one I came across that was so tied to the manufacturer. And it wasn't a case of the disk being just an image restore type of one either. It was an actual windows installer disc. But the installer checked the BIOS and refused to budge.

Gary