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If you have to use Vista buy the upgrade version ... a true WindowsSecret

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Carol Haynes:
Apparently there is a workaround to install the upgrade versions of Vista to a clean hard disc without installing XP or 2000 first - and it works whether you have a previous version of windows or not.

It goes like this ...

1) Boot from the Vista DVD and install it to a fresh partition. However do not enter the serial number and uncheck activate online during the installation. You have to answer various prompts about installing without a serial code but that's OK just push on.

2) When Vista is installed at the desktop run the setup again (eject and reinsert the disc) and use the upgrade option. This runs the installer again - this time enter the serial code etc.

Presto Vista upgrade installed without reference to any previous versions in the form of installed windows or proof media.

This came from the Windows Secrets newsletter which has the whole process in more detail and some discussion about the ethics. Basically the argument goes that you are not using the installer to do anything it wasn't designed for and MS must know this method is available to all users and would be widely publicised.

nudone:
sounds like Carol is getting ready to run vista  :D

Carol Haynes:
Ha ha ... not a chance - I just thought others may find it useful.

nudone:
of course, i believe you (thousands wouldn't).

Alk:
I learnt about this also from:
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-6156968.html
Activation trouble
For those who are making the move to Vista, one trouble area has been properly activating the new operating system. Cartoonist Mike Cope spent hours trying to get his Windows 2000-based system to move to Vista. Initially, he tried to upgrade from within Windows 2000, but that didn't work. Next, the Stoney Creek, Ontario, resident tried to do a clean installation of the software on his PC. The software installed fine, but when time came to do the product activation--a mandatory step with Vista--the process failed.

After reinstalling Windows 2000 and trying a few more things, Cope eventually found a loophole that solved his problem--installing Vista without activating it and then installing it a second time and going through the activation process. Because the software assumed he was moving from Vista to Vista, it activated successfully.

Still, Cope wasn't happy with the more than six hours he spent getting to Vista. "I should've bought a Mac," Cope said.

In theory, that method would let almost anyone install Vista using the upgrade disc rather than a full copy of the OS. However, Microsoft is not condoning such efforts.

"Microsoft is aware of that workaround and encourages all customers to follow the official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail. "People without a licensed copy of XP or earlier version of Windows that use this workaround are violating the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista."
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