You could try https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/backupcd_form

This will give you a system restore set (for US customers AFAICS) of the originally supplied operating system (which is presumably Vista on your system since you had a free downgrade to XP).

OK it is not a vanilla Windows disc but from a thread I read it appears it is a free service in the US (and delivered within a few days) and at least it should be pre-activated.

Fortunately for you DonationCoder is inhabited by a tenacious & stubborn bunch. If there's any way to solve your problem someone will be there till it does.

edit-post install: I have come to the conclusion that my laptop just hates vista, and I wasted my time filling out that replacement disk form. My stupid laptop still wont pre-activate vista.

Sorry to say, but it looks like the time has come to make that phone call we spoke about earlier...  

Good luck.

P.S. One thing you might try is flatlining your HD first. Grab a copy of Darik's Boot & Nuke and let it run for about 15 minutes on the "Quick" setting. Then try your reinstall and see if that flies. Long shot, but might be worth a try.

One thing you might want to try if you haven't already. Make sure your laptop has the latest BIOS. I have read that some versions of some BIOSes on some PCs (vague enough for you?) have botched SLIC tables that won't allow the OEM OS to activate and a BIOS update fixes it.

But you shouldn't be messing with Vista anyway. Windows 7 is going to be out soon & Microsoft has righted a lot of wrongs (real or imagined) that they perpetrated with Vista.

Wonder if you could talk Dell into upgrading you to a Dell OEM Win 7 disc for all the trouble you have had with Vista.

Never hurts to ask. Worst they can do is say no & I have seen companies in the past issue upgrades to customers who couldn't get the current release to work. If his BIOS allows activation of an OEM Win 7 copy like he says then his machine can't be that old.

I can't fault Dell. I'm typing on a Dell right now. I even got a free set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers from them. If they can send out a set of $150 speakers to make me happy I'm sure sending out some media isn't out of reach.

Never hurts to ask. Worst they can do is say no & I have seen companies in the past issue upgrades to customers who couldn't get the current release to work. If his BIOS allows activation of an OEM Win 7 copy like he says then his machine can't be that old.

my laptop is only a couple of months old. I'm not 100% sure that it will activate an oem 7. The bios upgrade just said it would, but since it won't activate vista, I don't know if it would work with 7... though I don't know jack about oem activation.

On a side note, I installed vista with a plain old vista oem disk that my brother got from his work's action pack (but used the key on my laptop, not the key from the action pack). It wouldn't activate over the internet, but after calling MS twice, I got it activated over the phone. (the first time I called, the guy said something about not being able to help me at the time and to call back in 15 min. But I called back right after hanging up, and got vista activated with no problems... other than barely being able to understand his accent)
So that I don't have to go through all this mess again, I made an image of my drive with acronis after it was all set up and activated.

Quote from: nite_monkey on October 17, 2009, 12:52 AM

So that I don't have to go through all this mess again, I made an image of my drive with acronis after it was all set up and activated.

That, my friend, was a wise decision. Activation works for most people in most situations. You, unfortunately, were one of the individuals who did not fall into that group. Glad you got it sorted & hopefully you won't have to revisit this topic when they send you your OEM Windows 7 disc (if you're entitled to one).

Sadly, Im not. I purchased my laptop before the free upgrade was offered.

Quote from: nite_monkey on October 17, 2009, 07:40 PM

Sadly, Im not. I purchased my laptop before the free upgrade was offered.

Not that I'd ever, ever advocate such a thing, but historically speaking, in a matter of hours after OEM OS upgrades are delivered to consumers ISO images of said upgrades start appearing all over the internet & people who have BIOSes like yours that will activate the latest OS only have to install these ISOs to enjoy something for free.

But whether or not you do something like that is something you & your moral compass will need to discuss.

lol, I was trying to avoid going down that road. Though it is defiantly a possibility.