Luke122
05-01-2007, 04:14 PM
I know that the thread title sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but hear (read?) me out.
Today I figured out something really interesting...
If you have a Vista Upgrade disc, try to boot from it. During the install, leave the activation key blank, and then choose "clean install" on the options.
It's true that you will only have a functioning copy of vista for a short time, but there's more to this topic. Once you finish the install, run the upgrade from within Vista. Yes, we are going to use Vista to upgrade Vista.
Sounds stupid I know, but it works! Then, just activate with your normal Vista upgrade key, and you are good to go. I was a little baffled by it, but in the documentation, it says (this is not exact, but close enough):
"The Vista Upgrade software can be used to upgrade a previous version of Windows, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista."
So... Vista can upgrade Vista... riiiiiiight. In all fairness to M$, I think what they meant by this was the ability to go from basic Vista up to other versions, such as Business or Ultimate.
Are you questioning the legality of this? So am I.. so do it at your own risk. I fortunately DO have a previous operating system on this laptop that I'm "upgrading" from. :D Your mileage may vary. (YMMV)
Today I figured out something really interesting...
If you have a Vista Upgrade disc, try to boot from it. During the install, leave the activation key blank, and then choose "clean install" on the options.
It's true that you will only have a functioning copy of vista for a short time, but there's more to this topic. Once you finish the install, run the upgrade from within Vista. Yes, we are going to use Vista to upgrade Vista.
Sounds stupid I know, but it works! Then, just activate with your normal Vista upgrade key, and you are good to go. I was a little baffled by it, but in the documentation, it says (this is not exact, but close enough):
"The Vista Upgrade software can be used to upgrade a previous version of Windows, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista."
So... Vista can upgrade Vista... riiiiiiight. In all fairness to M$, I think what they meant by this was the ability to go from basic Vista up to other versions, such as Business or Ultimate.
Are you questioning the legality of this? So am I.. so do it at your own risk. I fortunately DO have a previous operating system on this laptop that I'm "upgrading" from. :D Your mileage may vary. (YMMV)