Which Retail DVD will Perform Vista "Repair" (Upgrade) Install?

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philbobilbo

New Member
Hello folks,

Couldn't really tell from the Repair Install tutorial, so which retail version of Vista do I need to purchase, so that I can perform a repair install, via "upgrade" of Vista? As I look at my OEM Home Premium disk, it has the options to install ALL versions of Vista, so does that mean I could buy the cheapest retail version, use it and perform a repair install of my OEM version, by simply selecting the correct OS as per your "Repair Install" tutorial, and then go from there?

Basically, I would like to have a "God" mode DVD, that allows me to a)perform a repair install of existing Vista installs, and/or b)perform a clean install, and to be able to do a) or b) simply by telling the installation process which version I have (Home Basic, Ultimate, etc.), and whether the copy is retail or OEM.

I thought this is why Microsoft WENT to the DVD that would allow all installs, simply by selecting the right OS and OEM or Retail. Guess not.
 

My Computer

System One

Your oem disk should allow repair - mine does!!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD HP CP1515n Color Laser Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer Microsoft LifeCam Cinema APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
You may have problems doing a repair if you have SP1 installed though. But all the DVD's should let you do a repair. (As long as they are bootable)
 

My Computer

System One

Unfortunately, no, my OEM disk has the upgrade feature "grayed out"; saying "Upgrade Has Been Disabled" upon attempting the "repair" upgrade from the OEM DVD. That is, when I attempt the repair install/upgrade as featured elsewhere on this forum.

I'll explain why I'm trying to do this; I recently upgraded the guts of my entire PC, and had purchased this copy of Vista for it. I previously test-ran an install on the old guts of my PC, and Vista ran like a sled. I simply was try to do an in-place upgrade/repair "install" of Vista on the new setup. So that's my issue. As a tech, I know full well I'm going to be swamped with Vista calls like this soon, ergo I'd like to figure this one out now so that I'm prepared in the future.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

Ah, for the upgrade option you need a retail or upgrade key, the media is still the same.

I wouldn't advice a repair of Vista on new hardware anyway, just do a fresh install with your oem disk.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD HP CP1515n Color Laser Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer Microsoft LifeCam Cinema APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
philbobilbo said:
I recently upgraded the guts of my entire PC, and had purchased this copy of Vista for it. I previously test-ran an install on the old guts of my PC, and Vista ran like a sled. I simply was try to do an in-place upgrade/repair "install" of Vista on the new setup.
Click to expand...
Under the MS EULA, an OEM Vista disc is tied to the system it's first activated on, or to be exact, that system's motherboard. Do a clean install. If you activated with the old mobo, a second online activation with the new likely won't work and you'll have to explain to MS over the phone.
 

My Computer

System One

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