A Fresh Install of Vista Home Premium

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kevsim

New Member
My friend has a computer that when purchased had Windows Vista Premium installed.
He never received a copy of Vista and never made a set of backup disks, he is now in trouble.

On the computer case is a Microsoft sticker with a serial number and says Windows Vista Home Premium.

Could the hard drive disk be reformatted and copy of Windows Vista Home Premium be installed and the serial numbers on the sticker be used to activate Windows?

I would appreciate your advise.
kevsim
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My Computer

System One

Welcome Kevsin
That may not be necessary, most computer companies include a restore partition. Basically what that means is that if you hit certain keys (usually f keys) quickly and rapidly during boot, you will restore to factory specs. It will be like a new install. You will lose all doucments,etc, but it will be formatted and like new. Just like the first day you took it home.
The number on the computer has the be the key number. If the OS came preinstalled on the computer somewhere in the number it will say OEM. It will be a large number separated by dashes and have letters and numbers.
Give me the make and number of the computer and I will tell you how to get to the facorry restore partition
In lieu of that you can call the computer company and for abut $25.00 get a install DVD, that will be just right for your computer and install the OS.

Now, Ilikefree, a member of this forum has given this as a suggestion to another with a similar problem, it is suppose to restore the factory image. I dont know anything else about it. I just want to offer any help that I can.
http://directedge.us/content/abr-activation-backup-and-restore?page=5
 
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My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
No ABR will only restore your activation key and any security certificate you have not the operating system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
Thanks for the info.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
The restore we did for basicconcepts is not quite the same as it removed all the OEM software and just left a clean Vista install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
My friend is in trouble with the computer again, could I please have some more assistance.

It is an NEC branded Computer running Vista Home.
On the side of the computer there is a Microsoft sticker stating Vista installed with an OEM and a group of numbers.

When using a registration key reader such as Jellybean or Josephs Key Finder the registration number they find is different to the sticker on the side of the computer.
Why would the side number be different to the installed number?

If I borrowed a 32 bit Vista disk and formatted the computer hard drive, then used the number on the side, would Vista legally run on the computer?

The reason I want to do this is to have a clean copy of Vista installed without the manufactures additions.

I would appreciate any advise.
kevsim
 

My Computer

System One

Copy and paste the one found by the program
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
ilikefree,
Thank you for the information.
Do you know why there are 2 different registrations numbers, when this computer was purchased from a dealer?

Would the number on the side of the case also work?
kevsim


 

My Computer

System One

If one fails it will do no damage, then try the other.

Note you can only install the same version you already had for the password to work.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
The number on the computer should be the one to use
It should have 25 numbers and letters in groups of 5. It probably says OEM somewhere in the combination.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
The Vista disc has all versions on it, but you will only be able to install the version you had as the key will only work on that.
In answer to your other question my laptop has a different number on a sticker than the number that activated it and the key has OEM in it.Maybe it has to do with the reseller.
I used an ISO file to burn myself an install disc and so did a full fresh install that removed all OEM software,Much faster now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
This is a really good read for me. Windows Vista Home Premium lets you go beyond email and web surfing to improve personal productivity and enjoy digital entertainment. You can search for anything on your computer from anywhere.
 

My Computer

System One

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