Solved Hello.

[pinakfans]

I have a question about Vista.

Ok..

I have 2 laptops.

One of them has shutdown and wont boot up the login screen... but it turns on.

Now that Laptop came with Home Premium...

and the one I got (new) today came with Home Basic. Can I use any premium Boot Disc, and use the serial from the old laptop?

The limit for a serial is 3 right?

thank you

 

[Frostmourne]

I have a question about Vista.

Ok..

I have 2 laptops.

One of them has shutdown and wont boot up the login screen... but it turns on.

Now that Laptop came with Home Premium...

and the one I got (new) today came with Home Basic. Can I use any premium Boot Disc, and use the serial from the old laptop?

The limit for a serial is 3 right?

thank you

No. A OEM Vista is locked to one computer and one only. Period.

 

[pinakfans]

thanks

 

[VaguelyRapt]

I have a question about Vista.

Ok..

I have 2 laptops.

One of them has shutdown and wont boot up the login screen... but it turns on.

Now that Laptop came with Home Premium...

and the one I got (new) today came with Home Basic. Can I use any premium Boot Disc, and use the serial from the old laptop?

The limit for a serial is 3 right?

thank you

I have reinstalled Vista, after the product key on the sticker of my laptop has been worn out and indecipherable. I used the product key found inside Windows. No problems. From the few characters that I can make out from the sticker, it seems the two (product key and OEM key) are different.

If you can't get into your Windows, a reinstall using the OEM key should work in order to retrieve the product key.

The OEM key is tied to the motherboard, apparently. Though a call to Microsoft will get it activated again (they'll ask you if it's no longer active on the previous computer - they can only trust you on this one). Here are a few threads that might make it a little clearer:
[WIN] Vista OEM/Upgrade FAQ - ieXbeta Board
Difference between vista ultimate retail and oem? - TechSpot OpenBoards

BTW, the disc itself is not tied to any key. Each Vista installation discs is the same as the next, it will install whatever your key will allow it to. When you buying Vista, you're buying an expensive key, with an inexpensive disc (that used to be sold separately for under $10, legit). The disc itself is enough to install Vista, but in order to use it for more than 30 days, you'll need to activate it with a key.