Vista Activation

A[L]C

A[L]C

A[L]C

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
7,515
Location
Maidenhead
Hi all,

I know this has probably been covered before, but could someone clear this up for me... I purchased a prebuilt machine with a copy of Vista 32 bit Ultimate installed. I acquired a copy of Ultimate 64 bit and installed it.

I inserted the key from my machine and it said I needed to ring their phone number for activation... fine. I rang up their automated system, inputted a mile long number and recived an activation code. I inputted this in to my machine and it all seemed fine. Installed a few more apps, rebooted a few times, then it pops up and says I need to activate again!!

Any ideas why it would be doing this?
 
its vista matey,

if you fart near your pc it needs to re-activate now days :P

It sometimes happen to me after an update, or if i have been messing around in the bios.
Just part n' parcel now :(

But doesnt happen to often thankfully.
 
your 32bit vista would be an OEM version, OEM keys are not transferable between 32bit and 64bit copy's. so i take it when you say "acquired a copy of Ultimate 64 bit" you didn't buy it and you used your old key.

this means you are braking the licensing terms and conditions

Microsoft have probably worked this out and now wont let you activate your copy.
 
crazyDAJT said:
your 32bit vista would be an OEM version, OEM keys are not transferable between 32bit and 64bit copy's. so i take it when you say "acquired a copy of Ultimate 64 bit" you didn't buy it and you used your old key.

this means you are braking the licensing terms and conditions

Microsoft have probably worked this out and now wont let you activate your copy.
Click to expand...

orly?

From our FAQ

Vista OEM can be 'cross-graded' between 32 and 64 bit without the need for a new license.
Click to expand...

Im confused?
 
A[L]C;11313761 said:
Im confused?
Click to expand...

no need to be confused,

if you have an OEM version of the software, you cant change your motherboard and you cant change 32bit into 64bit, its basic locked to the PC, hence OEM.

OEM = original equipment manufacture (i think)

Retail copy's can be installed on as many (one at any time) PC's as you like, they also come with 32bit and 64bit versions, or if they don't you can get the other vesion for microsof for a very small fee

this is why Retail copy's cost about 4 times as much as OEM copy's
 
crazyDAJT said:
no need to be confused,

if you have an OEM version of the software, you cant change your motherboard and you cant change 32bit into 64bit, its basic locked to the PC, hence OEM.

OEM = original equipment manufacture (i think)

Retail copy's can be installed on as many (one at any time) PC's as you like, they also come with 32bit and 64bit versions, or if they don't you can get the other vesion for microsof for a very small fee

this is why Retail copy's cost about 4 times as much as OEM copy's
Click to expand...

So the FAQ is wrong?
 
Burnsy2023 said:
It most certainly is not.

OEM licences have never been locked to 32 or 64 bit, although media isn't readily avaliable through consumer channels.

Burnsy
Click to expand...
Cool, so Ive not done anything wrong in installing 64 bit on my key and just need to ring the activation line each time it comes up yeah?
 
Some software breaks the activation due to badly written drivers overwriting Vista system files.

Nero & some Nvidia drivers can cause issues with the SL UI Notification Service which means things like the Control Panel stop launching.

Even changing the HD settings in the Bios can cause the activation to be required again!
 
Eh!? Hold on. I have a Vista HP DVD here. OEM. How do I install the 64bit variant of it? Or, do i need a 64bit OEM version but use my existing key?

If so, is there somewher I can download Vista 64 OEM - kind of legally?
 
Last edited:
Researched this extensively and what i'm about to say is fact, infact i will be doing it tonight:

I bought Vista 32-bit home premium OEM couple weeks back, i want 64-bit.

As Burnsy has mentioned, you can do this, it is legal. Infact, search for Microsofts 'Alternative Media' page where you can get a 64-bit upgrade disk. Or, like me, download it from mydigitallife.com (Can't find link as site is blocked at work).

This will download with 3 files and is approximately 3.5gb.

Another legal thing you can do is simply type a command line in cmd.exe. Again, easily found on net, this will reset your activation upto 3 times, again legal.

Once the downlaod is complete, you'll need to make a bootable DVD. To do this, you'll need CDImage or another program to make it into an ISO, then another program to write it to the DVD.

You use the same key used for the 32-bit, sorted.
 
Burnsy2023 said:
No, hence my comment about availability through consumer channels.

There is a link in the sticky to order system builder media directly from MS though :)

Burnsy
Click to expand...

Actually, Microsoft originally offered it as a download, but pulled support for it.

They allowed mydigitallife to offer the files as a download.
 
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