Vista retail - how many times can you install?

LewisStuart · 28 Oct 2008 at 11:51

If you were to install the full retail vista on same machine over & over would it activate online all the time?

Or is there a limit & then you have to phone up microsoft?

csmager · 28 Oct 2008 at 13:16

No idea, but there's no legal limit to doing it. If you have to ring, they'll activate provided you say 'yes' to the question 'is it only being used on one machine?'.

Nanobot · 28 Oct 2008 at 14:20

I vaguely remember reading something online about there being some kind of limit on online activation after which it then only lets you make the phone call. I don't know if its only if its so many activations within a fixed window, ie x times per week or month etc.
If I find the article, I'll post it here...

Django x2 · 28 Oct 2008 at 14:25

Nanobot said:
I vaguely remember reading something online about there being some kind of limit on online activation after which it then only lets you make the phone call. I don't know if its only if its so many activations within a fixed window, ie x times per week or month etc.
If I find the article, I'll post it here...

Yeah its a fixed number of activations over an unfixed period. Eventually you can only activate via phone but dont have to talk to anyone.

Datamonkey · 28 Oct 2008 at 14:30

I dont think it is lads.

im one of those funny guys who re-installs their os all the time lol.

Always mucking about with drivers an such,

I have vista ultimate retail and must have installed it at least 25+ times on my machine in the last year. And thats a conservative estimate. its probably more like 30+ as i re-install 2 to 3 times a month. lol.

Have never had to phone up on it yet also.

rscosworth · 28 Oct 2008 at 14:34

first time in stalled unltimate retail it auto activated.

next three times i had to phone, no issues at all activating over phone.

every other time three/four it has activated automatically.

Im not sure if its a time delay, ie, if less than 10 days since last activation request manual activation or whether they set a flag cos there fed up of you phoning!

Burnsy2023 · 28 Oct 2008 at 14:35

rscosworth said:
Im not sure if its a time delay, ie, if less than 10 days since last activation request manual activation or whether they set a flag cos there fed up of you phoning!

As long as you've kept to the details of the licence it doesn't matter how often or when you activate