bit stuck with a windows installation

DogsBody

DogsBody

DogsBody

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I have a toshiba laptop whith vista 64 on it.
Thje product key has been rubbed off the bottom so I have extracted the license key using coolbeans software.

The install is so badly damaged I think a reinstall is the easiest way forward.
This is where the problem starts.
The recovery media doesnt work (on 4 DVDs and the process gets to where it should start formatting the disks and then just does nothing)
My OEM copy of vista SP2 will not work with the key (gives me a message that basicly says none of the versions of vista available are compatable with this product key) So I tried an OEM vista with SP1 and that doesnt even load the recovery screen.

Why does this key not work with windows ?
Is there a "tech" version of windows that will let pc repairers install windows using the product key supplied without this kind of problem as this isnt the first time I have run into this problem.


Regards
James
 
The product key on the current install will not work as it'll be differrent to the one that was on the COA sticker and will have been a volume one specifically for toshiba to image machines with.

If you cannot recover the key from the COA at all then you'll need to buy another licence for it or contact Toshiba and see if they can supply you with one.
 
what is the likelyhood Toshiba will provide me with another CD key ?
My gut feeling is that they will suggest I/we buy a recovery cd for somewhere around the £30 mark.
 
DogsBody said:
what is the likelyhood Toshiba will provide me with another CD key ?
My gut feeling is that they will suggest I/we buy a recovery cd for somewhere around the £30 mark.
Click to expand...

My gut is in agreement with yours, however I'd verify that the hard drive is in good working order before going any further, use the utility provided by the drive manufacturer to make sure it's ok.

How long have you left it to sit at the formatting part before turning it off?
 
An hour ? maybe a bit less.
The recovery software boots from DOS from the first disk.
you get a bit of a GUI to select language and which OS to install (32 or 64bit) then it cuts to a command prompt which goes through the checking of various drives being mounted (tries to unmount them but displays messages that they are already unmounted) once it has ran through all of that says the disk 0 is now the selected drive/disk and the cursor just blinks and does nothing.

It has apparently worked in the past, just now it wont work, the laptop has a 500gb hdd and that has been split into 2 250gb partitions (even though the recovery partition is only using about 20gb of that space)
If you close the command prompt manually nothing happens, there is another command prompt minimised that says press any ket to continue, doing that leaves you with x:/windows/system32 (backslash doesnt seem to be working on this keyboard lol)

I have suggested we move to windows 7 if Toshiba arent much help (£30 for a recovery disk or £100 for windows 7, not much competition really)
 
Is it "legal" to reinstall using the volume key that was originally installed on that machine? It's certainly possible to do what you need using the key you have and to have it activate, but I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to tell you how on here or not.
 
Just been doing a bit of reading.
It appears that even if you have a "branded" windows key it will work with an OEM disk.
I have this laptop and the otehr day was dealing with a HP desktop that had its sticker intact and it gave me the same message on that that the key wasnt any good for any of the versions of windows that were on the disk.

Could this be a service pack issue ?
IE if the PC originally came with windows minus any service packs then I would need an OEM disk with no service packs in order to install using that key, OR should it install no matter what the service pack on the disk.
If the service pack doesnt matter why wouldn't this work ?
 
I have used an oem disk (without key) bought from M/soft on a Fujitsu laptop and used the key taped to the laptop. The oem obviously did not have the SLIC 2 to match the bios but it was possible to get it activated by going on line. What you need is an OEM disk with a Tosh SLIC 2 - generally no big deal. What Vista is it - we know its 64 bit?
 
Last edited:
You need:

1. A Toshiba OEM product key ( You can change key on a running system )

2. A Toshiba OEM certificate ( tiny .xml file )
 
Windows vista home premium 64bit.
The key extracted using coolbeans does not work with either my SP1 OEM disk or my SP2 OEM disk.
Another key has been written down which I have now been given (although I am not sure if it is a windows key or what it is, but I am told it could be the one from the bottom of the laptop) that doesnt work either.

What is SLIC 2 ?

eXor do I need both of those things or just one ?
And how do I go about obtaining both of them?
 
MiNxYyY said:
An OEM key should work with a retail or OEM DVD, aslong as the windows version matches, it should work.
Click to expand...


What exactly has to match ? and how would I check it ?
I used an OEM 64bit DVD and it wouldnt accept the key (this has also recently happened with the same OS on a HP desktop, where the key was taken from the sticker on the side of the case)
 
Have you tried going through the installation and leaving the serial out when asked for it? Then use the microsoft key change tool to "force" the serial into the installation? (it's not actually forcing it, but their tool seems to know what's it's doing)
 
SB118 said:
Have you tried going through the installation and leaving the serial out when asked for it? Then use the microsoft key change tool to "force" the serial into the installation? (it's not actually forcing it, but their tool seems to know what's it's doing)
Click to expand...

I knew this was an option, the reason I didnt do this was it is not my machine and if I get windows installed without a key and they the key I have extracted will not work I have then basicly b0rked someones PC for them.
 
Sounds like a HD issue to me, around a month back Ubuntu wouldn't install on the second HD I had. It always ended up freezing, so ended up taking it out & it went on the first HD just fine after that.
 
If you have a windows vista key for home premium, it wouldnt matter if you had an OEM or Retail dvd to install from.

As long as its a home premium key and disk, it doesnt matter.

Was just using home premium as an example.
 
MiNxYyY said:
If you have a windows vista key for home premium, it wouldnt matter if you had an OEM or Retail dvd to install from.

As long as its a home premium key and disk, it doesnt matter.

Was just using home premium as an example.
Click to expand...


Yes it was a home premium (64bit) key
and the disk was home premium (64bit)

And it DIDNT work, the installation would NOT accept the key.
 
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