Vista confirmation

reck · 23 Jan 2007 at 13:34

I was going to purchase the OEM version of Vista because I was told that the Vista DVD's would have all versions of Vista on the DVD home basic, premium, ultimate etc and also both 32 and 64 bit version so you can pick what to install. After looking through the online retailers it seems that if you purchase the OEM you can only have the 32bit OR the 64 bit and not both on the same dvd. Is this right? Does the OEM version have both 32 and 64 bit and it just doesn't mention it?

Second quick question. I currently have Windows XP home edition OEM. Am I entitled to purchase the UPGRADE version to Vista premium RETAIL if I find out the OEM version doesn't have 32 and 64 bit versions included?

Final question. I want to be able to install Vista onto a blank formatted hard disk, does the UPGRADE version of vista allow this or do you have to install over XP? If you can install on an empty disk how does it know I have an XP disk, do I insert it in the drive during install or maybe I have to type my XP OEM serial number into the install somewhere?

Thanks for any help guys

Uhtred · 23 Jan 2007 at 13:38

re the OEM...it's meant to be shipped with a new PC, if you were getting a new pc from a high street retailer (which is what oem is really meant for) it would just be 32bit or 64 bit hence oem is only 32 or 64, not both as there would be no point.

There's a HUGE number of vista threads floating around that will answer your other two questions

TC1 · 23 Jan 2007 at 13:39

Doesn't need to be shipped with a new PC anymore.

Uhtred · 23 Jan 2007 at 13:48

TC1 said:
Doesn't need to be shipped with a new PC anymore.

I never said it was, i just said it was intended as such

MartinG · 23 Jan 2007 at 13:57

OEM version only appears to have either 32bit or 64bit...although interestingly enough it appears the serial number is valid for either and I suspect will only lock down once activated.

reck · 23 Jan 2007 at 14:24

Zap said:
There's a HUGE number of vista threads floating around that will answer your other two questions

Yeah I searched and read some of them. Getting conflicting answers though.

For instance I read this post here

……unlike previous versions of Windows where you could do a clean install if you inserted the previous O/S disk, Vista requires you to have your previous O/S installed before you can upgrade.

I personally dont like the idea of doing this, because from past experience things have never gone well with Windows upgrades for me.

….

To answer your other question, yes if things went wrong then you would have to install XP MCE, then Vista on top of that. Not worth the hassle as far as im concerned. I'd go for OEM, or retail.

which says you can't install the upgrade version of vista on a blank hard disk, you have to install XP and then Vista on top of that. But I've read some place else that you can install it on a blank hard disk if you have the xp cd or serial number (can't remember which). So I guess I need to know from someone 100% who knows and even better someone who has installed vista upgrade on a blank hard disk.

Also can anyone provide me with a quick yes/no. Can I use the upgrade version of vista home premium when upgrading from xp home OEM?