Windows Vista.....

GIBURROWS

GIBURROWS

GIBURROWS

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2010
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The 'Shire'
Hi firstly I'm not mental I know Vista is awful but I have 5 yr old laptop that I want to just get up and running again, it has Ubuntu and a non genuine copy of Windows 7(I bought Windows 7 for my new build and thought I might be able to downgrade when using it on the laptop or something) basically I am trying to get it back to what it originally was, so does anyone know how I can do a full, clean install without no disc?

Hard-drive burnt out years ago if anyone wants to know.
 
( I might be missing something here " You're saying you want to Install windows vista on a 5 year old lappy that at this point has Ubuntu and Windows7 on it ?..If that is what you're saying...surely it would run better with either Win7 or Ubuntu , No ?

maybe i got this wrong ?
 
You're saying you want to go back to using Vista on the Laptop? Well are you sure there is a partition on the HDD with Vista still there or have you upgraded it? Although I've never really looked into/found out about downgrading from a higher version of Windows to a lower version. If it is possible you'll probably need a disc.

If you find that is the case just cut to the chase and use Ubuntu which is free-ware anyway. :o
 
Does the laptop still have the original sticker on the bottom with a serial key for windows vista?

If so then I sure you can get hold of a copy of vista and install again using that serial key.

If you don't have the original serial key then not really much you can do other than purchase a new os or carry on using Ubuntu.
 
I do have the serial key but I have no disc for vista.

It isn't a genuine copy of windows 7(I used a 7 disc after using it on my new build to see if it made it faster.
 
I followed a guide from My Digital Life forum for making a SLP installation DVD. The part about product key refers to file obtained using OEMDump software and not the label on underside of laptop.

Before you try and download an untouched ISO of Vista, run something like OEMDump on laptop (available from above forum). And you will get three files which you can check to see if laptop BIOS supports feature.

I obtained Vista SP1 ISO from Digital River, but you might find a newer clean SP2 on torrents.

After doing stages from link in first paragraph, I then used Imgburn to write to DVD using settings from second answer here.

Laptop might run faster than original bloated install of Vista, once you install updated drivers.

This method (if successful) won't require activation.
 
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Download Vista from your favourite site, enter the key during install (it detect what version via the key entered), ring MS to activate because it rarely works over the internet. hey presto. working Vista :)

Whats important here is a legitimate coa and using that key to activate, the installation media has no bearing.
 
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