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General discussion

installing windows vista and activating with my oem serial

Jun 20, 2010 6:53AM PDT

Hello
I have this problem. I have my laptop with no data. It was formatted. Now I would like to reinstall windows vista using the same serial written on the sticker attached to the downside of it. I have tried by installing WIN VISTA SP2 and when I typed the serial it said that the serial is not valid. I guess it might have to do with the fact that this windows vista is not valid for a serial associated to windows vista home basic sp1.

Moreover, since I have anything writen on the corresponding OEM sticker, I would like to know some way to verify that my serial, the OEM windows vista serial, is really from a win vista home basic sp1. I just guessed it was like that considering that after installing win vista sp2, it told me that the serial was not valid for windows vista home basic.
To end with, someone just gave me a windows vista home premium to try by installing it and let's see if this version works with my serial. I wonder though, whether a serial for windows vista basic sp1 will be valid for a windows vista home premium installation.
Any ideas to solve the main problem?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Discussion is locked

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another question
Jun 20, 2010 7:04AM PDT

Sorry
I just realized that in the OEM sticker, I can read that the windows version is windows vista home basic. What I cannot read is what version it is: SP1, SP2,...
Is there any way to know what version my OEM serial is from?

Thanks

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The number on the laptop DOES NOT APPLY
Jun 20, 2010 7:11AM PDT

To your common retail Vista or OEM DVDs from Microsoft. The OEM on the laptop is for that maker's OEM version only. This is at first upsetting to some but it prevents a form of piracy that is not the issue here but some ask why.

The laptop sticky is there for legal reasons only. When I install Vista from the maker's restore media I never have to enter that OEM sticker. This is because Microsoft and the maker created a version just for those machines.
Bob