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General discussion

silly question

May 26, 2010 4:42PM PDT

while working on a friends computer Vista O.S. it blue screened, when I rebooted message said there was a hard disk error, anyway question is there is no installation software, and I am wondering where in vista I can make a boot disk, so I can replace the hard drive.

Discussion is locked

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Not a feature of Vista.
May 26, 2010 9:38PM PDT

And the boot media is a Vista DVD so there was never a need to create one since you either had your Vista DVD or the OEM makers supplied a means to create recovery media.

But you are about to learn a big lesson about something about this industry. I'm unsure why after so many years we don't have an install that "installs the OS and saves my files." Almost all the systems I see wipe the machine clean and back to the factory load.
Bob

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Thank you
May 27, 2010 3:54PM PDT

In other words I need to find someone with a Vista DVD so that I can load it on to her new hard drive.
Thank You
caflorez

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And the answer is not that simple.
May 27, 2010 8:12PM PDT

It could have been but with ACTIVATION CODES and the dozen varieties of this OS from Home, Premium, Ultimate, OEM and more you can't just use any old Vista DVD.

This area continues to find folk learning about Windows licensing when they only want to fix the machine. In other words you not only have to deal with the problem but the onerous licenses.
Bob

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Re: installing
May 27, 2010 8:24PM PDT

Two options:
1. She buys a new (retail) DVD for the OS of her choice (better Windows 7 then Vista).
2. She contacts the maker of the PC and ask how much they charge for a recovery DVD that works with the original license code on the sticker.

Kees

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Thank You
May 28, 2010 4:31AM PDT

I have already thought of that, but the computer is custom built. And I will see if she wants to spend the money for an upgrade.

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A custom built machine ...
May 28, 2010 5:25AM PDT

usually comes with the disk. If she lost it, it's her fault; if she registered with Microsoft she might be able to get a replacement for a reasonable price.

If she never got a disk, she has to go back to the builder and complain. You disn't tell. Some of the worse builders install cracked versions; that's criminal; it's even more criminal if he let her pay the OEM price. But let's assume for the moment it was a decent builder. In that case, he might be able to do the reinstall.

Kees

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OS reinstall
May 28, 2010 5:04PM PDT

Thank You for your help. I will find out how built it for her and have her take it back for the reinstall.

caflorez