Clean Installation - Upgrade Copy - First Time Activation

I currently have WinXP installed, but want to purchase an upgrade copy of
Vista and perform a clean install on a new hard drive. Can I perform a clean
install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk and activate only once?
Basically, I don't want to have to upgrade, activate, install and format new
HDD, and then install and activate a second time.

No. You'll need to purchase a "full version" license
of Windows Vista if you wish to install Vista on a
blank hard drive. Otherwise, an upgrade version
would require that a qualifying Windows XP installation
be in place in order to use and activate an upgrade license.

How to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista by using
the upgrade version of Windows Vista:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931226/en-us

Installation choices for consumer versions of Windows Vista:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932616/en-us

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

"xridr" <xridr@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:C6BC27A8-E213-4078-97C5-CB8CA0BB1C03@microsoft.com...
I currently have WinXP installed, but want to purchase an upgrade copy of
Vista and perform a clean install on a new hard drive. Can I perform a clean
install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk and activate only once?
Basically, I don't want to have to upgrade, activate, install and format new
HDD, and then install and activate a second time.

Hi,

> Can I perform a clean install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk
> and activate only once?

Sort of. You perform the clean install, do not insert the product key when
prompted (just click next and choose the appropriate version), and do not
activate when the installation completes. You then boot into the unactivated
installation, insert the Vista disk and do an in-place upgrade using the
Product Key and activate when the second installation completes.

But, I believe you can bypass all that by starting the upgrade from within
XP and use the custom installation options.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"xridr" <xridr@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C6BC27A8-E213-4078-97C5-CB8CA0BB1C03@microsoft.com...
>I currently have WinXP installed, but want to purchase an upgrade copy of
> Vista and perform a clean install on a new hard drive. Can I perform a
> clean
> install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk and activate only once?
> Basically, I don't want to have to upgrade, activate, install and format
> new
> HDD, and then install and activate a second time.

Thank you everyone. This all make sense. I'm not trying to find a workaround
that is not a supported method, it's just that one of the two SATA drives
that I have in RAID 0 is causing faults and the diagnostics recommend to
replace. Because I don't have any ghosting software, when I unplug one of the
two hard drives in RAID 0, I must reformat the good one before installing an
OS again. I do have the full retail version of XP on disc, and I have all my
important files already backed up. So I guess the best way for me is to
simply fix my hard drive issues and then re-install XP. After purchasing
Vista Home Premium Upgrade, I can install the upgrade how it was intended.

Thank you for all your help, and if there is anything I'm missing, please
feel free to let me know.

"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

> "xridr" <xridr@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:C6BC27A8-E213-4078-97C5-CB8CA0BB1C03@microsoft.com...
> >I currently have WinXP installed, but want to purchase an upgrade copy of
> > Vista and perform a clean install on a new hard drive. Can I perform a
> > clean
> > install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk and activate only once?
> > Basically, I don't want to have to upgrade, activate, install and format
> > new
> > HDD, and then install and activate a second time.
>
>
> If you want to install without a previous version of Windows on the computer
> first, buy a standard edition, not upgrade.
>
> You have many misperceptions about how the "workaround" you seem to refer to
> works. You don't "upgrade, activate, install and format new HDD, and then
> install and activate a second time."
>
> The workaround consists of a Custom install without a product key followed
> by a In-Place-Upgrade install using the upgrade product key. There is no
> activation the first time because there is no product key entered to
> activate. You don't format the second time because that just undoes the
> first time.
>
> The workaround is not supported by MS and there is no guarantee that MS will
> not disable activations of Windows installed with the workaround in the
> future. No one knows how that is going to turn out.
>
> Also, why do you feel a clean install is needed? Unlike XP, all
> installations of Vista are a clean install of the OS.
>
> What version of Windows are you running now? Did it come preinstalled on
> your computer? Is it retail?
>

Hello xridr,

This tutorial will show you how to do a Clean install with a Upgrade
version of Vista without having to install XP first, and only one
activation at the end for Vista. It is a supported method.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/68...ade-vista.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn


xridr;775317 Wrote:
> I currently have WinXP installed, but want to purchase an upgrade copy
> of
> Vista and perform a clean install on a new hard drive. Can I perform a
> clean
> install on a new hard drive using the upgrade disk and activate only
> once?
> Basically, I don't want to have to upgrade, activate, install and
> format new
> HDD, and then install and activate a second time.


--
Brink

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