I have a laptop with Vista and a Desktop with XP, I was wondering if it will be possible to use the recovery DVDs I made when I got the laptop and put vista on my Desktop and XP on my Laptop? I mainly want Vista for DX10 (Vista is all new to me, only had it a few weeks). Also just wondering why they dont ship PC's with Vista with an OS install CD like XP did. Thanks.
Dan

When Windows comes pre-installed on a computer, it is licensed to that computer. So no, you cannot swap licenses, especially since they are not the same product. That is illegal. But more importantly, does your desktop use the same motherboard, CPU, graphics, sound, network interface, etc. as your notebook? Of course not, right? Those recovery disks are typically designed for that brand and model (or series) of notebooks, incorporating the necessary hardware drivers for the notebook's hardware devices. If you want Vista on your desktop, you will need to buy a new license.

Also just wondering why they dont ship PC's with Vista with an OS install CD like XP did

That depends on who assembled the computer, and what you paid for. It is much cheaper for them if they don't have to deal with ordering, warehousing, and packaging Windows installation CDs or DVDs. Many makers charge extra for the actual disks - and that is probably because Microsoft doesn't just give them away.

So what happens if my laptop needs to be formatted completely. Will the recovery CD's I made allow me to reinstall Vista on my laptop? The sales guy mentioned that there are 2 partitions on the HDD and as long as I keep the system partition I'll be ok, what happens if that partition becomes corrupted?


In regard to installing Vista on my desktop I though that since I bought the laptop as long as its only installed on one PC at a time I could use it on any system I wanted. Does that mean that If I bought a new desktop system and I wanted to install XP on it and the old system was formatted I legally couldn't do it? Thanks again, I just need to clear up the red tape.
Cheers,
Dan

I just thought that I'd add that you can buy an OEM license of both XP and VIsta at Newegg. OEM licenses are cheaper because they are technically for system builders but newegg doesn't care. The disadvantage to buying an OEM license of Vista is that I've read that it will only activate on one computer ever unless you buy a license for multiple computers which would be labeled as a 3 pack or something like that.

If the system partition become corrupted you should be able to install it from the recovery discs you created provided that they are in good shape and your drive hasn't gone bad.

Originally Posted by nabed4t

...Does that mean that If I bought a new desktop system and I wanted to install XP on it and the old system was formatted I legally couldn't do it? Thanks again, I just need to clear up the red tape.
Cheers,
Dan

If you have a retail copy of XP you can transfer that to another computer just as long as it is only on the new computer and is earased on the old. You can't do that with manufacturer recovery discs for the same reasons that Bill mentioned for Vista.

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up. Its appreciated.
Thanks again, Moderator can close this thread when they see fit.
Regards,
Dan