can i buy or get a copy of windows vista home premium ?

I have bought a comp that has hidden recovery partition , the comp comes with
vista premium activation key .... i have no recovery disks or vista premium
dvd , is it possible to buy a vista premium dvd that does not include an
activation key ( i can then activate with my own key) , or , can i get a copy
of a premium dvd ?

Id like to have the dvd incase my hard drive goes bellyup , i would then
have no way to aceess vista , so having a premium dvd would be welcomed as
backup and piece of mind.

Does anyone know if/where I can buy a dvd without activation key or can i
borrow/get a copy of the dvd from someone?

Many thanks for replies!

This will depend on the manufacturer of your new PC.

When Windows comes installed on a new PC, you are getting what's called an
"OEM Licence" for Windows (OEM == Original Equipment Manufacturer)

Under the terms of the OEM Licence, the manufacturer is not obliged to give
you any physical media (such as a DVD). It costs them money, not just for
the DVD disks, but also packaging, shipping, warehousing, maintemnce,
management etc for all those millions of DVDs. So, many OEMs elect not to
supply any media at all, and just leave you with the hidden partition. This
way they pay less money to Microsoft, so they pass on the "savings" (by way
of, no disk) to you the consumer.

If you are lucky, your OEM will have an optional offer to get Windows on
DVD. This is usually free or at low cost, eg $10 or thereabouts. The details
should be in the documentation which came with your PC. If in doubt, contact
their support line and ask.

If you cannot get physical DVD media for Vista from your OEM, you are out of
luck. You cannot use Retail media, like you buy over the counter, to
re-install OEM Windows - it uses a different set of Product Keys: an OEM
Product Key in a Retail DVD won't work, and vice versa.

Personally I think this practice by the OEMs (not supplying physical media)
stinks - it's a huge inconvenience to the user, to save a few lousy bucks.
But all PC businesses run on incredibly thin margins, they count the cost of
every screw.

Sorry for the bad news,
Andrew

"You cannot use Retail media, like you buy over the counter, to
re-install OEM Windows - it uses a different set of Product Keys: an OEM
Product Key in a Retail DVD won't work, and vice versa."

There is no difference in the DVDs, the key determines what version you
install.

"Andrew McLaren" <> wrote in message
news:7C30783F-F243-45F9-9121-...
> This will depend on the manufacturer of your new PC.
>
> When Windows comes installed on a new PC, you are getting what's called an
> "OEM Licence" for Windows (OEM == Original Equipment Manufacturer)
>
> Under the terms of the OEM Licence, the manufacturer is not obliged to
> give you any physical media (such as a DVD). It costs them money, not just
> for the DVD disks, but also packaging, shipping, warehousing, maintemnce,
> management etc for all those millions of DVDs. So, many OEMs elect not to
> supply any media at all, and just leave you with the hidden partition.
> This way they pay less money to Microsoft, so they pass on the "savings"
> (by way of, no disk) to you the consumer.
>
> If you are lucky, your OEM will have an optional offer to get Windows on
> DVD. This is usually free or at low cost, eg $10 or thereabouts. The
> details should be in the documentation which came with your PC. If in
> doubt, contact their support line and ask.
>
> If you cannot get physical DVD media for Vista from your OEM, you are out
> of luck. You cannot use Retail media, like you buy over the counter, to
> re-install OEM Windows - it uses a different set of Product Keys: an OEM
> Product Key in a Retail DVD won't work, and vice versa.
>
> Personally I think this practice by the OEMs (not supplying physical
> media) stinks - it's a huge inconvenience to the user, to save a few lousy
> bucks. But all PC businesses run on incredibly thin margins, they count
> the cost of every screw.
>
> Sorry for the bad news,
> Andrew
>

First option is to get an install DVD from the computer manufacturer. This
likely can be used with the key you now have. You will have to ask them.

The second option is to just purchase a copy of Vista Premium. It will have
it's own install key. You will be responsible for hunting down any necessary
drivers that are needed by your hardware. These will likely be on the
manufacturers web site.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)



"geo g" <> wrote in message
news:41BC6960-A115-4E5F-82D4-...
>I have bought a comp that has hidden recovery partition , the comp comes
>with
> vista premium activation key .... i have no recovery disks or vista
> premium
> dvd , is it possible to buy a vista premium dvd that does not include an
> activation key ( i can then activate with my own key) , or , can i get a
> copy
> of a premium dvd ?
>
> Id like to have the dvd incase my hard drive goes bellyup , i would then
> have no way to aceess vista , so having a premium dvd would be welcomed as
> backup and piece of mind.
>
> Does anyone know if/where I can buy a dvd without activation key or can i
> borrow/get a copy of the dvd from someone?
>
> Many thanks for replies!

"geo g" <> wrote in message
news:41BC6960-A115-4E5F-82D4-...
>I have bought a comp that has hidden recovery partition , the comp comes
>with
> vista premium activation key .... i have no recovery disks or vista
> premium
> dvd , is it possible to buy a vista premium dvd that does not include an
> activation key ( i can then activate with my own key) , or , can i get a
> copy
> of a premium dvd ?
>
> Id like to have the dvd incase my hard drive goes bellyup , i would then
> have no way to aceess vista , so having a premium dvd would be welcomed as
> backup and piece of mind.
>
> Does anyone know if/where I can buy a dvd without activation key or can i
> borrow/get a copy of the dvd from someone?
>
> Many thanks for replies!

While your computer is young and semi clean... do an image backup.

"geo g" <> wrote in message
news:41BC6960-A115-4E5F-82D4-...
>I have bought a comp that has hidden recovery partition , the comp comes
>with
> vista premium activation key .... i have no recovery disks or vista
> premium
> dvd , is it possible to buy a vista premium dvd that does not include an
> activation key ( i can then activate with my own key) , or , can i get a
> copy
> of a premium dvd ?
>
> Id like to have the dvd incase my hard drive goes bellyup , i would then
> have no way to aceess vista , so having a premium dvd would be welcomed as
> backup and piece of mind.
>
> Does anyone know if/where I can buy a dvd without activation key or can i
> borrow/get a copy of the dvd from someone?
>
> Many thanks for replies!

Did you check all the documentation to see if there is a method of making
recovery DVDs from the recovery partition - this is also a common thing used
by many OEMs.

--

Mike Brannigan

"geo g" <> wrote in message
news:41BC6960-A115-4E5F-82D4-...
> I have bought a comp that has hidden recovery partition , the comp comes
with
> vista premium activation key .... i have no recovery disks or vista
premium
> dvd , is it possible to buy a vista premium dvd that does not include an
> activation key ( i can then activate with my own key) , or , can i get a
copy
> of a premium dvd ?
>
> Id like to have the dvd incase my hard drive goes bellyup , i would then
> have no way to aceess vista , so having a premium dvd would be welcomed as
> backup and piece of mind.
>
> Does anyone know if/where I can buy a dvd without activation key or can i
> borrow/get a copy of the dvd from someone?
>
> Many thanks for replies!

Don't know if others will like talking about this but
you can usually buy an OEM copy over the Internet
where the seller complies with the legality by also
selling you a piece of hardware to make the
transaction "legal", usually a screw or something
along that level. End users are not supposed to
be able to get oem disks but hey capitalism and
the laws of supply and demand and grey markets
do exist. The key id is matched to the type of
cd/dvd. All cd/dvd have the same content on
them as in all oem's are exact copies and all
retails of the same product are exact copies.
It is the key id that makes the install unique.

later....

Are you sure an OEM key will work with retail media?

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
http://www.dts-l.org


"cvp" <> wrote in message
news:OL%...
> There is no difference in the DVDs, the key determines what version
> you install.

Yes I have done it for the 64-bit install of an OEM key where I didn't have
the 64-bit DVD

"Jupiter Jones [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Are you sure an OEM key will work with retail media?
>
> --
> Jupiter Jones [MVP]
> http://www3.telus.net/dandemar
> http://www.dts-l.org
>
>
> "cvp" <> wrote in message
> news:OL%...
>> There is no difference in the DVDs, the key determines what version you
>> install.
>

"Mike Brannigan" <Mike.Brannigan@localhost> wrote
> Did you check all the documentation to see if there is a method of making
> recovery DVDs from the recovery partition - this is also a common thing
> used by many OEMs.

Great point, Mike - thanks, I overlooked that option.

Note that only some OEMs offer this facility, so as Mike says, check the
docs (carefully). If in doubt, check with the manufacturer.