Lamb chop wrote:
> I have bought a second hand laptop with windows vista business installed.
> There is a sticker on the bottom of the laptop showing the installed
> windows
> is a genius one. But part of the label gets wore out. I want to make
> format the hard disk and do a clean re-installation of vista again.
> However, I am so worry that if I miss the serial number, I would be stuck
> in the middle of the process.
Most laptops will have an image on a special partition on the hard drive.
You invoke the mftr.'s recovery process by pressing a certain key as the
computer is starting up. If you didn't receive a manual with the computer,
the information as to how to start the recovery process will be on the
computer mftr.'s website. The alternative is to call the computer mftr. and
order a recovery disk set. This is normally very inexpensive.
Key finders such as Magical Jellybean will not be of use to you in this
situation because the key they will find will be the computer mftr.'s
volume license key and not the Product Key you would need to input during
installation with a regular Vista installation DVD.
You will not need to activate if you use the mftr.'s recovery process,
either by using the image directly from the hard drive or by using the
recovery disk set.
Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ