Vista Ultimate: how big is it? (in bits/bytes)

I bought the Vista Ultimate 32 bit version while traveling overseas,
and want to check that it was not doctored with extra stuff, or that
stuff was deleted.

It's a DVD that shows the following stats:

2.83 Gb (3,071,049,728 bits)
2,999,072 kb ISO 9660 (when you burn it)

Anybody have similar numbers?

I couldn't figure out how to do a checksum on the whole DVD, but if
anybody has one of the numbers the same it should be sufficient.

Thanks in advance,

RL

Do you have the original DVD?
Do you have the original Product Key?
If both are originals and not copies, that is a good indicator.
If either or both are copies, it is probable that it is not
legitimate.

Did you pay a reasonable price?
Or was it to good to be true so you bought it?

This site can help you determine if it is genuine or not:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/windows/

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


"raylopez99" <> wrote in message
news:c976b1c9-a133-41e9-b62c-...
>I bought the Vista Ultimate 32 bit version while traveling overseas,
> and want to check that it was not doctored with extra stuff, or that
> stuff was deleted.
>
> It's a DVD that shows the following stats:
>
> 2.83 Gb (3,071,049,728 bits)
> 2,999,072 kb ISO 9660 (when you burn it)
>
> Anybody have similar numbers?
>
> I couldn't figure out how to do a checksum on the whole DVD, but if
> anybody has one of the numbers the same it should be sufficient.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> RL

raylopez99;524100 Wrote:
> I bought the Vista Ultimate 32 bit version while traveling overseas, and
> want to check that it was not doctored with extra stuff, or that stuff
> was deleted.
>
> It's a DVD that shows the following stats:
>
> 2.83 Gb (3,071,049,728 bits)
> 2,999,072 kb ISO 9660 (when you burn it)
>
> Anybody have similar numbers?
>
> I couldn't figure out how to do a checksum on the whole DVD, but if
> anybody has one of the numbers the same it should be sufficient.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> RL

If you bought a legal retail copy, then you'll get nothing extra other
than what Microsoft originally put on the DVD. If you improperly
purchased an OEM Disk, then chances are that the OEM manufacturer as
added their own stuff, but this is usually limited to company specific
details such as support information.

For the record, my OEM Vista x64 Ultimate DVD has is 3,796,490,240
bytes (3.53GB), but the difference can be attributed to the differences
between 32-Bit and 64-Bit, because I have an unbranded OEM disk...


--
dzomlija

____________________________________
Peter Alexander Dzomlija
Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? -And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn-...

- ASUS A8N32-SLI-Deluxe
- AMD Atlon 64 Dual-Core 4800+
- 4GB DDR400
- ASUS nVidia 6600
- Thermaltake Tai-Chi Watercooled Chassis
- 1207GB Total Formatted Storage
- Vista Ultimate x64
- CodeGear Delphi 2007'http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/' (http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/)

On Nov 24, 11:07 pm, "Jupiter Jones [MVP]"
<jones_jupi...@hotnomail.com> wrote:

Thanks Jupiter Jones and dzomlija. I'm pretty sure the DVD is pirate
but I wanted to make sure the author didn't insert spyware into it.
From dzomlija's post I can see that even legal copies can have extra
stuff. My DVD appears to be a copy of something Dell put out.

In any event, it's passed the anti-virus scan, though nowadays viruses
seem to be harder to detect (encrypted, custom made, etc). I'll take
my chances.

RL

Thats the OEM DVD from Dell, it should be a blue color with Windows Vista
SKU name written on it.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog...3DB!9709.entry
"raylopez99" <> wrote in message
news:3b57e6e9-2686-455f-b349-...
> On Nov 24, 11:07 pm, "Jupiter Jones [MVP]"
> <jones_jupi...@hotnomail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks Jupiter Jones and dzomlija. I'm pretty sure the DVD is pirate
> but I wanted to make sure the author didn't insert spyware into it.
> From dzomlija's post I can see that even legal copies can have extra
> stuff. My DVD appears to be a copy of something Dell put out.
>
> In any event, it's passed the anti-virus scan, though nowadays viruses
> seem to be harder to detect (encrypted, custom made, etc). I'll take
> my chances.
>
> RL

On Nov 26, 12:04 pm, "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]"
<andre...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Thats the OEM DVD from Dell, it should be a blue color with Windows Vista
> SKU name written on it.
> --

Yeah, and I found out that dang thing has only a 30 day activation!
Now I'm locked out unless I pay MSFT for the activation key...I don't
like Vista enough to shell out $500 for it, so I'll pass.

RL

raylopez99;526844 Wrote:
> On Nov 26, 12:04 pm, "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]"
> <andre...@xxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Yeah, and I found out that dang thing has only a 30 day activation!
> Now I'm locked out unless I pay MSFT for the activation key...I don't
> like Vista enough to shell out $500 for it, so I'll pass.
>
> RL

Well, no, you won't have to pay Microsoft for the activation key, if
you have a valid installation serial number. The 30-day activation is
only there to give you a bit of leeway for activation, in case your
internet connection is not functioning at the time of installation.


--
dzomlija

____________________________________
Peter Alexander Dzomlija
Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? -And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn-...

- ASUS A8N32-SLI-Deluxe
- AMD Atlon 64 Dual-Core 4800+
- 4GB DDR400
- ASUS nVidia 6600
- Thermaltake Tai-Chi Watercooled Chassis
- 1207GB Total Formatted Storage
- Vista Ultimate x64
- CodeGear Delphi 2007'http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/' (http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/)

A quote from the OP:
"I'm pretty sure the DVD is pirate"

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


"dzomlija" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Well, no, you won't have to pay Microsoft for the activation key, if
> you have a valid installation serial number. The 30-day activation
> is
> only there to give you a bit of leeway for activation, in case your
> internet connection is not functioning at the time of installation.
>
>
> --
> dzomlija
>
> ____________________________________
> Peter Alexander Dzomlija
> Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? -And
> as
> you die, so shall I be Reborn-...
>
> - ASUS A8N32-SLI-Deluxe
> - AMD Atlon 64 Dual-Core 4800+
> - 4GB DDR400
> - ASUS nVidia 6600
> - Thermaltake Tai-Chi Watercooled Chassis
> - 1207GB Total Formatted Storage
> - Vista Ultimate x64
> - CodeGear Delphi 2007'http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/'
> (http://dzomlija.spaces.live.com/)

On Nov 27, 10:15 am, "Jupiter Jones [MVP]"
<jones_jupi...@hotnomail.com> wrote:
> A quote from the OP:
> "I'm pretty sure the DVD is pirate"
>
> --
> Jupiter Jones [MVP]http://www3.telus.net/dandemarhttp://www.dts-l.org

What amazes me is how these pirates can generate and crack keys. I
kind of understand the process (it's a math algorithm) but it's pretty
cool. What's interesting about Vista is that it was indeed a Dell OEM
version, and within an hour of getting online (I was offline while
installing it), the program figured out it was not genuine, then only
gave me access to Explorer, with a website to pay for an activation
key. I have no problems with that (my other OS, XP, was also
initially pirated--I bought it on eBay thinking it was OK--but I
eventually paid for the activation key since I wanted the updates),
but with Vista the MSFT people, since they saw my IP address is in
Europe, wanted something like 400 euro, which is 600 bucks. No way.
MSFT is trying to recoup their legal expenses for fighting the EU!
Plus I'm a US citizen (expat). It's unAmerican to pay high European
prices--that's for the natives. So I figured out a way to fool them--
I'll get a anonymous patch for Explorer (MSFT only accepts Explorer
when buying an activation key online) and then log on and get the USA
price, using my US credit card, which is only about $200 for the
upgrade for Vista Ultimate, or $300 for the full version.

Also I figured out, by reinstalling Vista, how to 'restart' the clock
so I'm back to unrestricted use of Vista (until I get back online, but
by then I'll hopefully have enough time to buy an activation key).

Failing all of the above, I'll just install XP or even put Linux on
this box, if I can figure out how to slipstream load SATA drivers onto
a Linux distro (amazing how SATA is not supported any better, but I
figured out how to extract my drivers using the DriverMax programso I
have them on a CD)

RL

raylopez99 wrote:
> On Nov 27, 10:15 am, "Jupiter Jones [MVP]"
> <jones_jupi...@hotnomail.com> wrote:
>> A quote from the OP:
>> "I'm pretty sure the DVD is pirate"
>>
>> --
>> Jupiter Jones [MVP]http://www3.telus.net/dandemarhttp://www.dts-l.org
>
> What amazes me is how these pirates can generate and crack keys. I
> kind of understand the process (it's a math algorithm) but it's pretty
> cool.

Well pirates not crack keys, read somewhere that Vista's Product
Activation and Geniune check defeated by OEM bios emulation (think
system being installed with one manufacturer's OEM key and some software
modify bios information so Vista will think that it is running on
manufacturer's branded computer.


> What's interesting about Vista is that it was indeed a Dell OEM
> version, and within an hour of getting online (I was offline while
> installing it), the program figured out it was not genuine, then only
> gave me access to Explorer, with a website to pay for an activation
> key. I have no problems with that (my other OS, XP, was also
> initially pirated--I bought it on eBay thinking it was OK--but I
> eventually paid for the activation key since I wanted the updates),
> but with Vista the MSFT people, since they saw my IP address is in
> Europe, wanted something like 400 euro, which is 600 bucks.

Also from Europe so know the feeling, that is why i ordered both my XP
Pro (FPP) and the upgrade to Vista Ultimate from US (with
shipping+TAX+VAT added still was 30% cheaper then to buy from local
shop) . As looks like they converting USD to EUR on 1:1 rate. But never
had in mind would buy OEM OS from ebay (especially not recovery discs ).

> No way.
> MSFT is trying to recoup their legal expenses for fighting the EU!
> Plus I'm a US citizen (expat). It's unAmerican to pay high European
> prices--that's for the natives. So I figured out a way to fool them--
> I'll get a anonymous patch for Explorer (MSFT only accepts Explorer
> when buying an activation key online) and then log on and get the USA
> price, using my US credit card, which is only about $200 for the
> upgrade for Vista Ultimate, or $300 for the full version.

Using anonymous US proxies involving Credit Card numbers not always a
good idea.

Csaba