Let us know if that works, from what I just read at MS on the Vista forms that work around doesn?t work anymore, you cant activate the product. The program that activates has been rewritten to not activate if the other license key isn?t there.
I am not sure if this is right or not, but that is what they are saying and the date was 7/10 I think when it was posted.
Here is the what I read start at the bottom.
Subject: Re: I Upgraded to Vista Ultimate from Win2K, I cannot activate my inst 7/10/2007 6:39 PM PST
By: Carey Frisch [MVP] In: microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
Sorry, but your suggestion is will not work. That so-called workaround
will not permit Product Activation as the activation servers have
been reprogrammed to reject an upgrade license if the qualifying
Windows license is not present in the system.
--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Paul Smith" <Paul@nospam.windowsresource.net> wrote in message news:476337AF-5BB7-4598-AA31-4DF7A4A61418@microsoft.com...
The easiest way to get around this would be to put the Vista disc back in
the drive (from your existing Vista install), and tell it to install.
Let it go ahead and install and once is finished you should then be able to
activate.
Basically as Carey said, upgrade discs need to be launched from within the
OS they're upgrading, but the above work-around does work, luckily or else
you'd have to install 2000, and then Vista all over.
Yes, highly annoying is an understatement.
--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/
http://www.windowsresource.net/
*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*
"CharlieV" <CharlieV@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F91E0224-757B-438E-A60F-B3F68D7E3827@microsoft.com...
> Probably already up here but who has 2 days to read all of the posts...
>
> I upgraded my old workstation from 2000 to Vista Ultimate when my old HDD
> crashed.
>
> I decided to skip XP altogether. Since the Win2K install was not
> compatible
> with Vista, I was forced to do a "clean" install, there was no other
> option
> available to me. Sounded good to me in the beginning, and everything went
> fairly well with the installation.
>
> When I tried to register/activate Vista online, I was given an error and
> advised that the key that I had was for an upgrade and an upgrade cannot
> be a
> done as a clean install.
>
> Will it be possible to activate my Vista installation with the Upgrade
> key?
> Did I miss something?
> Will I need to purchase another Key?
> Am I just SOL?
>
> I am looking for help if you can help me please do. If you want to bash MS
> or promote another OS please don't do it here, I am frutrtated enough and
> I
> have heard it all many times today already.
>
> Also please keep the childish bickering to a minum it is not germaine to
> the
> subject matter.
>
> Thank You in advance for your help and understanding.
>
> --
> Charlie Vetter
> San Diego, CA