Ooh. Here's a bit of an "oops" for Microsoft: It turns out it's possible, with no hacking or advanced skills required, to make a full-blown clean install of Windows Vista from a Vista upgrade DVD. Seeing as the upgrade disc costs about two thirds what the full version does, that seems like a pretty big oversight. DailyTech
has the scoop. The process is very easy, but takes a bit of legwork. Here's the basics:
- Boot from your Vista upgrade DVD.
- Don't enter your product key when prompted; click "Next" instead, which will install a 30-day trial version of Vista.
- Once your new trial boots up, launch setup from the DVD again, from within Vista.
- Enter your product key when prompted, and then choose Custom (advanced) to do a clean install (yes, you're installing Vista a second time).
- Congratulations, you've got Vista!
According to Paul Thurrott, all of this info is actually contained within internal Microsoft docs, so it's kind of amazing to me that Microsoft shipped Vista update discs with this capability. Regardless, doing this is almost certainly in violation of your license agreement, so don't try it at home (but if you do, let us know if it works).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2007 @ 8:44AM
Peter said...
This is nothing new. You've been able to do this with nearly all of Microsoft's operating systems.
Obviously the "upgrade" disc doesn't contain only the files that changed from WinXP, it contains everything.
It should be common knowledge to DLS readers that all software upgrades are really discounted full versions. The vendor usually just has you validate against the previous version somehow, but the media or downloaded files are identical.
If you watch closely during most software installs, it uninstalls the previous version and then installs the "upgrade", when in reality it is installing a new full version. It just keeps your preferences and settings so it looks like an upgrade in place. It would be way too complex to deal with all the variances of people's systems. It's more reliable to just remove the old version and start fresh.
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2-01-2007 @ 8:59AM
Bridawg said...
I did a clean install with an upgrade disk the other day. I did a basic install of XP, didn't validate and didn't put on any service packs. When I ran the vista installer it complained that the service pack wasn't high enough so it would do a fresh install and rename my old windows folder - works like a charm!
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2-01-2007 @ 10:48AM
james 42 said...
Peter, I think you missed the point, it sounds like this process bypasses the, "validate against the previous version somehow" step. So one blank hard drive and one upgrade copy of Vista = full install of Vista, no previous version of Windows required.
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2-02-2007 @ 7:07AM
Kevin said...
I know I'm showing off my ignorance here, but where does one get a "30-day trial version of Vista". Personally I want to run it before I throw down plastic.
Thanks in advance for any tips.
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2-02-2007 @ 9:06AM
Peter said...
Kevin - The reference is to the fact that if you install a licensed version of Vista but don't enter a product key or activate it, it operates as a 30-day trial after which you need to enter the product key to continue using it.
I'm not sure if there is an installable trial available.
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