activation

i put windows vista on one of my laptops but a tookit off and went back to xp
but then i installed itt on another laptop and it said the product key was
already in use and i bought home premium at best buy

If it is not an OEM version, use the phone method to activate and talk to a

If it is not an OEM version, use the phone method to activate and talk to a
real person.
The phone number should be displayed during the activation process.

how do i tell f its oem i bought it at best buy and it says upgrade on the

how do i tell f its oem  i bought it at best buy and it says upgrade on the
frunt

activation

In message <7997C8BF-41C3-488F-8B7C-8A70DB2B7854@microsoft.com> Z-Tech


Then it's not OEM.  Phone Microsoft to get activated.  Next, phone your
nearest adult education centre and sign up for spelling lessons.

--
Americans couldn't be any more self-absorbed if they were made from equal
parts water and papertowel.
-- Dennis Miller

Hi,Anything bought at BestBuy is likely to be retail.

Hi,

Anything bought at BestBuy is likely to be retail. Use the phone activation
method and stay on the line to get a real person to activate the new
installation.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

thanks for the help i called and i activated it right away thanks from a

thanks for the help  i called  and i activated it right away thanks from a
computer nerd who  knows everything abt computers and the windows  os but
knows nothing abt windows vista

and what if it isn't retail?

and what if it is not retail?

Hey I have a Dell Inspiron 1520, it is about 1 month old.

Hey I have a Dell Inspiron 1520, it is about 1 month old. It came with Vista
Basic (OEM), I have used it for a little bit now. Vista is ok, I dont like
how much of a resource hog it is though. And recently I tried installing some
software that I used to use on windows xp however it did not work properly. I
have decided I want to go back to windows xp, but I would like to keep vista
for later use on the same laptop. This would not be a problem except I have
already activated it. So my question is, is there a way to "un-activate"
vista. So I will have the ability to reinstall it later.

The matter is further complicated with the fact that it only has 1 gb of
ram, and I would like to upgrade it to 2gb. But if I do this I am afraid that
I will effect the hash that is used to activate windows. If I wasn't
upgrading the ram it would prolly be easy.

Please advise.

I don't think there is a need to "un-activate.

I don't think there is a need to "un-activate." Upgrading RAM does not
violate the OEM requirements. With Vista, this is basically replacing the
motherboard. If it asks you to activate again after installing more memory
and won't do it automatically, just use the phone method mentioned before.

Since your OEM is not an upgrade, you should be able to go back to XP
without any issues. When you want to re-install Vista, ensure you perform a
clean install.

activation

Thank you. this helps.