Windows Vista Upgrade Install Fix

With the release of Windows Vista comes a surprising change to the way the upgrade version works.

Unlike previous version of Windows, you can no longer wipe out your existing Windows installation and install a fresh install of Vista with the upgrade DVD. Instead, your upgrade version on top of the previous version of Windows you have.

This change will help cut down on the number of people buying the wrong version of Windows Vista but creates a huge annoyance for any power user that wants to start fresh with a new Windows operating system.
Users that already wiped their previous Windows installation with the Windows Vista install disk while installing the upgrade version are in for a surprise when they try to active Windows. It won’t activate! Why? Windows is looking for a full version product key because the user did not install the upgrade version of Windows Vista from within a previous version of Windows.

Users that want to perform a fresh Windows Vista install the traditional method are not going to be able to active their upgrade copy. If you still want to do a clean install with Windows Vista so that your XP settings and junk does not get ported over, there is a new method that will allow you to do a clean install and activate your upgrade version.

Fresh Windows install with the upgrade version of Windows Vista

1. Use your Windows Vista DVD to wipe out your previous Windows installation and install Vista without a product key as shown here.
2. After you have Vista installed, use your Windows Vista DVD again and perform an upgrade using your upgrade product key. Yes, upgrading Windows Vista to Vista works.
3. Your upgrade key will now activate Windows and you will have a clean install of Windows Vista.

Install Vista without product key

Don't feel like typing in your product key before installing Windows Vista? It is now possible to install any version of Windows Vista and use it for 14 days before having to enter a product key and activating it.

While on the product key screen during install, just hit the Next button. You will be presented with a new screen that allows you to select the version of Windows Vista you would like to install.

How to: Dual boot XP and Vista

Application compatibility remains one of the most annoying issues for Windows Vista users. The ability to upgrade the software to a new Vista compatible version is not always an option. The company that developed the application may no longer be around or the cost to upgrade is too high. In my case, I have a lot of classic PC games that will not run at all under Windows Vista no matter how I configure the compatibility options. In order to play my old games I need to install Windows XP. However, I am not exactly ready to give up all of the advances in Windows Vista just so that I can play my old games once in a while. The answer is to dual boot Windows Vista and XP.

Dual booting Windows XP and Vista on the same computer will allow you to select from a boot menu what operating sytem you want to run. This menu is shown right after you power on your computer. Setting up both Windows XP and Vista on one computer can be a little ticky depending what operating system you have installed first. The next two sections will help you configure both versions on your computer, depending on what OS you have installed first:

Windows XP is installed

If you want to dual boot XP and Vista and XP is already installed on your computer you will not have to do much work to dual boot vista. Just boot to your Windows Vista install DVD, select a custom install and install Vista on a separate partition or physical drive than where XP is installed. This will leave your XP install intact and automatically install a boot menu with both XP and Vista listed.

Windows Vista is installed

If you were like me and compley reformatted your hard drive and wiped out XP when you installed Vista, your setup is going to be a little more complicated. Follow these steps:

1. Boot up your computer with a Windows XP install CD and install Windows XP to a different partition or physical drive than where Vista is installed. When the setup is finished, your computer will automatically boot into Windows XP. Don’t worry, Windows Vista is still on your computer if you correctly installed XP to a different partition or physical drive.
2. When you installed XP, the Vista Boot Manager was replaced by the Windows XP boot components. The Vista Boot Manager needs to be fixed by using the Windows Vista install DVD. Boot your computer to the Windows Vista install DVD , click Next on the regional settings screen and then click on Repair your computer in the lower left of the window. Select your Windows Vista install and then run the Startup Repair. This will fix the Windows Boot Manager and Vista will once again startup automatically.
3. Now we need to add an entry to the Windows Boot Manger for Windows XP. This is done through Windows Vista. When you are back in Vista, open an administrative level command prompt window and run these commands:
   
   
   bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Windows XP"
   bcdedit /set {ntldr} device boot
   bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr
   bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast
4. Reboot your computer and test out the new boot menu.

Dual boot has now been configured on your computer. You will be able to enjoy the enhancements of Windows Vista without giving up the ability to run older applications that require Windows XP.

Extend Activation period past 180 days

There has been a lot of news about a new technique to extend the activation period of Windows Vista past 180 days. It all started when Brian Livingston posted a story on his site, WindowsSecrets.com, about a registry key that can be modified to allow the slmgr -rearm command to be run more than three times. This allows you to use Windows Vista without having to activate it for longer than 180 days.

Activation has always been more of burden for licensed Windows users than an effective deterrent for piracy. There are already many cracks for Windows Vista that bypass activation completely. The end result is a bad experience for those that legally buy the product.

For me, this is an issue that I am always fighting with. I am constantly building, installing and re-configuring my two computers with multiple vista virtual machines. I don't want to deal with the burden of having to activate my legal copies of Windows Vista every time since none of my workstations seem to last for more than a few months before I reinstall. If I actually activated my Vista Ultimate licenses every time I reinstall I would already have to use the slow phone based system where you have to type in that super long code. Sorry Microsoft, that is a horrible experience that I'm trying to avoid.

Using Brian's registry key and the old 180 day trick, it is possible to setup Task Scheduler to automate these changes to extend the period before you need to activate beyond 180 days. Follow these steps to automate the registry change and activation reset using Task Scheduler:

1. Click on the Start Button, type in Task Manager and hit Enter.
2. When Task Scheduler loads, right click on Task Scheduler Library and select Create Task.
3. Enter in a name for the new task such as "Activation Period Reset". Also, make sure that the user this account is run under is part of the Administrators group and the Run with highest privileges box is checked.
4. Click on the Triggers tab and hit the New button.
5. On the New Trigger tab, select Daily and Recur every 29 days (since activation is required 30 days after a reset) and hit OK.
6. Click on the Actions tab and hit New.
7. Enter in slmgr.vbs in the program/script box.
8. Enter in -rearm in the arguments box and hit OK.
9. Hit OK to save the settings for the new task you created.
10. Now you are ready for the second registry key change that will allow you to run the slmgr.vbs -rearm command more than three times. To do this, right click on the Task Scheduler Library folder again and select Create Task.
11. Enter in a name for the new task such as "Slmgr Reset ". Also, make sure that the user this account is run under is part of the Administrators group and the Run with highest privileges box is checked.
12. Click on the Triggers tab and hit the New button.
13. On the New Trigger tab, select Daily and Recur every 179 days (since slmgr needs to be reset after 180 days) and hit OK.
14. Click on the Actions tab and hit New.
15. Download and save this registry file to your computer.
16. Enter in regedit in the program/script box.
17. Enter in /s "full path to reg file" in the arguments box and hit OK.
18. Hit OK to save the settings for the new task you created.

Disable Windows startup sound

There was a lot of controversy of the new Windows Start sound in Windows Vista. Originally, Microsoft was planning on making this a mandatory sound that users would not be able to disable. This sounds like a great idea from a Marketing perspective since all Windows users world-wide would hear the same notes when their computer starts up. However from a user perspective this could be a nightmare. Thankfully Microsoft responded to the vocal Microsoft community and gave users the option to disable this sound.

Follow these steps to disable your Windows startup sound:

1. Click on the Start Button and type in Sound. Select Sound from the list.
2. Click on the Sounds tab.
3. Remove the check from Play Windows Startup sound.
4. Hit OK.

Enjoy.

Create a direct shortcut to Network Connections

The new Network and Sharing Center in Windows Vista is great for the average Windows user but can be a huge headache for advanced users. When I need to make a change to my network settings I don't want to be forced to go through the networking interface for the average non-technical users. I want to go right to the settings screen and make the change.

I am a big fan of the old Windows XP network approach where I could modify all of the network settings and connect to wireless network from the Network Connections screen. In Windows Vista, the Network Connections screen still exists, as shown above, but you have to go through the Network and Sharing Center screen first. Using a very useful explorer trick I discovered when playing with "::" and explorer class IDs, you can create a shortcut that will take you directly to the Network Connections screen.

1. Right click on the desktop and select New and then Shortcut.
2. In the location box, copy and paste explorer.exe ::{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E} and hit Next.
3. Type in Network Connections as the name and Finish.

Your shortcut directly to Network Connections is now on your desktop. I like to create a copy in my quick launch bar for easy access. If you want to change the icon to the correct Network connections icon, the icon can be found in %SystemRoot%\system32\netshell.dll in the first position.

Enjoy!

Check Windows Vista Activation Status

Are you a user of Windows Vista Enterprise or Business edition and would like to know the status of activation of a specific computer? Want to make sure that the computer connected properly to the Key Management Server (KMS) or used your Multiple Activation Key (MAK) properly? Or are you a home user and just want to make sure your computer is fully activated?

Included in Windows Vista is very useful utility that will help you check the status of activation of your computer:

1. Click on the Start Button and key in CMD and hit Enter to start up Command Prompt.
2. At the prompt, type in "slmgr.vbs -dli"
3. After a few seconds you will be presented with a pop-up message with your activation status.