Are Vista DVD's all the same?

[Parasitic]

Hi,


One of the Jan 30 release articles mentioned that Microsoft has standardized all editions of Vista retail disc such that depending on the key it'll "unlock" different editions of Vista. Therefore, is it possible to use the Home Premium Upgrade disc to install Vista on two different computers?



I don't really feel like downloading the massive ISO.

 

[Brazen]

I was wondering the same thing. I have Vista Ultimate at home, but I was wondering if when we start using it at work with VLK (hopefully a few years down the road), if I can just burn a copy of my personal DVD and use it at work to install Vista Business.

 

[stash]

I don't think so, at least in Brazen's case. The retail and OEM media are different from VL media. Retail and OEM contain Basic, Premium, Business (non-VL) and Ultimate. However, if you are trying to install Business-VL with a KMS or MAK, you need VL media.

 

[simms]

I thought it's possible to at least use between versions. the VLK will be a different case, but in parasitic's case it should be fine, but YMMV.

 

[stash]

Business comes in both Retail/OEM and VL versions. I'm not sure if if MSDNAA would be the VL version or not, which is why I mentioned it.

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: stash
Business comes in both Retail/OEM and VL versions. I'm not sure if if MSDNAA would be the VL version or not, which is why I mentioned it.

I was wondering about the same thing but a friend said that the CD-key isn't a volume key since it's somehow "personalized" to the student; we compared keys briefly and they were all different.


This was just a thought since I have two computers and the copy of Home Premium Upgrade I'm buying will be the retail version that they sell at school and be used on my laptop since I bought it a few months before the "free Vista upgrade" coupon deal.

Edit: is there a way to tell if a key was VL before activation? i.e. is there a specific group in the key that would denote whether it's VL or not?