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Windows Vista question

As if you take the hard drive and put it in another PC?
I don't see why not. I believe I did this with WinME at one time.
Only issue should be drivers and Windows usually corrects itself.

*The only way to know for sure is to try it.
 
Yes, I mean something like removing the disk and placing it to another computer. I am actually interested in making a bootable USB stick and I have a spare Vista license. I would want it to run on different computers.

Has anyone tried it?
 
ArisVer said:
Yes, I mean something like removing the disk and placing it to another computer. I am actually interested in making a bootable USB stick and I have a spare Vista license. I would want it to run on different computers.

Has anyone tried it?
Click to expand...

Typically this will not work, and if it did, it will require reactivation.
 
ArisVer said:
Will Windows Vista boot on a different computer than the one installed?
Click to expand...

It all depends on hardware. If it is AMD to AMD or Intel to Intel, maybe. But if it is a large enough jump, that may not even work.

So, more details would be needed to get you a yes or no on this one.
 
I don't have any specific targets for it's use. I just think it might come handy at certain times. So I guess that leaves me to a trial to find out.
Thanks for your answers.
 
Windows XP was really bad if the hard drive controller dramatically changed. It would blue screen. Windows 7 is actually pretty good, but it does require reactivation and depending on the copy you have, might not be legal. Vista is probably in between.
 
I did this once with a HDD not a usb so YMMV. I had a 1.5tb drive in my AMD(P2x4 965)setup. I moved it to my sons just built Intel(SB i3-2100) setup. I was feeling lazy so I just took the drive out of mine and plugged it into his and pushed the power button.

It went ok. It booted fine and Windows recognized the new hardware and installed the appropriate drivers. I was really surprised by this.
I left it like this for about a year but his system was a little off. It just didn't "feel" right when using his computer. It's hard to put into words. Eventually I ended up doing a fresh install on the HDD and his computer has run like a champ ever since.

EDIT:This was done with Win7.
 
Ideally you'd use the Windows 8 to go setup. Sadly, that's enterprise only last I looked (and requires USB3 - approved USB3 devices no less.) Though my info is dated to Windows 8, I haven't looked at it in 8.1 or 10...

Moving between systems will cause the 6 hardware item change threshold to be crossed, triggering a new activation.

Gunbuster - I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that the tool you're linking to is essentially piracy and might not belong here, as its intent is to bypass the Windows EULA requirements. AT has somewhat strict rules on this...but again, this is a shot in the dark, from just reading the description of the tool.
 
It will not work, blue screen.

Move hard drive between a hp and a dell both with x2 64 4200+, gforce 6150le onboard

Just went with windows10 for now
 
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A Real Good functional Win ToGo is possible/available with Win 8.11.

Quote:"A Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO File or Disc: You’ll need Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media for this. if you don’t have any lying around, there are ways to legally download Windows installation media from Microsoft — either with a CD key or by downloading a 90-day free trial of Windows 8.1 Enterprise. (You don’t need Windows Enterprise for this — the “core” or Professional editions of Windows 8 or 8.1 will also work.)".

Its take about an hour to "build".

See the rest here - http://www.howtogeek.com/196817/how...-go-usb-drive-without-the-enterprise-edition/

From my experience building it directly to a 16 GB for minimum installation (32GB better) fast USB Flash Drive is the way to go.

This Flash Drive is relatively fast without breaking the Bank.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This free util makes it very easy to install.

http://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/index.html

The slowest part of this installation is the StratUp. I.e., it can take few minutes to finish the Boot. Once it finishes the Boot it works very smooth.

The trial works for three months, enough time to evaluate it usefulness. I find my self using it about once a week.



😎
 
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I think that the best possible chance of getting vista to adapt would be to create the boot drive and then strip it off all drivers before you shut down and transfer it to the intended pc. Vista isn't as adaptable as win 7. I moved a z87 build to x58 recently and although it did manage to load and reconfigure itself it was never quite right and I ended up doing a clean install anyway.

With that said let me tell you what happened with my retail vista ultimate recently. Microsoft blocked my installation key because they said that I'd abused it by reactivating it 23 times. This includes hardware failures/changes and new drives so take it for what it's worth. When they see too many reactivations of the key they'll lock it out of the system and it will become worthless. If you want a migratory os then never activate it while using it.
 
Puffnstuff said:
With that said let me tell you what happened with my retail vista ultimate recently. Microsoft blocked my installation key because they said that I'd abused it by reactivating it 23 times. This includes hardware failures/changes and new drives so take it for what it's worth. When they see too many reactivations of the key they'll lock it out of the system and it will become worthless. If you want a migratory os then never activate it while using it.
Click to expand...

Got your reciept? Take them to small claims court and demand a refund. The retail EULA officially allows you to transfer the OS between machines, as long as it is only on one machine at a time.

Microsoft is just playing dirty as usual, because they want to sell new Win 8.1 licenses.
 
VirtualLarry said:
Got your reciept? Take them to small claims court and demand a refund. The retail EULA officially allows you to transfer the OS between machines, as long as it is only on one machine at a time.

Microsoft is just playing dirty as usual, because they want to sell new Win 8.1 licenses.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's worth taking MS to court over an 8 year old version of Windows that only has a couple left until EOL. It's also doubtful that he would even have a receipt.
 
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