So, if you trial Vista and decide not to buy it, does Vista politely roll your system back to its previous state? If so, is it an “image”-based rollback, meaning you lose everything you’ve done since the Vista install, or might it actually allow you to keep things like new documents or bookmarks?
xp2400+ 1gb 80GB - RC1+ installs in 20 mins
“There is no start menu, no desktop icons, and the desktop background is changed to black. The Web browser will fully function and Internet connectivity will not be blocked.”
True, but you can still access your desktop and files by typing C:/Windows…etc in the internet explorer address bar.
Its not all ‘video drivers’. Vista is bloatware, it requires a bare minimum of about 300MB free ram just to get you to the desktop. This doesnt include aero or any of the security crap that comes with it. Add all of that and you are at about 500MB+ used. This is before launching any of your own apps. Run a few new apps that are dx10 enhanced and you need a bare minimum of 2GB of ram to function.
Fist off i do not see anything wrong with the system req. for vista. Systems are cheap and why spend millions of dollars on making a system for old hardware. I have 2 gigs of ram and a dual core cpu and it runs great… Also i dont remember exactly how i did it but when your evalution runs out and all they give you is a webpage to buy the product simply type c: in your address bar and you get your c drive. then in the address bar type explorer. Your desktop should appear in a few seconds…
Re: Vista is bloatware: come on, this has been covered before, even on this blog - Vista aggressively caches data, including stuff it suspects is likely to be needed in the near future (based on past usage). Vista does NOT require 500MB of memory to idle!
To learn how memory managers work, get a copy of Windows Internals, 4th Ed.
Has anyone figured out how many times one can re-install Vista after activation??
Thank you, Tom
Does anyone know if this also works for technet copies?
if you change date for 2099 year and then write a command you’ll be able to use system without activating it before 2099 
Somewhere on the nets there is even a way to freeze that clock so it never times out. I personally would not do it.
Many thanks for your quick reply Jeff, i will double check on available drivers then take the plunge!
Cheers
I am waiting for dell to ship out my free upgrade to Vista Home Premium but annot be bothered to wait as i want it now I have through MS Direct Access, a Vista Business Edition DVD. Question is could i install using this disc and not enter a key using the trail mode and when my pack comes through from Dell enter that key and continue working?
Many thanks
Bob
Bob, the answer is yes.
you can install any version of Vista (in 30/120 day eval mode) from any Vista DVD. Just leave the key blank. Then when you get the key, enter it via Control Panel | System and Maintenance | System – there’s a link at the bottom for “Change Product Key”.
The only thing you have to be careful about is installing the correct edition of Vista.
You have to right click on command prompt and “open as administrator”
I type in smlgr -rearm, get the message- “ERROR: 0XC004F025 Access Denied: the requested action requires elevated priviledges”. I look in accounts and I am listed as Administrator. What am I doing wrong Jeff? Thanks in advance. James
if u have 25 days left and rearm will u have 55 days or will it go back to 30 days?
if u have 25 days left and rearm will u have 55 days or will it go back to 30 days?
It goes back to 30 days.
What would happen if you install Vista and then create a backup using TrueImage10.0. , then restore this backup in another PC. Will this work?
Another thing for those who are looking for remote assistance. I downloaded a free aplication from Logmein.com . Download the free remote desktop and control as many pc’s as you wish for free.
I was just wondering how to find how much longer i have on my license?
OK,
I got the script to run sucessfully. BUT when doing the slmgr.vbs -rearm I eventually get a message “command not recognized” what gives… any help? Thanks