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I return with another stupid and easy to answer laptop question

OrganichuOrganichu poopspeesRegistered User regular
edited December 2007 in Games and Technology
I bought a laptop. It came with Vista. What I want to know: does this give me a license to use an original, unbloated version of Vista? I know how to restore my laptop to factory settings and I know how to reformat and install XP.

However I want my laptop with Vista, but without the bloatware. Short of manually configuring everything and removing every trace of Acer stuff, is this legally possible without buying a Vista key? Or do I only have a license for the Acer-approved version?

Organichu on

Posts

  • jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse. Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    The license key that is on the bottom of your laptop is for Vista. Acer's shovelware has nothing to do with it.

    jackal on
  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    jackal wrote: »
    The license key that is on the bottom of your laptop is for Vista. Acer's shovelware has nothing to do with it.

    Thanks!

    So will any Vista Home Premium CD work with my key, or...?

    Organichu on
  • GertBeefGertBeef Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Organichu wrote: »
    jackal wrote: »
    The license key that is on the bottom of your laptop is for Vista. Acer's shovelware has nothing to do with it.

    Thanks!

    So will any Vista Home Premium CD work with my key, or...?

    As long as vista home premium was the original product on your laptop then yes.

    GertBeef on
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  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Organichu wrote: »
    jackal wrote: »
    The license key that is on the bottom of your laptop is for Vista. Acer's shovelware has nothing to do with it.

    Thanks!

    So will any Vista Home Premium CD work with my key, or...?

    That's a good question, actually... In my experience, this worked with XP.

    How tenacious is Acer's crap? I was able to get Dell and Compaq shovelware off of computers with a little work. They try to stop you from uninstalling or killing the processes or stopping them from running at boot. It's typically on their OS disk, but it isn't part of the OS, so you should be able to get it out of there without drastic action.

    Hevach on
  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    GertBeef wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    jackal wrote: »
    The license key that is on the bottom of your laptop is for Vista. Acer's shovelware has nothing to do with it.

    Thanks!

    So will any Vista Home Premium CD work with my key, or...?

    As long as vista home premium was the original product on your laptop then yes.

    Yup.

    vista.jpg

    If I scroll down a little further I can see my product key.

    Hevach wrote:
    How tenacious is Acer's crap? I was able to get Dell and Compaq shovelware off of computers with a little work. They try to stop you from uninstalling or killing the processes or stopping them from running at boot. It's typically on their OS disk, but it isn't part of the OS, so you should be able to get it out of there without drastic action.

    I'm not really sure. I know about the obvious culprits, but disabling/removing some things gets me nervous- I mean, 'Acer Tour' sounds innocuous enough to remove, but there's some stuff that I'm a bit more cautious about. I'm scared I'll delete something integral to my system's operation which is why I'd prefer to start with a fresh OS that includes everything I need for operation- and nothing more.

    Organichu on
  • fogeymanfogeyman Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Organichu, you're talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key your laptop came with, right? Or are you talking about a Home Premium CD that Acer shipped with your laptop?

    fogeyman on
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  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    fogeyman wrote: »
    Organichu, you're talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key your laptop came with, right? Or are you talking about a Home Premium CD that Acer shipped with your laptop?

    I'm talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key included with my laptop. I purchased my Acer laptop from a large retail store (BB) and no installation CD was included.

    Organichu on
  • fogeymanfogeyman Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Organichu wrote: »
    fogeyman wrote: »
    Organichu, you're talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key your laptop came with, right? Or are you talking about a Home Premium CD that Acer shipped with your laptop?

    I'm talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key included with my laptop. I purchased my Acer laptop from a large retail store (BB) and no installation CD was included.
    It should work because keys aren't tied to the CD. The only cause for concern is that you have a retail CD vs OEM key. The key determines the restrictions on the install (like Home Premium vs Ultimate), though, so it should work. Can't guarantee anything, though.

    fogeyman on
    flickr
  • OrganichuOrganichu poops peesRegistered User regular
    edited December 2007
    fogeyman wrote: »
    Organichu wrote: »
    fogeyman wrote: »
    Organichu, you're talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key your laptop came with, right? Or are you talking about a Home Premium CD that Acer shipped with your laptop?

    I'm talking about using a retail Home Premium CD with the key included with my laptop. I purchased my Acer laptop from a large retail store (BB) and no installation CD was included.
    It should work because keys aren't tied to the CD. The only cause for concern is that you have a retail CD vs OEM key. The key determines the restrictions on the install (like Home Premium vs Ultimate), though, so it should work. Can't guarantee anything, though.

    Ok, thanks. I'll try an overwrite, first, and if it works I'll format.

    I've reformatted and installed XP on several machines in the last 2 or 3 years. This would be my first with Vista. Anything I should keep in mind that'd be markedly different?

    Organichu on
  • ViolyntViolynt regular
    edited December 2007
    No not really, it's pretty straight forward.

    The only thing you should be concerned about is if your OEM Key (If it is OEM) works with that retail Vista as I know XP had that lock out.

    Violynt on
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  • rayofashrayofash Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Why not use the key that came with your retail copy?

    rayofash on
  • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    rayofash wrote: »
    Why not use the key that came with your retail copy?

    borrowing an install disk from a friend?

    ArcSyn on
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