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Is there a place where I could download the Windows Vista Home Premium OEM and simply use the Windows Vista key on my PC?

The reason being is that when I use the HP recovery disc, what happens is that HP installs a lot of HP applications which does not help and simply makes the installation a disaster.

I would rather want to perform a clean install of Vista itself without the unnecessary HP gunk.

Appreciate your response. Thank you.

P.S. I saw on most forums that you could use an installation of the version of Vista installed on your PC and when the activation comes, simply enter the key posted on the PC.

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  • Or if there is a way to EXTRACT the Vista OS from the Recovery Disc, that would also be an option...
    – Batuta
    Dec 20, 2010 at 15:10
  • Not that I have found, HP creates special wim images for their recovery routine.
    – Moab
    Dec 20, 2010 at 17:20

2 Answers 2

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No. there is no legal download link for Vista.

Yes you can do what you suggest, but you will need to borrow a Vista Home premium DVD.

.

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    If you do borrow a DVD, then use boozet.org/dd.htm to backup your old drivers onto a USB stick. Once Vista is re-installed, point Windows at the USB stick with these drivers on and you'll be able to get all your hardware working again. Far quicker and easier than hunting for them on the web and installing them one by one.
    – Richard
    Dec 20, 2010 at 16:11
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Yes, if you can get hold of a installation cd of the same version you can re-install with it and at product key stage you type in your key in and this will generally work without trouble.
As for downloading it for a re-install i have not heard of this been done legally other than as a download of an upload of your system from a free/pay for- backup service and insuring that it can be re-installed is an option.
You can also make your own install cd from your own system[freecountry,how to geeks will most likely have 'how to's'] or make a copy of your recovery cds without the extra software[i am not sure, i know the hp recovery partition can be edited and is most likely the cds can be as well].
HP will only ship vista/w7 in recovery disk format,not an installation disk.
Hope this helps.

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  • HP will not supply a regular Vista/W7 Install disc, only their proprietary Recovery Discs, I have tried until I am blue in the face, thy refuse to supply it.
    – Moab
    Dec 20, 2010 at 17:15

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