Installing Vista, need help.

T

tsarprodigy

Power User
Well, let me start off by explaining how I got into this mess.:D
I was dual-booting XP SP2 and Linux Ubuntu, and I was trying to delete my Linux partition, and i accidentally deleted the entire drive contents, including XP and Linux.:sa: I installed Linux via Live CD

Now, because i dont have recovery disks or a recovery partition I am completely stuck with the very thing I wanted to get rid of, Linux Ubuntu.:shock:

A friend of mine sent me a 3.01GB ISO file of his Vista installation disk. Heres my problem. I dont have, nor can I get, a disk big enough for the ISO file. I have a bunch of 700MB CDs, a 2GB USB drive, a 250GB hard drive (intended for Vista) and a 20GB hard drive (for whatever I may need it.)

How can I install Vista with the information given. It would help so so so much.
I've googled the crap outta this and found only one answer, but I can't use it because I'm on Linux. Help?:cry:
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
tsarprodigy said:
Well, let me start off by explaining how I got into this mess.:D
I was dual-booting XP SP2 and Linux Ubuntu, and I was trying to delete my Linux partition, and i accidentally deleted the entire drive contents, including XP and Linux.:sa: I installed Linux via Live CD

Now, because i dont have recovery disks or a recovery partition I am completely stuck with the very thing I wanted to get rid of, Linux Ubuntu.:shock:

A friend of mine sent me a 3.01GB ISO file of his Vista installation disk. Heres my problem. I dont have, nor can I get, a disk big enough for the ISO file. I have a bunch of 700MB CDs, a 2GB USB drive, a 250GB hard drive (intended for Vista) and a 20GB hard drive (for whatever I may need it.)

How can I install Vista with the information given. It would help so so so much.
I've googled the crap outta this and found only one answer, but I can't use it because I'm on Linux. Help?:cry:
Click to expand...

Just buy some DVDs, or alternatively, you could buy a USB drive that is large enough for the ISO (4gb - you won't get a 3gb).

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm
    2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
Hello tsarprodigy, welcome to Vista Forums!




I don't suppose the PC still has the factory installed recovery partition intact?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Bare Foot Kid said:
Hello tsarprodigy, welcome to Vista Forums!




I don't suppose the PC still has the factory installed recovery partition intact?
Click to expand...


Thank you :) and sadly, no it does not. :cry: This PC was running XP Media Center 2005 with SP2 natively, and i started dual-booting with Linux later on.

Tom982 said:
Just buy some DVDs, or alternatively, you could buy a USB drive that is large enough for the ISO (4gb - you won't get a 3gb).

Tom
Click to expand...

Sadly, I am not able to get either the USB drive or a DVD. If I absolutely have to, I will eventually get one, but it will be a few months out.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
If you have the time and the inclination, you could try this :

d/l and burn the Vista /7 recovery disc to cd ( I assume you can do that from within Linux).

Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download — The NeoSmart Files


Boot it up. Go to command prompt and bring the 20gb drive online (if needed ) . Initialize to mbr ( if needed ) . Format it ntfs.


Boot back into Linux, and use 7-zip Linux version to Download to extract the Vista iso contents onto the 20gb HD.

Boot up the Vista/7 recovery disc, navigate to setup.exe on the 20gb drive and run it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Vista
    CPU
    Intel E8400
    Motherboard
    ASRock1333-GLAN R2.0
    Memory
    4gb DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 9500GT 1gb
  • Operating System
    win7/vista
    CPU
    intel i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    ballistix 2x8gb 3200
SIW2 said:
If you have the time and the inclination, you could try this :

d/l and burn the Vista /7 recovery disc to cd ( I assume you can do that from within Linux).

Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download — The NeoSmart Files


Boot it up. Go to command prompt and bring the 20gb drive online (if needed ) . Initialize to mbr ( if needed ) . Format it ntfs.


Boot back into Linux, and use 7-zip Linux version to Download to extract the Vista iso contents onto the 20gb HD.

Boot up the Vista/7 recovery disc, navigate to setup.exe on the 20gb drive and run it.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much. I will definitely try that. First, I'll format the drive as NTFS in linux then try extracting via 7-Zip.

And I'll be sure to try it exactly the way you suggested afterwards, and i will definitely get back to you. :) Thanks Bro
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
SIW2 said:
Boot up the Vista/7 recovery disc, navigate to setup.exe on the 20gb drive and run it.
Click to expand...

Ok, I did as you said. Just one problem. It asks for a product key. I used mine and it said that the key was invalid or could not be verified.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
you said you originally had XP MCE Edition right? and you now installed Windows Vista?

you must have a vista product key to use windows vista, unless you want to run windows illegally.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device
    Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
eldinv said:
you said you originally had XP MCE Edition right? and you now installed Windows Vista?

you must have a vista product key to use windows vista, unless you want to run windows illegally.
Click to expand...

yes that is true. Ok, how can I get said Vista Key?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
tsarprodigy said:
eldinv said:
you said you originally had XP MCE Edition right? and you now installed Windows Vista?

you must have a vista product key to use windows vista, unless you want to run windows illegally.
Click to expand...

yes that is true. Ok, how can I get said Vista Key?
Click to expand...


well if your friend no longer has his copy of windows vista installed and its the same edition you installed on your computer, ask him for his key. i think this is legal, other than that you have to contact microsoft and buy a product key from them.

Microsoft Volume Licensing - Activation Centers
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device
    Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
eldinv said:
tsarprodigy said:
eldinv said:
you said you originally had XP MCE Edition right? and you now installed Windows Vista?

you must have a vista product key to use windows vista, unless you want to run windows illegally.
Click to expand...

yes that is true. Ok, how can I get said Vista Key?
Click to expand...


well if your friend no longer has his copy of windows vista installed and its the same edition you installed on your computer, ask him for his key. i think this is legal, other than that you have to contact microsoft and buy a product key from them.

Microsoft Volume Licensing - Activation Centers
Click to expand...


This will work if it is a full retail key and it is not currently in use on another PC, 1 retail key = 1 install on 1 PC at a time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Bare Foot Kid said:
eldinv said:
tsarprodigy said:
yes that is true. Ok, how can I get said Vista Key?
Click to expand...


well if your friend no longer has his copy of windows vista installed and its the same edition you installed on your computer, ask him for his key. i think this is legal, other than that you have to contact microsoft and buy a product key from them.

Microsoft Volume Licensing - Activation Centers
Click to expand...


This will work if it is a full retail key and it is not currently in use on another PC, 1 retail key = 1 install on 1 PC at a time.
Click to expand...

I bought an eMachine a few years ago that came with OEM Vista Disc (not a Recovery Disc) and product key on the back. That computer was so slow and horrible that I gave it away. I kept the 250GB hard drive it came with and replaced it with an older 60GB hard drive and installed Ubuntu on it.

I kept the Windows Vista OEM Disc and the product key. I built a PC and installed Vista using that OEM disc and when it installed and Windows loaded and was asking me for activation I entered the product key and it worked.

I hope that was OK and legal.

If you use a Vista Retail disc, I don't think that OEM key would work.


That's why I said if his friend doesn't have it installed on his computer, ask him if we would give him the product key.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device
    Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
eldinv said:
yes that is true. Ok, how can I get said Vista Key?
Click to expand...


well if your friend no longer has his copy of windows vista installed and its the same edition you installed on your computer, ask him for his key. i think this is legal, other than that you have to contact microsoft and buy a product key from them.

Microsoft Volume Licensing - Activation Centers[/QUOTE]

hmmmmm... I'll see what I can do. I think he upgraded to 7 so i might be good then. Thanks :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D 820 @2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ECS RC410-M (Asterope3-GL8E)
    Memory
    1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon Xpress 200
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC 888 chipset Integrated High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision EN-780e 16" monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    250GB+20GB
    Case
    Compaq SR2050NX
    Cooling
    3 standard fans
    Keyboard
    Apple Aluminum USB keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M-BZ96C Wired Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    DSL @ approx. 200kb/s
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