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Install windows vista on a mac using an upgrade version?

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by manny.rubero

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I know that installing a clean copy of windows vista is possible and completely legal from an upgrade cd. Ive read online that all one has to do is not install the product key during the initial installation and then during the second installation which is the upgrade part then one may install the product key and that the upgrade takes place on vista. I was wondering though is that possible through bootcamp in mac osx?

6 replies

by thechas

While I too have read that the method you outlined does work, there is a broader issue here. If you do not posses a valid qualifying version of Windows, the upgrade license is void.

Keep in mind that you are not required to install the older version of Windows on the system in order to qualify for the upgrade. You only need to have the Windows install CD and when prompted place it in the optical drive so that the installer can verify that you have an older version of Windows.

Chas

by oh smeg

The Vista Upgrade DVD is only available to upgrade existing Windows Installations to Vista and as on a MAC there is no existing version of Windows present normally you are in Violation of the M$ End User License Agreement and are in effect committing Piracy which M$ frowns upon with large fines when they catch those Guilty of this. Last I heard M$ was asking for $250,000.00 for a first offense from a non commercial Pirate and lots more for a Pirate Making Money off their products.

As I've never personally used a Update of Vista but if prior Windows Update Products are anything to go by you need at the very least a Genuine Install Disc of a previous Version of Windows that you need to insert to allow the Upgrade Version to finish Starting the Install Process this is before it writes anything to the HDD.

Col

by thumbsup2

... but does that make it legal TO do it? I'll point you to one paragraph in the first article you linked to which points out:

"Installing the upgrade version of Vista, but not installing over an existing instance of XP or W2K, probably violates the Vista EULA (end-user license agreement)."

In other words, you need to own a legal copy of a previous version to have any hope what-so-ever of avoiding the fines involved.

Of course, the same is/was true for Win2K and WinXP upgrades. We've all done it though, as long as a licensed copy of the previous OS went along with the machine. We all know that a clean install is always better than an upgrade.

None of this answers the OP's question though. Can it be done to a MAC? I don't think that it can be done, technically speaking, EULA aside. They just plain run "different". But, I haven't heard of the clean-install of upgrade method even being tried on a MAC. Anybody else heard of it or tried it?

by oh smeg

Or in a Virtual Machine and I do know of at least 1 person installing Vista to a MAC as a Dual Boot Option.

Though I've never known of anyone doing it with a Upgrade version of Vista but I would assume that it's the same as what it was with a Upgrade Version of XP and I only ever used one of those once for a client.

Not exactly the area of IT that I work in personally though. Those that need Mac's want them for the benefits of the OSX not to run Windows on. But I do know when you run them as a VM and change the resources that XP and Vista uses they want to be reactivated every time you change the minimum Resources available to Windows as it sees that as New Hardware that it is running on. :D

Col

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