Windows Vista forum: Using Dell operating system disk to install Vista on another

Sorry I have not made myself clear. We are not looking to transfer the license from my Dell laptop to my son's laptop. We already have a license (COA) and registered number for Vista on his laptop which we wish to re-use. We also wish to retain the vista license on my Dell laptop. What we lack is a installation DVD for my son's laptop and I am wanting to know if I can use the Dell operating system dvd for this purpose ie. can we install vista on his laptop using that laptop's fully legal COA and registration and the Dell operating system disk?

Peter

Thanks I understand - cloning it is then. Does nothing to mollify my growing resentment of Microsoft's overwheening greed and Bill Gate's sanctimonious conversion to good works - surely the modern equivalent of the medieaval wealthy who sought to buy themselves places in heaven by paying for cathedrals etc rather than the hell they rightly deserved? I am comforted that all empires eventually come to an end and fervently hope this one will dissapear to be replaced by an Open Source alternative ASAP.

Peter

how is microsoft greedy in this instance? you don't have an install disc so it seems you should direct your ire at whomever is responsible for that omission. most manufacturers will provide you a legitimate install disc for about $10 -- the cost of a DVD movie -- so where does greed come into play?

and microsoft, unlike ibm and apple, has never sought royalities/licenses for windows development and has never bound windows to proprietary hardware. microsoft even offers free versions of its premiere development tools and technologies (such as visual studio and sql server). when free utilities/features (defragmenters, backup, media player, anti-virus, web browsers, etc) were added to the OS, other vendors cry foul. microsoft was sued for bundling *free* alternatives to software that other consumers were paying for. so, just how is microsoft the greedy party?

and as for gates' "conversion," he was always known to support charities. as his wealth increased, so did his giving. he created the william gates sr foundation in 1994, 15 years ago, with a $94M endowment. in 2007 he gave $1.3B to it's successor, the bill&melinda gates foundation, which works to improve healthcare, agriculture, poverty throughout the world. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Run Windows 7 for free for a time?

And how about REACTOS? It's free and runs a lot of Windows apps. Read more at http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html

And when you finish your clone job, tell us how it turned out.
Bob