Moving to Windows 8.1 Query

iain

New Member
Messages
13
I've been running Vista Ultimate SP2 for the past few years, mainly for support of Complete PC Backup and Restore and SUA applications.

Now I'm facing a dilemma. My system disk failed, but luckily I had a recent Complete PC Backup volume and simply used that to restore to a new disk using Complete PC Restore yesterday. However, I'm now getting an activation message message because of the new disk. It's saying it will activate automatically in 3 days; whether it will actually do that or not and subsequently quit working is my dilemma.

Only other option is upgrade to Win 8 Pro. Does that offer a similar product to Vista's Complete PC Backup and Restore?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba P205-S6307
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue 500 Gb - System Disk
    WD Black 500 Gb - eSATA External Backup Disk
Why are you hesitating to active your Vista? If there are any problems just follow the activate by phone path, though there should not be any problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Why are you hesitating to active your Vista? If there are any problems just follow the activate by phone path, though there should not be any problem.

Actually, this laptop (Toshiba P205-S3607) came with Vista Home Premium pre-installed in 2008. The following month I upgraded to Vista Ultimate.

I tried to enter that upgrade key Tuesday, but system said it was good for upgrades only. I subsequently contacted Microsoft support of this, but they want 100 quid for a new key. I think that money would be better spent on re-installing old disk, which is still somewhat functional, and upgrading to Win 8 from there if drive will last that long and then backup that drive and restore to new drive.

In the meantime, I'm waiting to see what happens tomorrow, which is when system indicates auto-activation will occur.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba P205-S6307
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue 500 Gb - System Disk
    WD Black 500 Gb - eSATA External Backup Disk

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Look at this tutorial by Shawn Brink: Clean Install From Upgrade Vista

Thanks for the link. but instructions provided by it are irrelevant in my situation.

To perform a bare metal system restore using Vista "Complete PC Restore" do this:
  1. Connect a disk drive containing the latest "Complete PC Backup" image available to a USB port on your machine
  2. Boot from Windows installation DVD, follow instruction explicitly and select "Complete PC Restore" menu option
This will start the installation process of the backup image which will take approximately 20 minutes for a USB 3.0 port; longer, obviously on a USB 2.0 port.

What's missing in all of this is any reference to product keys or Windows activation processes.

For the record, the key phrase here, should be:
  • Windows Activation Wizard
This morning, my computer properties window presented a link to that, I followed instructions explicitly and now my system is fully activated.

What a bunch of rubbish.

I just hope others will see this post so they won't have to go through what I've had to endure for the past three days.

That said, I still plan to upgrade soon to Windows 8.1 Pro, as soon as Intel release a driver for my display device. BTW, I read that you can't upgrade directly to Win8 from Vista. Is this correct?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba P205-S6307
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue 500 Gb - System Disk
    WD Black 500 Gb - eSATA External Backup Disk
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