You will be in one of three situations, quickly review the notes applicable for your Windows Vista license before deciding on what media to use: Obtaining Windows Vista Reinstallation Media - Notes You only need to know the Service Tag (7 digit code) and not the Express Service Code. The sticker for the Dell Service Tag should be located in a similar area. On a desktop they are usually on the top or side. This sticker is usually found on the base of laptops, although some people have reported them to be present under the battery. You should take a note of the 25 character key on your COA. Note the Windows Vista Product Key obtained by Belarc Advisor is a Dell SLP key, this is not the same as the product key printed on your COA. Save this in a folder in the external harddrive e.g. CutePDF Writer may be used to create a pdf print out of it. It is handy to keep a print out of this data. This is particularly useful for obtaining your Microsoft Office product keys. ![]() Using Belarc Advisor and Obtaining your Product Keysīelarc Advisor will obtain details about your system. It is free for home use and gives you a print out of your computers hardware and software. I recommend carrying out Step 1 in all cases and formatting the drive. If you decide to skip Step 1 then ensure that you don't carry out Step 7 or format/delete the partition in step 8. A standard user should make regular back ups in case of hard drive failure. Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos in particular. Back up your data.Īn external hard drive is a great device to back ones data up on. Alternatively there are some unofficial driver sets listed for Laptops and for Desktops. If there are no listed drivers then Windows 7 or Windows 8 might work without any additional drivers as both versions of Windows have a very wide native driver base. If you plan on doing this check for Windows Vista/7/8 driver availability on the Drivers and Downloads Page. You should also look at the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. iso without a product key and assessing the performance of your system with the 30 day trial before purchasing a license. ![]() ![]() It may be worthwhile installing Windows 7 using a retail. I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows 8 opposed to sticking with Windows Vista.ĭetails about installing Windows 8 can be found in my wiki Upgrading to Windows 8 via A Clean Install and at present an upgrade license is quite cheap.įor Windows 7 you will need to purchase an upgrade license from a store or online and should follow my wiki A Clean install of Windows 7. If you are upgrading a system to Vista, planning to install Windows Vista on a new hard drive, plan on changing from 32 bit to 64 bit Windows Vista, experiencing problems installing Windows Service Packs and finally experiencing significantly reduced performance after installing Windows Service Packs or just generally prefer a cleaner install then carry out a clean install.Īt this stage in time, if your computer can support Windows Vista then it will support Windows 7 and likely also Windows 8. However in all cases, the systems that I have done a clean install on have vastly superior performance, than when restored to the factory install/factory settings. I am very disappointed in the factory settings. If you are considering upgrading some parts in your computer see here before beginning the installation.īefore reading this guide for completeness I will refer you to the Dell Factory Restore which will restore your computer to factory settings. This is generally the fastest method to restore your system to a working state. Note: This guide takes you through almost every screen of the install and is hence quite long, it is nowhere as daunting as it looks on first glance. This wiki is updated to pdf format here Windows Reinstallation Guide and several other wikies are combined into this pdf.
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